Wednesday, April 27, 2005

"Dude" the Dog

I own a house in the Sierras. It's up in Gold Country. When I'm up there I like to take walks early in the morning. One of the pitfalls of this habit is that I often attract lost dogs that inevitable decide to follow me home. People up in these parts seem to let their hounds run free in the streets. This last weekend at the corner of Fir Drive and Hwy. 4, I encountered "Dude" the dog. "Dude", his collar indicating his name, is a young male, black and white Pit Bull. He likes to wait for cars to barely pass him before he chases their rear bumpers, each time nearly impaling himself. As he followed me home for about two miles, I watched him do this, each time I almost had heart failure. Finally we got home. I called his owner. His owner just told me to "put him back out on the street and eventually they would find each other." Realizing immediately that I was talking to one of the locals who believe in free range doggy maintenance, I called the SPCA. The SPCA told Mr. Local Yokel to get his dog or face a fine. After about forty five minutes the Local Yokel showed up to pick up the pooch. Yes, he drove a huge pick-up truck, yes he had many tattoos, and yes he had a mullet.

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