Fear in the afternoon
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Wan-Wan learns who her friends are or, in this case aren't
IN THE late afternoon, my poodle-pup Wan-Wan and I go for a walk. The tiny dog loves going outside, and I’m happy to come out too. My body is still painful from a bad fall last month, and I really want to exercise those sore muscles.
The walk is enjoyable, and on our way home, we see Khun J, my next-door neighbour. She’s standing in the middle of the soi talking to her sister who lives across the street. Wan, who likes them both, bounces over to them.
I let go of her leash. It’s so close to home that I know she won’t run away.
Suddenly, I see J’s dog Mee. J has let her out on the soi to run around for awhile. This is unexpected. J never allows her out at this time, when the soi is busy with people driving home from work or school. Mee, a part-chow, is very big and untrained. Since she doesn’t respond to her owner’s commands often, she’s difficult to control.
But there she is. Wan and I stand surprised. The two dogs are “gate-friends”. When Mee is allowed to run on the soi, she always stops to stick her nose through our gate, and Wan happily touches noses with her.
What will Mee do when Wan is also outside?
J has no doubt. She shouts at me, “Pick Wan up!”
I would if I could, but Wan dances away from me, and in horror, I realise that my sore muscles won’t let me bend over anyway.
J screams at Mee to go inside, but her dog slips around her and runs over to Wan. For a second, Wan thinks that Mee wants to touch noses, but the big dog has other ideas.
She knocks my tiny dog on her back and begins nosing at her stomach, as if Wan were an exciting toy. The little dog screams in fear, and I look for anything that I can use to hit Mee.
Why don’t I pull Mee off? Perhaps you don’t realise how heavy this dog is, at least 45 kilos or more. She’s also immensely strong. If she doesn’t want to move, no one can force her, certainly not J, who’s a very small woman.
J, still shouting, does hit Mee with her leash, which is not attached to the dog anyway, but the big dog doesn’t react.
Then J rushes between the two dogs and pulls Wan away. Mee jumps on her, forcing her backwards. J then hands Wan to me. The tiny dog is shaking in fear, but in my arms, she stops screaming.
Then I experience Mee’s strength. Attempting to reach Wan, she jumps on me and forces me against my gate. I turn my back to her, but she crashes her body onto me, and I slam into the gate again. I desperately want to get inside, but I can’t put the key into the lock.
Finally, Mee turns away. I manage to unlock my gate and run inside, where I put Wan down. Meanwhile J persuades Mee to go inside her house.
Wan, in fact, is completely unhurt, confirming what I already thought. Mee isn’t vicious. She never wanted to hurt Wan, just play with her.
Nevertheless, she’s still dangerous, a huge, strong, uncontrollable animal.
She’s also willing to please her owner, if only J would take the trouble to train her wisely.
In this encounter, only one dog learned something. The next morning, when Mee comes outside, Wan growls at her and at J as well.
