Hood Dogs
I’d like to say something brilliant, witty, maybe even life-changing but I’m at the beginning of a headache from the quartet of Hood Dogs howling in harmony at this very moment.
The incessant barking.
Make. It. Stop. And thank you kindly.~
Speaking of dogs and The Hood, I have stories, right here in me pocket. Stories that explain why one-by-one I have fewer places to go and why I feel there’s a secret plan to push me out of The Hood.
I was walking down the sidewalk at the beach one day after finishing my workout. I was all blissed out from the endorphin rush and in my happy place when I see a large dog running loose with no owner in sight. Whoa. Most Hood dogs are not pets, they are protection. This is made obvious when you see a single female walking THREE pit bulls adorned with collars and body harnesses that are lined with 1” metal spikes.
It's a message that quietly says, "Do not fuck with me. and Have a nice day because I surely will!"
They should've told me I needed a big studded dog to live here. Instead I am armed with an indoor cat that meditates and doesn't even wear a flea collar.
I slowed down to see what the dog was going to do and hoped it would disappear into the neighborHood so me and my Zen-like self can get back to the car. But of course, it doesn’t because we need another adventure or someone thought my life wasn’t interesting enough or this is The End, brace yourself. It sees me and starts slowly approaching from about 50 feet away.
Shit.
My heart started pounding out my chest and my mind was trying to figure out if this was actually happening. I was seriously starting to get scared. The dog kept creeping towards me in a stalking prey kind of way and me, who was just about as big as the dog, felt smaller than an insect looking for a rock to hide under. Everything in me was telling me this was not good.
All I had on me was my keys and a cell phone so I called the Police, told them my location and what was happening. I was on the side of a very wide main road so I figured if the dog attacks at least someone will see it and if I’m lucky, my fellow Hoodies will help me out. Just then I see a very pregnant woman with a man walking on the other side of the street. The dog got distracted and decided to make them the new victims by doing the same slow stalking. The man was trying to protect the woman and had nothing more than sticks and stones to throw at the dog to try to ward it off. When I was sure the dog couldn’t see me I jumped up over the sand dunes, grabbed a big stick, and ran my Olympic ass down the beach. Scared out of my mind and with tears falling down my face all I could think of was that I’m not fucking tough enough for this. Fucking. town.
I feared that, what if this dog figures out where I went and comes sprinting down the beach where no one can see me because the sand dunes block the view? What then? Me and my Super Hero self carrying big stick. Who am I kidding.
But he didn’t. I got to my car, wiped off my face and headed back to see if the couple was ok. They were gone but the dog was still running loose and up ahead I saw two women walking towards me with their Paris Hilton show dogs. They clearly had to be visiting from a land far away. That's called SNACK TIME around these parts. They were looking at each other, immersed in conversation, with no clue what was going on, so I dutifully drove up to warn them and they immediately turned around and thanked me.
Armed with my car, I was now the stalker and funny how the Universe changes when you change your attitude. I was on a mission. Lara Croft here, at your service. I tracked the dog, keeping my eyes on its’ every move and it retreated, hiding in the sea grass on the dunes. I warned each person passing by including a woman walking a very large dog while I waited for the Police. This woman went over to a house and got a leash. I guess she was going to try to catch it. Brave woman.
The Police never did show up, at least not when I was there. They’ve got more important things to do here than save my life. Just when you think you won’t escape your current situation, distractions happen, and in that small window of time you take a chance, run like hell, cry along the way if you need to and come out on top - even if you need a stick, a light saber, a sword or a phone call to help you along with way.
There's a Super Hero within all of us.
The incessant barking.
Make. It. Stop. And thank you kindly.~
Speaking of dogs and The Hood, I have stories, right here in me pocket. Stories that explain why one-by-one I have fewer places to go and why I feel there’s a secret plan to push me out of The Hood.
I was walking down the sidewalk at the beach one day after finishing my workout. I was all blissed out from the endorphin rush and in my happy place when I see a large dog running loose with no owner in sight. Whoa. Most Hood dogs are not pets, they are protection. This is made obvious when you see a single female walking THREE pit bulls adorned with collars and body harnesses that are lined with 1” metal spikes.
It's a message that quietly says, "Do not fuck with me. and Have a nice day because I surely will!"
They should've told me I needed a big studded dog to live here. Instead I am armed with an indoor cat that meditates and doesn't even wear a flea collar.
I slowed down to see what the dog was going to do and hoped it would disappear into the neighborHood so me and my Zen-like self can get back to the car. But of course, it doesn’t because we need another adventure or someone thought my life wasn’t interesting enough or this is The End, brace yourself. It sees me and starts slowly approaching from about 50 feet away.
Shit.
My heart started pounding out my chest and my mind was trying to figure out if this was actually happening. I was seriously starting to get scared. The dog kept creeping towards me in a stalking prey kind of way and me, who was just about as big as the dog, felt smaller than an insect looking for a rock to hide under. Everything in me was telling me this was not good.
All I had on me was my keys and a cell phone so I called the Police, told them my location and what was happening. I was on the side of a very wide main road so I figured if the dog attacks at least someone will see it and if I’m lucky, my fellow Hoodies will help me out. Just then I see a very pregnant woman with a man walking on the other side of the street. The dog got distracted and decided to make them the new victims by doing the same slow stalking. The man was trying to protect the woman and had nothing more than sticks and stones to throw at the dog to try to ward it off. When I was sure the dog couldn’t see me I jumped up over the sand dunes, grabbed a big stick, and ran my Olympic ass down the beach. Scared out of my mind and with tears falling down my face all I could think of was that I’m not fucking tough enough for this. Fucking. town.
I feared that, what if this dog figures out where I went and comes sprinting down the beach where no one can see me because the sand dunes block the view? What then? Me and my Super Hero self carrying big stick. Who am I kidding.
But he didn’t. I got to my car, wiped off my face and headed back to see if the couple was ok. They were gone but the dog was still running loose and up ahead I saw two women walking towards me with their Paris Hilton show dogs. They clearly had to be visiting from a land far away. That's called SNACK TIME around these parts. They were looking at each other, immersed in conversation, with no clue what was going on, so I dutifully drove up to warn them and they immediately turned around and thanked me.
Armed with my car, I was now the stalker and funny how the Universe changes when you change your attitude. I was on a mission. Lara Croft here, at your service. I tracked the dog, keeping my eyes on its’ every move and it retreated, hiding in the sea grass on the dunes. I warned each person passing by including a woman walking a very large dog while I waited for the Police. This woman went over to a house and got a leash. I guess she was going to try to catch it. Brave woman.
The Police never did show up, at least not when I was there. They’ve got more important things to do here than save my life. Just when you think you won’t escape your current situation, distractions happen, and in that small window of time you take a chance, run like hell, cry along the way if you need to and come out on top - even if you need a stick, a light saber, a sword or a phone call to help you along with way.
There's a Super Hero within all of us.
Comments
And now I can take a breath, 'cuz the entire time I was reading, I was HOLDING my breath! We all need to know a superhero is in our circle of friends!
You need to move to safer grounds.
I can now say I have STREET SMARTS!