Saturday, May 14, 2011

More on the Neighborhood Dogs

The summer is here with a vengeance. We are at +35C every day. This means that I run the danger of having my blood pressure shoot up. This happened to me last summer and I was completely incapacitated (although not prevented from blogging) for almost six weeks. So this summer I'm trying to avoid a hypertensive episode by taking very good care of my health. One of the things I do is walking 10 miles a day. And, as usual, the nasty neighborhood dogs try to do all they can to scare innocent passersby away from the street.

Today I was walking around the neighborhood when a neighbor's dog spotted me. Thank God in heaven, this particular dog was on a leash because it pretty much flew up into the air when it saw me and started barking so aggressively that one would think I'd just drowned her puppies right in front of her. 

"Oh, don't worry, she just loves you to death!" the dog's owner informed me with a beatific smile.

"Whose death?" I inquired as I ran away.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey, if you're worried about your blood pressure you really need a dog. Scientists report that when dog owners play or hang with their dogs, oxytocin is released in *both* their bodies, resulting in much calmer behavior, better heart rate modulation and so many other things. Dog owners are much less likely to have heart attacks and much more likely to recover fully from them. I have a feeling you meant 'beatific smile' sarcastically, but it may not have been too far from the literal truth.

I feel bad that you've had bad experiences with dogs.

Stringer

Clarissa said...

Yes, I know but I have a visceral terror of them.

Anonymous said...

You know, a few months ago I read your post about buying a green lamp because that for you symbolized permanence and having a place you could call your own. It was a short little post yet it made me so emotional.

A dog is my green lamp and I can't wait for the day when I get one for myself.

Stringer

Clarissa said...

Oh, that's so nice. Do you have any specific breed in mind?

Anonymous said...

Don't have one particular breed in mind but I'd like a smart, big, working or herding dog. I love to exercise and a dog that fits my lifestyle would be nice. Of course I don't know what kind of life I will have when I'm ready for a dog. We shall see.

Jack London's 'Call of the wild' and 'White fang' were my favourite books growing up!

Stringer