My New Running Friend

Ok, so loads of people encounter many dogs as they put in their daily miles. I have come across a few, and it sometimes scares the crap out of me! I see these big huge dogs bounding toward me only to stop a few feet from the road that I'm on and run along with me back and forth along an invisible line just barking like crazy to get to me. This is how I learned what an invisible fence was. Honestly, who thought of this concept? It's a pretty good idea, not having to actually put a fence around your entire yard just to keep your dog in, but it is scary as a passerby. And it turns out that there are a lot of people in my neighborhood that like these things.

I'm still very weary about dogs because I still occasionally come across a dog that isn't actually in a fence, but running loose instead. Take for example my new running friend Maggie. I was running along one day on my usual route, and here comes this great big black lab(compared to my 15 lb yorky lap dog). I immediately stopped and put my hands out for the dog to smell me. She took a little sniff but was just so energized and excited, she couldn't stop jumping up on me. I realized she wasn't much of a threat, so I started running again. She bound along me, getting ahead of me, only to find something to smell in the ditch and I would pass her, and then she would come flying up on me again. She ran along with me for about a mile, which is when I hit my turn around point, and she stuck with me for the mile back to her home area. I didn't want the dog to follow me home, so I stopped by one of the few houses that were in this area and asked if the dog belonged to them. The guy (who did not seem to like Maggie very much) said "Oh, that's Maggie. She's a really annoying dog that lives across the street." I said thank you and started toward the only house on the other side of the street. What the guy said really bothered me though, because Maggie wasn't annoying at all! She was energized and fun, yet submissive and she just seemed to need a good run every so often. She reminded me of a kid who had been stuck in school all day with no recess. Poor thing. So I went over to the house and knocked on the door, no answer. I just decided to run home, even if Maggie was gonna follow me. It was only about 3/4 of a mile to my house. I got home and Brian was outside. I told him I didn't know what to do with Maggie since she followed me home, but he told me not to worry because she is a black lab and those are very smart and she'd find her way home.

She did find her way home that night. I look out into the big cage with the dog igloo outside of that house each time I pass to see if Maggie is inside. I've only seen her once since then. Until last night that is. I was again running along my usual route and there was Maggie in the road again! I was the excited one this time! I said "Maggie! You gonna run with me today girl?" And there she was for the middle three miles of my run. I took her home, I stopped in front of her house and pointed to the yard and said, "Ok, go home now Maggie, we'll catch ya next time!" And there she bound up to the front door (ok so I think someone was inside calling for her).

I will now look forward to my runs on that route. I really like having that companion. Maybe if I ever see the owners outside, I'll ask if I can occasionally come and take Maggie out of her cage and let her come with me. Would a dog owner ever do that? Just let some stranger come and take their dog for a run and drop her back off when they were done? Only one way to find out. I'll keep you posted.