Dogs!

Warning: rant approaching

I'm 5k into an easy 10k run on the trails along the river. I see a woman and a dog off the trail by the river. I don't pay much attention, people (and dogs) are common. The dog comes running after me. I still don't pay much attention, dogs often do that. But in a rush it chases me down and bites me just below my waist. And as quick as it came, it was gone.

It hurt, but it didn't feel like there was much damage. It was more the unexpectedness and the shock.

I stopped and yelled at the lady: "Your f***ing dog just bit me!" (I apologize for swearing, but I was angry and full of adrenaline.)

She replied "I don't think so." What a bizarre response. She wasn't far away but she was behind trees and bushes so she couldn't have seen what happened. Either it was denial or wishful thinking. Of course, what she probably meant was that she didn't believe her dog would do that.

I replied that it had indeed bit me. She didn't say anything. No apology, no "are you ok". And worse, absolutely no reprimand or discipline to the dog. I could imagine her comforting it after the nasty man yelled at them.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not claiming it "attacked" me. This was a big full grown German Shepherd. If it had seriously wanted to attack me I have no doubt it would have done a lot more damage. I'm not sure if it saw me as play or prey or just interloper. I can't imagine how it could have felt threatened or defensive since I hadn't gone near them - it had to chase me down.

People tend to say things like "it was just excited". Honestly, I don't give a crap about your dog's state of mind. If I was playing with it and got it too excited and it nipped me, fair enough. But if I'm just passing by, your dog shouldn't bite me regardless of whether it's "excited" or "playful" or whatever euphemism you come up with. And the fact that it's "just a scratch" doesn't justify it either. What if it had been a child? What if it did decide to bite more seriously?

This was not a puppy, this was a large full grown German Shepherd. I'm sure having a big strong dog made the woman feel safe. It doesn't make me feel safe.

If you can't control your dog, maybe you shouldn't have one. At the very least, if your dog is so poorly trained it bites people passing by, I suggest you keep it on a leash. This wasn't even an off leash area. I gave up running in those areas because I got bitten several times.

I realize someone running seems to excite dogs, but that's not my fault. I try to stay away from them and I don't do anything to antagonize them. I guess I should get my exercise indoors in a gym while watching TV like a normal person. Maybe they'll allocate us oddballs a few small designated non-dog parks.

I got rabies vaccinations in case of dog bites in third world countries. I guess dogs are now a first world problem too.

I don't hate dogs. And I don't mean to be offensive to dog owners. I know lots of people with dogs. My family had dogs when I was growing up and I loved them. Back then dogs were mostly for families with kids. Now everyone has to have a dog, if not two or three, and often the bigger the better. Dog ownership is up roughly 30% in just the last 10 years, with multiple dog ownership growing even faster. There are about 100 million dogs in the US. It's almost become the exception not to have a dog. I'm not sure how much of it is fad or fashion, or whether there's some gap in our current psyche that dogs fill. Maybe people need a simple physical friend because they interact with their other 1000 friends through their phones, mediated by giant evil corporations. 

To add insult to injury, it messed up my run stats since my heart rate went through the roof and took quite a while to settle down. A good example of fight or flight response.

In case any other dog lovers are in denial that one of their beloved babies would do such a thing, here's some evidence. (The waist band of my pants protected me from the other half of the bite.) And yes, I'm pretty sure I'll live :-)