The Dangers of Frolicking with Feral Dogs

Well, it was bound to happen. I didn’t trust Meadow when we initially adopted her, warning Nick, “You know, even though she acts so submissive, she was wild and she could bite, so be careful how you handle her.”

Of course, Nick scoffed at my concerns that little Miss Meadow could ever hurt me. After all, I was afraid of Leah when we first adopted her. I remember the day she stood on her hind legs, pinned me to the fence, and stared down at me, her open mouth looming inches from my face.

Terrified, I screamed for help, but by the time Nick responded to my calls, I was already being mauled – by Leah’s lengthy tongue.

And then there was the time I was afraid of Toby a few winters ago. Yes, of TOBY. He was jumping up and nipping at my hands while in the yard. Sometimes, quite violently. When I realized he had mistaken my new puffy blue gloves for a dog toy, I certainly felt quite foolish.

Once I swapped back to my old gloves, Toby stopped ‘attacking’ me.

But, dogs are animals; and you just never now. And tonight, one of them finally ‘got’ me - just not with their teeth. Actually, it was my own stupid fault. When a dog who’s dragging a long line runs around you, and then takes off at full speed across the yard, you should leap out of the way.

I tried, but I’m a bit slow.

Next thing I know, I’m sitting on the ground, in stunned silence. Did I break anything? If I did, how am I gonna get help? How’re they gonna get in the yard with Leah? What about poor Meadow, won’t she be scared?

As I devised a scheme to scream for my neighbor and have him dial Nick at work, I realized I wasn’t as bad off as I thought. Sure, the back of my leg has a welt on it where the rope wrapped around it and wrenched me off my feet. But it didn’t bleed. And yes, my wrist is killing me from breaking my fall with it. But I’m typing this, aren’t I?

On that note, I think I’m going to get some ice….and while I’m at it, I’m going to have to start working on a way to save for better, safer fencing faster than waiting for next year’s tax returns, so that Meadow can ditch that dangerous lead - before someone really gets hurt.