Ever since this big, bad bouvier bit me in the right buttock, I’m really scared of dogs. Whenever I see someone walking his or her dog, I quickly cross the street. So I was ‘not amused’ when I rounded the corner of the woods, and I saw a man walking not one, but five dogs. I’m all for desensitization therapy, where you face your fears by confronting what scares you, but I wasn’t ready for thĂs much fear.
I coughed loudly, to alert the owner to my presence, and he heard me. Unfortunately, so did one of his dogs who immediately came running towards me. Luckily the owner had him under control, because he called him back, and put him on his leash. Unfortunately a small, little poodle was still free and bounded enthusiastically up to me.
I feared he might bite my naked calves (I was wearing capri tights) so I did a sad imitation of an Irish River Dance. But then I realized: the dog might take this as an invite to bite me! And I said to myself: ‘Face the fear, face the fear’, and I took deep breaths, now trying to imitate the Statue of Liberty. Luckily the owner called the poodle, and I was free to on my way.
But it took a while for my heart rate to slow down, and enter ‘the zone’ once again…
