First of all I am going to start with advice. I usually give this last, but not today.
1. All dog owners should teach their pets a few basic commands and teach it over and over and over until they know that their pet will respond as if their lives depended on it. SIT - it saved me this morning!
2. Teach an emergency recall that your pet knows that you mean business. Practice this one with the best treat rewards possible: Mine is "ZOE HERE!" That saved me from being lost once, and it would have helped the owners with their runaway lab this morning. It would have saved my mom and me from major stress this morning, too.
Ok, so here is what happened. We just came out the front door, and I was on my leash and went to my favorite bush where I sniff and well you know.....piddle... in the morning. As I was mid-stream, so to speak, I was pounced on by this charging black lab. Mom grabbed his collar to separate him from me ( his name is Jack as we learned later). I pulled on my leach, jumped sideways and went to mom's other side as he kept pulling and jumping. She told me, "Zoe, SIT" and I did. I don't think I ever dropped my bottom so fast.
Mom was struggling to keep the lab from me; she could tell he was friendly because there was no aggression---he was just BIG and out of control!!! Then the trash collector stopped his truck, got out and offered to help us. He asked if we were okay . He took the lab by the collar and mom checked to see if I was hurt. I wasn't, but I was still shaking and scared. I was told to sit again and I did. Then he asked, if the lab was ours, when mom told him no, he let the collar go and the lab took off toward 60th Street which is busy in the morning because there is a grade school drop off there.
Then just as the lab took off, a boy and his dad came from around the far corner running down my street yelling "Jack, STOP" But, Jack just kept running. He turned the corner. He was chased by the boy and his dad. What they didn't see, but I did, was that Jack had also crossed the street and was already in the school parking lot; the boy and his dad were going the wrong direction!
My mom knew that Jack would probably come to me if we crossed the street and called to him. Guess what? Jack couldn't get to me fast enough. This time we knew he was coming, so we weren't scared. Mom grabbed his collar and started calling to the man and his son who were now a block away. They heard us and came back. The boy put Jack on a leash, and they started to walk home. We continued on our walk, a little shaken up, but glad that we did a good deed with Jack.
I sure hope that they teach Jack an emergency recall and also are more careful when they open a door since they knew that Jack was what the dad called a "bolter".
It all ended fine and I got a new Christmas harness. Here is the picture of me in it!
