Some People Don't Deserve to be Dog Owners

The words I almost always hear as a dog rushes out and starts growling, barking and nipping at my feet are: "Aw, he won't bite."
Twice, I've heard these words just seconds before the dog sank his fangs into my leg. One time, I almost got into a fistfight over a particularly vicious dog that was trying to attack a child I was pushing in a baby jogger.
Few things in this world make me more angry than irresponsible dog owners, the kind of people who see nothing wrong with their animal tearing ass down the driveway and out into the street to accost a passerby. Or the kind of people who abuse dogs or use them for fighting.
Sick.
Two days ago, while I was out on a run, two large mutts scooted out from a house, surrounded me and barked and growled as if they meant business. Meanwhile, the owner stood up by his garage and just watched.
"You gonna call off your dogs, mister?" I barked from the street.
"Aw, they won't bite," the dude said.
"That's what they all say, man!" I said.
I began to run again, and the dogs didn't follow. The owner mumbled the last word from his driveway, but I didn't hear what he said.
My ears were burning, and the anger gave me energy to pick up the pace of my run.
Still, I don't get people like this. It seems that a dog owner will almost always just stand there silently while his dogs terrorize a passerby in the street.
I can usually tell from afar if a dog is friendly and just wants to say "Hello!" I'm not sure whether it's the way they're carrying themselves or the tone of their bark, but I always seem to know.
I get annoyed with the friendly ones that come out, block my path, make me stop and then slobber on me. However, if I'm running the same route over and over, these guys usually get used to me and don't bother to even come out anymore.
Years ago, while pushing a friend's child in a baby jogger, a big golden retriever that meant business came out and snarled at us. I could tell this dog was mean and just seconds way from attacking.
Meanwhile, the owner just stood slack-jawed in his driveway while the retriever snapped, snarled and barked at us. I asked him twice to come get his dog, and he just stood there. The third time I called out, I said, "Come get your damn dog or I'm going to kick his head in."
My rule of thumb is that if a dog is within kicking distance, it intends to bite, so I'm going to kick him. The retriever was definitely encroaching my safety zone.
The owner then charged out into the street and threatened to whip me. I was William Wallace battle crazy at that point, so I put up my fists and said, "Let's go. Right now. Come on."
Apparently, the look in my eye took the fight out of the guy, and he grabbed his dog by the collar and dragged him back to the house.
I called the animal control department on him, and the next time I ran by his house, the retriever was chained up - as it should be.
I've never understood why dog owners think they can just let their animals run loose. It's irresponsible, a nuisance and a potential danger for people who have a right to use a public street without being pestered by a dog.
Recently, a guy in Cleveland, Texas, was shot to death in what was something believed to be related to a pit bull fighting operation. Hundreds of dogs were seized from his property.
The incident underscored just how big a problem this is in Southeast Texas.
On my old Beaumont running route, which I used for five years, I quite often found dead pit bulls in drainage ditches. I'm talking about once every two months. I'm confident that these were the losers of a late-night pit bull matchup.
There also are a lot of loose pit bulls running around out there in the country. Three times on the old route, I had one follow me home. Nothing quite matches the feeling of running down a country road five miles from home and hearing a sudden clickity-clickity-clickity coming from behind, only to turn and see a pit bull running up at full speed.
Luckily, these guys were very friendly, so much so that a neighbor adopted one that followed me home.
Still, pit bulls are scary. Sure, the pit bull lovers say they're harmless, but these dogs are powerful, can bite like sharks and seem to be bipolar, meaning they can suddenly change moods and seriously injure or kill someone.
One of my most frightening running experiences involved a pit bull. It was early morning and dark outside, and a pit bull loose in a front yard ferociously charged me. The owner, thank goodness, was on the ball and managed to keep the dog from attacking, but not until after grabbing it by the collar and dragging it into the house.
What if that had been one of my kids out there, walking to school?
I was so shaken by the incident that I never ran down that street again. Also, I've written or edited too many stories about brutal pit bull attacks on children and adults.
Pit bulls are the automatic weapon of the dog world, in my opinion. They should be outlawed, or perhaps their prospective owners screened.
I've had all sorts of dogs come out to confront me, including chows, Dobermans, Labradors, Schnauzers, Airedales, basset hounds, poodles and even chihuahuas, which can be particularly nasty for some reason, although I just outrun them.
But the meanest dogs of them all for runners, I'm embarrassed to say, are those dreaded wiener dogs.
Yes, my friends, if a Daschund charges out from a house, there is no passing "Go" and collecting $200. The wiener dog will run out and bite without hesitation.
Both of my bites while on runs came from wiener dogs. On my old route, there was a big pack of them that came running out from a farm.
If I didn't stop, I had no doubt that they would attack me. Luckily, all they wanted was for me to stop and give them a pet, which I dutifully did every Saturday morning for years.
Sure, I could probably outrun them, but I can't imagine a more comical sight than some panicked runner galloping down the street with an angry pack of wiener dogs on his tail.
I'd rather stop and get bitten than subject myself to that.