When I was a child, I lived down the street from a loud, fierce, barking dog. The dog was tied to a well anchored dog house that sat in the backyard of a house just 3 lots down from my own. Whenever anyone or anything came within sight of the vicious dog, it would begin to bark, growl, and foam at the mouth while running full speed toward the offending intruder. When the dog reached the end of the chain, you could hear a loud thump and the barking would stop for a second while the dog collected himself and started the mad attack all over again. Once the dog started on his aborted attacks, he would keep it up for several minutes – even in the absence of the distraction that started him up. All of the kids in the neighborhood were frightened by the beast and we kept our distance from him. I’m sure the dog was the source of several childhood nightmares.
One day, several of us were walking down the street on our way to the movies. As we came in sight of the dog, the sound of barks, growls and thumps started up. We walked on by the house and tried to talk of other things. I’m not sure what it was – an unexpected early silence or the absence of a thump at the end of the barking assault – but suddenly we all realized that the beast was loose. A fraction of a second later we saw the dog running around the corner of the house, dragging a section of chain, and heading straight toward us.
I ran to nearby tree and pulled myself up on a low branch. My friend, Terry, jumped under the porch of the house we were in front of at the time. Some of the kids tried to hide behind trees and bushes . . . but some of the younger children just froze. They stood there on the sidewalk too frightened to move as the dog ran menacingly toward them.
It was all over in a matter of seconds. The dog ran straight down the sidewalk, through the middle of the scattered children, down the street and over the hill. It was as if he never even noticed us. He was still barking when he ran out of sight.
That was over 40 years ago and I don’t remember if the dog ever returned to his post behind our neighbor’s house or not. But I still remember that day when the dog ran through the middle of our group. And whenever I think about that event, I wonder where that dog was going.
