Dog-Park

[Hedgewitch]

Steve got home on Friday night, it was late and the but I had put the girls out in their yard so they could greet him as he had called to say he would be home in 20 minutes and I knew they would be ecstatic to see him. The coyotes had not come back to my house but had moved down the road to my neighbors, taking easy picking killing their free ranging chickens.

I was watching TV when the girl alerted to Steve's arrival. I already knew he was home as he had called to tell me he was stopping at the store for milk and would be there in a moment just before. The girls how ever did not know this and just saw him as an intruder. Even with the motion detector lights on they did not recognize him right away; and so, they uses their mean barks to let him know they would eat him if he got to close. It did not last long before their mean back turned into puppy barks of joy.

The next morning we decided we would take, the girls to the dog park to help get rid of some of their pent up energy since I could not take them for any walks while he was away. We like to go at lunchtime as most dog-people do not come there at that time of day and we have the dog park to ourselves. The dog park is about 3 acres of fenced in rather level land for large dogs and 1 acre of fended land for small dogs. Saturday was wonderful we had the dog-park to ourselves. The dog-park is set in a children's park with swings and slides and other activities for families nearby. On this day we played with the dogs for about an hour and were all taking a break in the shade. The weather was wonderful. The sun was shining and the sky was blue. Steve had worn the girls out playing chase and hide and seeking. I love the look on their faces as they lie there with tongues rolling out of their mouths as they smile with their eyes half closed in happy contentment.

Mali will play at the dog park but not like Rani and Yuki, she seems to think it is her job to patrol the fence line. It is as if she is making sure the perimeter is safe. Often the girls will follow her around the fence line when we first get there. Mali can be drawn into play here and there, but will always go back and check the fence line after just a moment or two of play. If someone walk past the fence she goes and greets them happily, as she is always up for an extra pat and an excuse to lick someone, but the fence line must at all cost be maintained. Rani and Yuki also follow Mali whenever people come up to the fence heaven forbid Mali is the only one who gets petted, especially of there are small children there.

Mali has not grown up with children, though she does seem to know instinctively they are special. Even as a service dog she will sneak kisses of naked baby toes when I am not looking at checkout lines. This day as the girl lie there so quiet and contented the peace is broken with the screams of a child. Steve the dogs and I all look up at the same time. A young child about 4 years of age is running franticly away from a woman, who is chasing him. She is about 10 yard behind him and closing fast. We are in a park and to me it looks like a mom and child nothing to worry about, but to Mali it looks like something completely different. Before we can say or do anything she is up on her feet and has cleared an acre of the dog-park at a dead run. My mind suddenly goes red as I can tell she is going to jump the fence and do something, I did not know what she was going to do, but it was going to be something.

Steve was already running after Mali and so were the other dogs and I was coming as fast as I could. The boy was still screaming as Mali closed the gap between them my heart pounded in my chest and fear welled in my throat. Mali is big enough to really hurt that woman in her needless defense of the boy. Just as Mali got the middle of the last half an acre of the dog-park the woman caught up with the child, both of them began to laugh. The woman tickled the boy and he wiggled and squirmed in delight. Mali came close stopping, slowing down until she got to the fence but did not taking her eyes off the two she sat down and watch the two playing.

Up until this point, I have seen Mali use her body to block when she thought she needed to protect someone from someone else.

As an example: When new people meet Yuki and come at her to aggressively and Yuki is sometimes over whelmed. Mali will block their advancement by putting herself in their way, and will heard Yuki back out of the way so she cannot be touched by them.

Another example: When I was in the doctor's office and the nurse was doing a procedure which was very painful, Mali broke a down stay position and got in between the nurse and I. She slowly moved her away from me with her shoulder. I could not see what was happening, as I was indisposed and did not know until she told me.

Mali once used her body when an elderly woman lost her balance to catch her and keep her from falling to the ground.

It is my hope she had planned to block that woman who was chasing her son, as that is what she has always done in the past.