Yesterday while my two kids napped I needed to head over to the security guard at the front gate. As I walk to the five short blocks there I was surprised to find someone following me. Surprised and scared.
It was a huge black and white dog with two different colored eyes. It was trotting up behind me rather quickly. Immediately I got a little worried. Just a few days earlier the neighbors dog had come out of the house out-of-control, looking it seemed, to attack someone. I’m not a dog person, so I really don’t know how to read these animals. I didn’t know what to make of this dog following me but I didn’t like it.
I kept walking and it kept following me. So I turned around and tried to be the alpha= put my hand out and said “no!” He kept following me and even though he was just trotting playfully, I still didn’t like it. I tried telling him to go away in Spanish.
I got to the front security guard and did the business I needed to do there. He looked at the dog right next to me and I told him in Spanish this dog isn’t mine. He got up and made a little whistle and kind of pointed to the gate to try to tell the dog to leave. But the dog trotted a little in the opposite direction and the guard kind of gave up. Okay. Thanks.
I walked home and try to lose the dog but he kept on following me. I still felt rather uncomfortable because I didn’t know what he was planning on doing. Was he going to bite me? I had no idea if he had a disease. I scampered down the last bit of my block and into my house, shutting the door quickly behind me. I thought that I had lost him finally.
Yeah right.
He sat on our stoop the rest of the whole damn day. I nicknamed him Owen. After Buck Owens. Because that was the first name that popped in my head.
He was parked here until nightfall
Now, my kids absolutely hate dogs. They really don’t like them at all. So I didn’t want this thing hanging outside of our house. I opened the door a few times to tell it to leave but he just kinda looked at me. My kids began to get worried that he would come into the house, and when we got into the car for an errand we didn’t open the garage door until we were all in the car.
He was probably a nice dog and probably just very thirsty because it was over ninety degrees out. This however was not a strong enough emotion I guess, to actually prompt me to do something to help him. I was kind of stuck in a hard spot. My kids are terrified of dogs, I had no idea what the history of this dog was, there’s really no authority to come and get stray dogs in Puerto Rico I don’t think, but I knew he probably was just looking for some food and water. In any case, of course I snapped a few photos. By the next morning he was gone. Maybe if I was more of an animal person I would’ve tried to help him out. But I’m not. I have to think of my kids first. I’m glad he’s gone.
I’d have reacted the same way. Feed him and he’s yours. I was afraid of dogs when I was little, but I always thought it was a sensible way to feel about them. They can be quite aggressive and unpredictable, depending on how well trained they are and whether their owner is nearby. You might want to get advice from this organization: http://www.villamichelle.net/actividades.htm – a local Mayaguez animal shelter.
Oh man, that’s a tough one.
Most of the dogs here are harmless, just hungry. There is an over population problem, they even did a documentary concerning the problem here. Its here on YT if you want to check it out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWkXtxXq84M It’s pretty depressing, tbh. I find that most of the dogs that are aggressive are “owned” and raised to be guard dogs.