what a morning I have had

So, I came in to work this morning and then left an hour later to bring my son home (he takes a class at the college and I bring him back to school afterward). On my way back to work, I saw three dogs come tearing down this huge front yard on a busy street. I pulled around the corner and by the time I had walked back around, they were standing in the road. Two had collars and one did not.

I called them out of the road, but the two with collars started barking at me. I always get nervous when dogs are defending their territory, so I went back around the corner to ring a neighbor's bell to see if they knew if all three dogs belonged at that house. I couldn't find anyone home. But the one dog without a collar was following me, while the other two stayed in what I assumed was their yard.

So I got a leash out of the car and got the one without a collar and put him in my car. Then I drove up the driveway of the house I think is theirs and saw that the back gate was open. The dogs were barking at me, so I called a friend who fosters and asked her what to do. She said since they weren't breeds that are known for aggression and guarding, I should get out and not act scared. So I did and it was obvious they wanted to play. I lured them back into the yard and shut the gate. I rang the bell but no one was home.

I debated for a long time about the third dog and I almost brought him back to my house. But I ended up putting him in the yard and they all seemed to know each other. Only one dog had a tag on his collar and that was just a rabies tag. I couldn't get close enough to read it, though, because he kept playing keep-away. The one without a collar started to go under the fence so I tried to block it off with some rocks.

I left a note in the door with my name and number. If the third dog is not theirs, hopefully they will call me. I will stop by on my way home to see if they are home yet and the dogs are still there.

Hmmmm. Now that I think about it, there was a line around a tree. I didn't think until just now that the one without a collar may dig out under the fence and therefore is usually tied and perhaps he slipped his collar and it is on the end of the line. I didn't go over and look. Crap. Now I am going to worry all afternoon.

Hopefully they are safe. They were all gorgeous dogs.

 

wow, what a morning, luckily the dogs are okay, i know what you mean about getting nervous approaching dogs. Dont worry, they are locked up and safe. A few years ago I found these 2 dogs on our busy road, one had a name tag, I got a hold of the owner and went to drop the dogs off and the girl says only one is hers :? but she knew the owner of the other and took it and said they like to get out an play

hopefully the people will call you either way

 

Im glad the dogs and yourself are safe but Ive got to admit....this bit made me cringe.....

Please dont ever underestimate any breed of dog, full breed or mixed, Ive seen first hand far too many people getting bitten for doing that....while there are some that have been bred for generations for their gaurding skills, any dog of any breed is capable of being territorally aggressive depending on their personality. You were right not to 'act' scared but Im sure you know that acting 'brave' and 'actually feeling' brave are two different things....and a dog that is territorial, fearful etc will pick up on that pretty quick. Please just keep that in mind if a situation similar to this happens again.

 

Oh, believe me - I always keep that in mind. That's why I drove the car all the way up the long driveway rather than trying to walk up to the house from the street. She just meant that more than likely their barking was just for show. I stood very close to the car and kept the door between me and them and I watched their body language. I called to them like I would if I wanted to play with my dogs and then their tails started wagging and one went into a play bow. It was fine after that. Although I never reached for them or anything like that.

If it had been a rottie or doberman or chow or something, I might never have got out of the car at all. Or at least I would have tried interacting from within the car with the window cracked open.