Barking and chasing are terrifying. When this yappy dog followed me, I was not immune. I picked up and kicked harder. There's no telling what a dog would do if he catches the mailman, and I'm not staying to find out. He put on a chase of a five or six houses along a busy street. This resilience confirmed my good choice to ride harder.
This morning I passed the opposite direction. This means that the dog had to cross into traffic to give chase. And he did. The poor thing chased me from across several lanes of busy morning traffic. Like a child, he realized in the middle of the road that he was actually IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. He retreated towards his house, and I was relieved.
And then I heard the sound of small dog impacting a blue sedan and then yelping. The small dog scurried away from the stopped vehicle and towards a house.
I went back to check on my foe. Beer bottles, a broken dresser, and an empty/open dog crate on the porch. No car. I called out for the owner or the dog. The response was from a much larger dog chained up in the back.
I quickly left and called Animal Protection Services to check on the welfare of the dog. I'm trying not to feel guilty, but it was an awful encounter.
