With the stress of a full course load in school and being in my senior year of college, I needed a fun, flexible, easy job that would not take away too much time from my school work. This job ended up to be dog walking.
I know, I know....this is not a serious job in the least and any imbecile can do it, but on one of my Thursday walks, it got real scary real fast.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I walk a Chocolate Lab puppy, a Chocolate Lab 2-year-old, an older Yellow Lab, a Beagle and an Akita. All of the above are good dogs, but not very well-trained. The Akita was the source of a major problem on Thursday which ended up in me refusing to even see this dog again.
Let me start from the beginning...
About two minutes into the walk with the Akita, we saw another dog coming. The owner of the Akita had told me that he doesn't really get along with other dogs, so, knowing that, I crossed the street to get away from the other dog.
Terror overcame all involved when the Akita dragged me across the street (thank God no cars were coming or I would have been hit) and began attacking this dog.
Never having been in this situation before and not knowing what to do, I did my best to pull the dog away from the other. When this didn't work, I had to physically put myself in between the two dogs to stop the Akita from injuring the other dog.
Thankfully, this worked and I got the two dogs to separate. Also thankfully, the dog that was attacked by this asshole was not hurt. I say asshole not because I hate dogs or I'm mad or anything. I call him this because he really is one. This dog is dangerous, stubborn and abusive. I am, without a doubt, a dog-lover, but with dog is horrible.
After apologizing to the owner of the attacked dog and explaining that he is not my dog and I just walk him, I contacted my boss saying that I refuse to walk him anymore. This situation should never have happened and it is completely unacceptable.
She apologized all over herself and told me that my safety is her number one priority and to not worry about walking him ever again. I was very grateful for her response because it could have gone a negative way as well.
So what do I do now? I'm shook up, scared and angry that this happened. Can I be upset with the owner? I can't be sure if it was her fault that this happened.
I want to stress how important it is to train your dogs. While they may appear fine to you, you never know what could happen when they are out in public or when you're not around.
I know that not all dogs are like this and most of them are lovable and get along with other dogs well. My goal in writing this story is to make people aware of the potential dangers of not training your dog. I hope my scary experience can help others with their dogs.
