Greg and I took the girls on a walk yesterday evening. While returning home, we came across a stray dog that got pretty close to us and made me uncomfortable. He was barking and the hair on his back was standing up. We kept walking without acknowledging him so he stopped following us and went on his way.
After we got the girls in bed, I went on a run. Lucky me, that dog was still hanging around. As I turned a corner, he came up behind me barking with his hair standing up again. I was a little nervous, but I kept running and he backed off. Before coming home that same route (there was no other way for me to get back) I stopped to walk in case I needed to regain some energy if he decided to chase me. While walking, I opened the mace that I was carrying to make sure it worked. After all, I run with it in case I see a stray dog, but I never actually checked to make sure it worked. I sprayed it behind me, but I didn't factor in the wind and I inhaled a little bit of it. Let me just say, a little bit of mace goes a long way. After some coughing and sneezing, I was back on my run home. Yes, I felt like a moron. Come on, who sprays mace in their own face?!
I turned the last corner and I was in the home stretch ... and there he was. The dog. Right in the middle of the street. As soon as he saw me, he came at me full speed barking aggressively so I did what any normal person would do in that situation ... I got my mace ready and I braced for the attack. No, I didn't. I jumped my neighbors chain link fence. With my adrenaline rushing, I cleared it like I had jumped hurdles in high school. Well, not exactly, but I did make it over on my second try. The dog came up to the fence and continued to bark. My neighbor had just gone inside, but her back door was still open so I hollered at her. She came out and I told her what happened. We talked briefly and she let me go through her house and out her front door to finish my run home since the dog had continued on in the opposite direction.
What are the morals of this story:
- Always run with mace
- Never test your mace on a windy day
- Don't go on a run when you know there is a stray dog in the neighborhood
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