Why I Bought Pepper Spray

Are you kidding me? Seriously.

As if getting my butt out of bed in the morning isn't enough.
As if getting out the door by 6:30 a.m. isn't enough.
As if spending an hour every stinking morning running - no less - isn't enough.

You've got to be kidding me.

So, I live on the outskirts of my city. Instead of getting in my car and wasting thirty minutes driving to the gym each morning I've started putting on my running shoes and heading out the door - running in the country. It's beautiful. Fields. Old farm houses. Plenty of smelly lilac trees. Small rolling hills. My ipod. A nice morning breeze. It's perfect really.

I've plotted out the perfect five mile course and run it in under an hour - not too shabby I'd say. I'm just proud of myself for doing it. It's still a big deal for me. I've never been a runner. Ever. It scared me - I used to think my heart would pound out of my chest and I could never get enough oxygen to my lungs - it felt like I would die.

Like I said, it scared me. Well, I've overcome the fear. Only to be given another fear. . . DOGS!!!

I've been running my course for weeks now. Never once have I even heard a dog bark - really. Well, yesterday I decided to change my course. I wanted a change of scenery. Instead of running in the country, I decided to run across the highway in a residential area - a cute little subdivision where I could look at some yards and flowers instead of fields and weeds.

I was minding my own business pounding the pavement when I see this old man with two beastly dogs up ahead. No big deal. I'm not afraid of dogs - and the owner was with them. Nothing to worry about - or so I thought.

I just kept running and the first dog comes barrelling up to me barking like mad. I say, "Hey, pup" and keep running. I get closer to the old man and his other dog when out of nowhere the sucker jumps on my leg and takes a bite out of my arm. Luckily I had my sweatshirt on.

It's a little foggy what happened next. I told the man that his dog bit me and showed him my sweatshirt - but kept moving. I wasn't about to stick around and chitchat with the guy - his dogs were still barking like crazy and honestly, I was a little scared. I then looked down at my arm and turned around and said, "He broke my skin I would suggest you keep that dog on a leash." Then I ran away and burst into tears. It hurt. The adrenaline didn't help either. I was a couple miles from home and just turned around and headed home. I cried most of the way.

(top: taken right after incident, bottom left: taken 8 hrs later, bottom right: taken next day)

After I got home, I cleaned my wound and called Animal Services. Come to find out, I had to have the address of the man for them to do anything. So, next time I get bit by a dog, I'll have to remember to get the address so that I can at least make sure the dog has had it's shots and I'm not going to die of rabies. This morning I ran with this: The officer told me I could spray a dog with pepper spray whether I was in the city limits or without. I purchased this cute pink - supporting breast cancer - pepper spray for ten bucks. We look forward to running many miles together.

The sucky part? Now every time I hear a dog bark, my heart starts beating a million beats per second. I don't want a fear of dogs, but how do I convince my instincts otherwise?