Thursday, November 8, 2007

A Tale of Errant Wildlife - Part 1 - Attack of the Killer Yorkie

It is another amazing day here in Calgary - sunny and 6 deg C. I suited up in a pair of capri pants and a long sleeve top and headed out for a run over lunch. Claire, believe it or not, I actually felt overdressed at times out there today! I was aiming for 4 miles, but I didn't feel like running the exact same route I ran yesterday so I hit the pathway by the river, crossed over Prince's Island Park and ran up the hill to McHugh Bluff where I go for most of my hill training. Instead of running hill repeats I opted to continue running along the bluff. I marvelled at the sight of the downtown buildings sparkling in the sunlight and the snowy Rockies off in the distance. It was amazing. I followed the path along until I hit SAIT (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology), then start running along the sidewalk towards downtown into trendy Kensington until it met up with the river pathway. I followed the pathway for a bit, trying to get a bit of extra mileage in because I wasn't ready to head back yet.
I pass a few runners and just ahead I see a lady out walking these two tiny little fur balls. One looks like a Yorkie and I can't tell on the other one - all I can say for sure was that this other little one was wearing one of those vet lampshades that indicates a recent surgery or an attempt to stop vigorous scratching or licking of some spot. Anyhow...I digress... As I run past these two little dogs the Yorkie decides pull on his retractable leash, bare his teeth and charges and growls at me. I know...he's just a little thing... But seriously, as a dog owner I don't let my dogs charge at runners, and small or not, this guy has teeth. And this also pinpoints another reason why those retractable leashes are a bad idea, because you don't have the best control of your dog. Anyhow....no big deal really so I keep running on, across the 14th Street bridge and back towards the pathway. Lo and behold under the 10th Street bridge I meet up with the lady and her two dogs again, and again the little tiger snarls and charges for my ankles. Sheesh. Luckily I come out sans bite marks on the second encounter and I keep running for the office. I run all the way to the place with good donairs and baklava across from my building and come out with 5.14 miles for the day. And it felt great the whole way.
***Thanks to Google pictures for the above shot of an exceedingly cute (and I'm sure very friendly) Yorkshire terrier.***

2 comments:

DGB said...

Thanks for the treat yesterday! YUM!

Danielle said...

I so know what you mean about those leashes and dogs...Owners need to take responsibility for their dogs, but usually they are clueless I find.