A cautionary tale – I’m just thankful Marcus has the deep bond with me he does!
Out for our usual evening walk last night. He can be reactive to some dogs so I never ever let strange dogs approach him or vice versa unless both humans agree etc. 3 second rule and all that!
Out of the blue from across the road comes a white Staffy (bigger than Marcus) totally off lead with no humans around. He comes charging at Marcus and freaks us both out.
Marcus growls and is petrified / I end up kicking the Staffy hard to get him away from Marcus. I pick Marcus up and carry him across the road to safety. No physical harm to either of us.
A car pulls up and people get out / it turns out the same thing happened to their pooch a few minutes earlier.
Marcus is still very frightened – in all the confusion I end up standing on one of his paws. He goes into complete melt down and panics and actually manages to get out of his double strap harness. The harness is a good fit but the bugger still got out.
He gets about 4 foot away from me / no lead attached – and then he just stops and looks at me. He’s in complete flight mode but looks to me for guidance! We are on the pathway of the main road into the village / total blind corner if he had decided to run that way.
I get down on the floor and just call him / he comes straight to me and I hold him like it’s the last thing I ever do. Harness back on and he’s safely in my arms as I call for someone to bring the car round to get us.
The Staffy vanishes. I end up finding the owner who has a right go at me. Apparently the lead broke / from what I saw of the lead it didn’t look strong enough to hold a dog that size. Maybe I’m wrong but don’t people inspect their leads regularly for damage?
Apparently the dog is friendly and just wanted to play. I don’t give a hoot what it wanted to do – no unwanted visitors in our space – end of! I will always advocate for Marcus and protect him!
It sunk into me a few hours after just how much that scenario could have changed for the worse!
Needless to say I haven’t left his side since it happened. His trust in me and the bond is not something I ever wish to test again!
Marcus and Dad are totally OK wuuffs
Marcus and dad 