Dogs, Dogs and more Dogs!

Remember how I said in my first post that I live in rural Kansas? What that really means is that I live in a teeny tiny town of 300 or so people. Do you know what also lives in my town? Dogs. I'm starting to think they outnumber the people. Some of you might ask why I care. They are in pens or on leashes, right? Ha! Towns with leash laws are for wimps. We're Elk Citians!!! We don't need no stinkin' leashes! Our dogs get to enjoy freedom to go anywhere they want and do anything they want. Ahhh, to be an Elk City dog. They are probably the envy  of dogs all over the world.

Ok, since we've established there are lots of dogs and they just run wild, you might still be wondering why on earth I care. Well, remember that thing about me being a runner? That doesn't always mix well with dogs. The most annoying dog I encounter almost daily lives just a few houses down from me. You know what? He's actually in a fence! He barks though. A lot. Sometimes I run at night so I have to run where the streetlights are. That might mean I pass the same house more than once. This dog barks every single time. One night I ran by 5 times. He barked every single time. I'm sure his owners are my biggest fans. I wonder if they would be interested in sponsoring me? Maybe paying some of my entry fees?

My true nemesis is a little black dog. I've been running past his house for several months now. Oh, and for the record, I don't know what the actual gender of these dogs is. I assume male because, well, most males are annoying (Rick, if you're reading this I don't mean you. You never annoy me. Things are sunshine and roses with us all the time!) Anyway, back to the dog. He doesn't just bark at me every time I go past, he chases me. And tries to bite me. He's little though, so I sort of punt him like a football and he goes away. Until the next time I run by. Depending on my route or the length of my run, that might only be 10 minutes away. But you know what? The little furball chases me, barks, tries to bite me all over again. He never learns.

My most interesting dog encounter happened a few weeks ago. I was running along, having a great run when a huge pack of dogs run out of a yard barking at me. By huge pack I mean 3 or 4. But it seemed like 15. I stopped running and sort of stood there. Oh, look, a couple of them are friendly! We played nice for a minute. Then one of them turns not so friendly. Thankfully the little boy that lives there came out and got them. I told him I'd be back by in about 15 minutes so hopefully the dogs wouldn't be out. As I'm running back the little boy is down at the creek fishing (how cute is that?). I stopped and asked if the one dog was mean. He said "He's not mean, he's never bitten anyone." I thought, "oh good! I was just overreacting!" Then the little smartass says, "Of course, people don't usually run by our house either, so you never know." Thanks kid.

Just so you don't think all Elk City dog owners are bad, there are plenty of nice ones. Sometimes they join me on my runs and I kind of like having the company. Other times they just want me to stop and pet them and go on my way. I'm sure I will have many more interesting dog encounters as I continue running. Unfortunately for my followers, you will probably have to keep hearing about them.

~Mel