Last summer I was walking Mocha, on her leash, in the field area between the townhouses in our development and the single family houses. A family was about a hundred yards away with their dog - off leash. The dog spots us and comes racing towards us. No biggie - dogs do that. He was much smaller than Mocha and after the customary sniffing, he suddenly jumped at her and started biting! I was trying to pull Mocha away but it was on! The owner ran up full of apologies and we went on our way. The next week, we were back in the field - and so was the guy and his dog. Again off leash. He saw us coming and tried to grab his dog but it took off and was running our way. This time, I gave Mocha lots of slack - she was going to defend herself. Sure enough, after a few sniffs, that dog went nuts trying to bite Mocha's neck! She is so big and hairy that he did no damage and pretty quickly, the owner was there pulling it off Mocha. But I was mad! One time is forgivable - two times and you have a pattern. I told the guy he better get control of his dog and get it on a leash like the law requires. He was full of apologies again and off we went. I bought a container of pepper spray and keep it on the leash now and I talked to a friend who lives in the townhouses and knows the owner - I told him to tell the guy that next time, the dog is getting sprayed and I am calling the police.
When I got in the neighborhood yesterday, there were a lot of, "Lost Cat" posters put up on the light poles. I did my daily review of the game cam footage and saw a cat strolling by that looked a lot like the cat in the posters. So I called the number and got the owner's email address and sent him some pictures and videos from the cam. He confirmed it was his cat. He said he would come over with some cat food and I grabbed my live animal trap to set out. We met in the driveway and headed out back. As we were walking, he asked me if I was the guy that walked my dog in the field? I said, yes I was and he said he was the guy with the "crazy dog." Well, how about that?! Of all people to have lost their cats... It was awkward for a moment or two but we shook hands and went about our business of setting the trap while he called for it. (The story has a happy ending - the cat showed up on camera again last night but avoided the trap and made its way home safe and sound.)
The older I get, the smaller the world becomes....
