Over 27 years and never hit a dog at work. Many a bird have hit my windshield and died.
I hate it, but at least it was quick. A pheasant broke my windshield. Had a roadrunner that jumped at the wrong time and was stuck in the front grill of a Sprinter. He was of course dead and when he was pulled out part of the grill came with him.
I've been bitten once. The dog didn't even bark at me. He got me while I was stepping back into the truck. It was a cow dog. I guess he was hearding me.
I carry bisquits and love dogs. I've only encountered one dog that has really scared me.
Last year I had a Bull Mastiff knock the front glass door down and come straight for me.
That was the biggest dog I have ever seen. They say not to run but I would have anyway if I could have. Hell, I was too scared to move. Long story short the woman came out and tried to hold him but could not. Finally the husband came out and got some control of him. A week later there was a picture of the dog at the Subway in this small town I was in saying the dog was missing and that he looked mean but was not. The dog was never found and I would bet he was done in by the locals. I still watch my back when I deliver there.
The basic instinct in man is fight or flight.
Your telling of being able to outrun every dog chasing you helped me recall an incident that happened 20 yrs ago.
A friend set up a box at his gate with signed delivery notices.( the days before DR)
He left a padlock in the box and I would deliver the pkg and he knew when he came home that when he saw the lock on the box he had a delivery.
As I was closing the box, I heard a growl. I spun around and was facing two big dogs just about to get me, one on each leg. The fight was on. Fist, feet and clipboard. As dogs do, they were attacking and trying to circle to my back. I had no option to run, only fight.
I must have looked like a Kung Fu Master spinning around in a cheap Hong Kong movie.
Screaming my War Cry at the top of my lungs and striking anything that got close to me.
At this point I was a Beserker.
(Just to give some context to this story, I was mauled by a dog at the age of two. Funny as it seems, I can still recall the heat and smell of that dogs breath as it was biting into my face.)
Apparently, I won the fight. They dove under the fence and started running away.
Someone forgot to tell me the fight was over. I jumped the gate and ran after them. My plan was to kill them with my bare hands.
After about 75 yards I stopped, and said to myself "What the Hell are you doing?"
Walking back to my truck, I checked for wounds. Amazingly, there was none.
It all comes down to if you are cornered, fight
If you are not,
run like Hells dogs are chasing you.
Now, if there is a true threat of getting into a dog fight. The people do not get their delivery.
My sage words of wisdom, that I tell my customers.
If it has teeth, it can bite.
If I do not feed it, I do not trust it.
PAX
