This morning I ran a 7-mile loop through Weston. Around mile 2 a barking dog came at me. It was an overweight Golden Retriever so I wasn’t too alarmed. Still, it’s always annoying when any dog comes at you while you’re running because you never know if it’s going to stop or take a chunk out of your leg. I slowed down, put my hand out, and said “nice doggy” which of course always tames even the most aggressive dog. Anyway, this dog didn’t bite me (bonus!) and I expected it to just go back to wherever it came from. But no, Rover decided to follow me.

I stopped, thinking that would end the game, but again he hung around. I picked up a stick and threw it in the opposite direction. He ran for it but quickly returned – without the stick (some retriever). About a half-mile later I made a turn onto a busy road. Even that didn’t deter my new friend. He followed me the rest of the way, for 5 miles and almost 45 minutes.

In the beginning Rover ran in front of me, so I tried to fake him out at the turns only to have him catch up once he noticed I had changed directions. After about 2 miles he began to slow down. He was running behind me now occasionally sprinting to catch up and was panting heavily. When this whole thing started I was annoyed because I knew people would think Rover was my dog and they’d get mad at me because he wasn’t on a leash, sometimes ran in the middle of the road, and harassed a couple of other dogs. Toward the end, I was concerned he was going to keel over or get hit. I started telling him to get out of the road and back on the sidewalk. Surprisingly he obeyed.

When we reached Weston Town Hall, the rain was coming down in buckets. I paced back and forth under the overhang on the front steps to get out of the rain and to cool down. Rover followed me back and forth. I asked a woman who was walking in if there was some way to contact animal control because this dog wasn’t mine. “Oh, he probably lives in the neighborhood,” she hastily replied, eager to get out of the rain.

I wasn’t sure what to do, but I had to get to work. So I threw my wet outer layer into the trunk and faked Rover with a simulated stick toss so I could get into my car without him. I felt bad leaving the dog panting in the pouring rain, but who knows, maybe I’ll see him again next Wednesday.

Last Modified : February 6th, 2008 Filed under : training Navigate : Previous post / Next post