A street scene in San Fran
STTTTTTOOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPP; I barely heard the shout as a woman jumped in front of my car. We were scarcely up our street when I spotted her; luckily I had heard her as she was around a corner. As soon as I heard and saw her I spotted the reason why she had screamed, a dog. A small black fluff ball was running around the street. I had no idea if it was hers or a stray; as it darted around my car. But it quickly became clear that it was her dog. The dog was charging around the street; running everywhere except into her arms. She called and called to no avail. The dog had no intention of going to her.
At one point the dog ran over to my car and bark at me through the window. I'd started a dialogue with the owner and he didn't like it. I thought that she was just going to pick him up; but that was not happening. I said to her "I can help," and I pulled my xterra over. I hopped out and the little dog let me have it. Hopping to me while screaming that he didn't appreciate my presence I dropped to the ground. I had been on my way to the park so I had my walking pouch on filled with treats. I grabbed one of the chicken strips out of the pouch and tossed it to him. He gobbled it down in a heartbeat.
Then his owner was screaming again, a car was coming down the road in the opposite direction. The driver also stopped and then pulled over. A young boy jumped out of the car and bent down immediately trying to coax the dog to him. The little dog went to him right away, he was within arms reach. Obviously the dog loved children, he had a way with the dog that as an adult I could not achieve. As the boy reached the dog flew back avoiding his grasp. The owner then said "my son is coming, he is the only one who can get the dog." Ahhh, the boy and his dog connection.
Throwing more food at him he came closer and closer. Using my best high and happy voice he came within grabbing range. I got as low as I could go; thinking I might just get run over myself. On my hands and knees bent down as small as I could in the middle of the road, hmmmmmmmmm. As I moved my arm out he made a run for it. His Mom tried to grab him on the way by and he deeked out of her way. The young boy who was about 7 years old I'm guessing then said "why is he not coming to you?" to the owner. "I don't know," she replied. This is always perplexing to me as well. He'd obviously had no training and the owner had a negative association to herself. The dog stayed clearly out of her reach, knowing full well that being caught meant the end of his fun.
The woman had told me as I got out of my xterra that this chase was going on an hour. "An hour?" I thought to myself. So we all did our best to try to catch this little bugger without success. At that point the little boy tried again, he got close and then made a grab for the dog. I have to say that it was not a smart move but a very brave one. He grabbed the dog by the waist and the dog lashed around to snap. He didn't bite, he just let out a shriek and a snap and the boy let go. I was surprised as this had not deterred the little boy from helping further.
As this continued I went back to my xterra to grab a leash, perhaps this dog could be roped like a bull. Before I even got to my vehicle the woman had him. I hadn't seen how it happened but she'd grabbed him somehow. Finally in her arms; she held tight and head for home immediately all the while shouting thanks to us. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she called out. This could have been a much different scenario; she could have been carrying home a very seriously injured or dead dog. It was a happy ending to a very stressful situation.
We both went back to our vehicles to continue on with our day. I was impressed with that little boy; I wish that I had gotten him name and thanked him for his attempts to catch the dog. The Dad and I just smiled at each other and got into our cars. Heading up the street to the park the owner was waving and still thanking me. I can only imagine the adrenaline she had rushing through her. Time to call a trainer.
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