I have really been enjoying my runs with the dog. She is a willing and able partner and loves it as well. Yesterday was the last time we will probably run together. Running through a neighborhood street a pit bull saw us, broke his lead (I believe he was tied to a screen door with clothesline) and attacked Fig. The good news is she is fine, the running has paid off, the bad news is I don’t know if I can do it again without feeling a paranoid pit of fear in my stomach. If I wasn’t nervous before about taking her out, I certainly am now.

When the dog attacked us (and I don’t feel it is too strong a word, we were attacked) Fig cowered behind me and managed to back out of her harness somehow. The dog tackled her at the same time as she got free and she was off. As scared as I was having her off the leash, I was a just a little proud to see her outrun that big pit. After outrunning the dog and myself for three blocks, the pit was distracted by several other barking dogs and Fig got away. She was nowhere to be seen, but st least she was alive.

I ran to the nearby dog park hoping she may have gone back there but she hadn’t. So I headed home stopping to yell for her at corner. I was a wreck. It was rush hour and their were plenty of busy streets. How was my frightened dog going to make it through that? I got home with no fig to find Ruthann in the front yard with the geese. We went out in the car to look for her. No luck. I got out at the dog park to look around and enlist the help of the Portland dog community. Several kind people joined the search. At this point I headed back towards home and focused on the area by one of the busy streets, my voice was going horse from yelling. I got back home for a second time with no Fig. The car was still gone but the gate was closed so I knew Ruthann had been home. I ran inside and saw a voicemail on the phone. Someone had found her! Ruthann had been home before me as I saw the number (or parts of it!) nervously scrawled on an envelope.

The people had seen her running on Holgate a busy local thoroughfare. Somehow they had managed to trap her. I actually think someone who doesn’t know her might have a better chance of catching her as they wouldn’t worry about being gentle and could just grab her. They did and we got little Fig back whose running days where now over. I am so sad about that, but even more sad that I can no longer feel safe with taking her out (not that I ever did anyway). My first thought was to get back on that horse and maybe someday I’ll be able to do so, but not now. I am just so glad she is safe.

I looked back at my watch stats and saw that I had set a new maximum heart rate of 190, one over my previous high of 189 I had hit in one of my hill workouts. Wow.

This morning I sent a letter to a state senator who introduced a bill to ban pit bulls, I wanted to find out what had happened with the bill. Nothing I imagine, as its a konstitutional write to own a pit bull! Just like it is my right to walk down the street without being mauled.