So here is the back story. Saturday I challenged myself to walk a loop from my house to the water and around to the other end of our street and home, with a side trip to bring it up to a four mile walk. I did that, and it went fine, very little discomfort, and my feet were doing well in my Merrill barefoot shoes. When I got back onto our street I was half a mile from home, and I started estimating the quarter mile point, which is the home stretch, a mild but relentless uphill stretch. Just as I got to that spot, which coincidentally is the spot where a bear mauled a woman walker last fall, a medium sized yellow dog rushed out of the driveway across the street, barking aggressively. I slowed down but kept moving, though the dog's intensity made me more than usually nervous. Normally I feel cautious about barking dogs but not frightened. They usually hold a stance by their property and make a big barking show. Sometimes their tails are even wagging, belying their pretended fierceness. I usually keep moving and get out of their territory as quickly as I can without seeming like I'm running away.
This dog's fierceness had me more worried than usual, and my worry increased when a few steps later a large black dog rushed out of the driveway to join the smaller one. This dog's barking was just as intense and fierce, and it galloped towards me, crossing the street. I immediately froze and avoided making eye contact. I hoped that by being still and quiet the dogs would stop seeing me as a threat, lose interest and go back to their driveway so I could move quietly on my way. Instead, they came closer and started growling deep in their throats. No one from the house they belong to heard and called them back, and I started to feel more than worried.
Years ago when I used to bicycle through a neighborhood infested with roaming dogs and dog packs I would use a deep commanding voice and command them to 'go home'. This often defused their aggression. One time, however, a woman was walking a really big black dog off leash and it came after me. My 'go home!' seemed to incite more aggression in the dog and it circled around the bike as I kept peddling and lunged up, biting me on the thigh, (which I found later broke the skin in one spot). I stopped and froze and it kept leaping up and trying to bite me until the owner got there to control it.
What was worrying me was that these dogs were sounding and acting like the dog that bit me. There was a level of aggression that seemed likely to escalate into an attack if I did anything to excite them further. I didn't dare move because when I did initially they were more aggressive. The only thing I could think to do was pray, and I did that with real intensity, asking for someone to come along and help me. As I did the smaller dog started moving behind me, a typical pack hunting behavior. That worried me even more. Within less than half a minute I could hear a car coming from behind me in the far lane to where I was walking. I immediately visualized that the dogs would be distracted from me by the car coming through and that I might be able to move away while they dealt with that. Sure enough, even though the car had to stop for the dogs in the road, they started moving away from me and to the other side of the road. As the car moved up beside me, I started walking as quickly as I could to take advantage of it while it was there.
Then the young man driving asked, "Are you OK?" I answered, "Well, they ARE very aggressive!". He said, "I'll stay between you and them until you can get farther down the road." I thanked him and told him I'd been praying someone would come along and help me and started walking quickly away, getting up on the sidewalk that starts right there by the housing development entrance that has no houses in it yet. The car moved further along then, and I looked back and saw the dogs were staying in the road by their driveway, sniffing the ground where I had been standing. I indicated that I was fine, and the car went on its way.
I've given it some thought since then. Those dogs have often barked at me from behind their fence but they've never been loose before. They might never be again, but since they might be and since I'm not going to stop walking on my road. Mace was suggested to me, and I considered how I might have used my walking poles to defend myself, but I realized that doing anything aggressive or hurtful to the dogs would likely increase their view of me as a threat to be attacked more aggressively. Since I still want to be able to walk on my road, I don't want to become more of an enemy to the dogs. So, I decided to get some dog treats and carry a few with me when I walk. Then if the dogs threaten I can distract them with treats and even perhaps become known as a source of good things and less likely to be attacked. Then again, maybe they will never be loose again, and I'll be out my three and a half bucks and have an un-needed box of dog biscuits gathering dust in my pantry, but hey, it feels better to be prepared...
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