This is apparently what you get for getting an early start on the day. Usually Penny and I take a walk around 8 in the morning, and then I either head into work and she sleeps, or work from home and she sleeps. We take a 1 mile loop around the neighborhood, smile and say hi to the other walkers going the same loop the other way, enjoy the out of doors before it gets too hot to enjoy. It is typically uneventful, possibly a squirrel to chase or a blue skink, but calm.
This morning, we went out closer to 7:30, and we met the one mean, aggressive dog in the neighborhood, who also has somewhat incompetent owners. We were walking down one side of the street, and I saw an older couple walking what looked like an older black lab and a younger, stripey mutt walking toward us on the other side of the street. I raised a hand and said hi, as is customary in the neighborhood. The man responded in kind, but the younger dog started growling and making the weird, whiney noise some dogs make when they raise their hackles.
I saw the woman walking him stop and crouch down beside him, looking like she was holding him tightly. Penny was walking calmly, pretty much ignoring the dog, so we just kept walking. We've had a couple rescue dogs in the neighborhood whose owners do the same thing, where they stop, make the dog sit, and kinda sit with the dog until the other person passes by. Heck, I did it with Penny for a while when we first got her and she still had her street-dog nerves.
Just as we passed them on the other side, I glance over to see how the other dog is doing because he's still really growling, only to see him slip his choke collar and come at Penny. His owner starts screaming at me to "pick her up!", I'm trying to put myself between the dog and Penny while pulling Penny to me so I can pick her up (the other dog was maybe three times her size), so poor Penny ends up getting choked herself until I finally get her up in my arms and the owners come over to grab the dog. The man of course still had to hold onto the black dog, who wasn't too happy by this point, so as quickly as I can I just walk away, still carrying Penny.
I put her down about half a block down when I couldn't see them anymore. I was shaking, and Penny was coughing a little, but by the time we were half way around the loop, she was acting like nothing happened, and I was still shaking. I checked her out when we got home to make she wasn't hurt. I got a few scratches through my clothes that didn't break the skin, but we were both basically unhurt, somehow.
Penny's been quieter today, and a little skittish, and I temporarily lost the ability to do basic math (I tried to pay a $34 tab with three twenties. I had to stare at the twenty the cashier was trying to hand back to me for a good 30 seconds before I comprehended why she was trying to give my money back). I wish that I had gotten the name of the owners, but that "run away from the dog trying to bite you and your dog" instinct is seriously strong. I can probably find out from the other walkers if I really want to, but in the meantime I got a good harness with a handle so if we run into them again, I can easily scoop Penny up without choking her.
Mostly, at this point in the day, I wish that dog owners wouldn't buy choke collars. They are very hard to use correctly and very very easy to use incorrectly. On a dog that is already borderline aggressive, if you use it on them everytime they see person and growl, you are teaching them that new person = getting choked. And of course if you release the tension on it, they can easily get out of it, as this dog did.
We won't be taking walks at 7:30 anymore, I think.
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