Usually I’m the model dog owner. My boxer, Teddy, and I take regular walks together. I’ve never left her crap lying around for some poor guy to take care of. We’re up to date on all her shots and visit the vet at least twice a year. And under no circumstances is she ever allowed outside without her collar and dog tag. I’m always careful with her.
But recently I slipped up at the dog park. I got a call from my job and I couldn’t afford to ignore it. I couldn’t have been on that call for more than ten minutes. When I was finally able to hang up I turned to find Teddy, her jaw clenched, cowering under the shadow of another much larger dog.
No, describing this dog as much larger isn’t fair to the absolute unit this thing was. It looked like it ate people whole for breakfast. There was something in the stray’s eyes that seemed almost too human.
I scooped up my poor baby girl in my arms. As I ran, barely able to hold her in my arms. Behind me I heard the stray bark.
Now I’ve been a dog person all my life. Ever since I was born my parents always had at least one or two dogs in the house. I still remember my first dog, Domino. Bless his heart. Throughout high school I volunteered at the local dog shelter. I must’ve heard thousands of distinct barks throughout those four years. I took care of hundreds of different breeds.
So believe me when I say that painful mimicry of a bark from that “dog” wasn’t natural. The stray heaved out each bark in a strangled cry. Just the thought of it now makes my skin crawl. I’m certain that creature is anything but a dog. I held my poor sweet Teddy tighter as I slammed the dog park gate behind me and ran.
I thought to myself wouldn’t it have been great if all I dealt with was a weird dog look alike monster today? But well of course there’s more. It’s never that simple.
My wife knew just how much the whole encounter rattled me. We opted to just order that night and take it easy. We sat on the couch together eating take-out lo mein. Teddy laid at the base of the couch, lightly snoring. I got a notification on my phone. When I went to check I saw a text message from an unknown number.
I texted back asking: How did you get this number?
I watched the dots in the typing bubble dance for a moment before they sent: You should keep a better eye on her. She’s an exquisite breed.
A chill ran down my spine. I looked over to my wife, who was completely unaware of my horrific situation as she ate her take out.
“Alex, you aren’t playing some prank on me with our friends right?”
Her eyebrows furrowed and she tilted her head. “Sylvia, what in the world are you going on about?”
Well it’s just this text I got a minute ago. I held up the phone to her face. Her face shifted from confusion to dread. I felt the phone buzz in my hand. Another text sent when I was showing her the phone. I’ve been with my wife for twelve years and I’ve never seen this terrified before. “Holy shit, block them. Block them right now, Sylvia!”
I turned the phone around to look at what they sent. Wouldn’t want something to happen to her. There was an image attached to the text message. The picture was at eye level with Teddy. She stood in focus of the camera, glaring her teeth. In the background you could see the jogging leggings I wore that day and my red parka. My face was angled away, preoccupied with the call from my boss.
Like any sane person I blocked the number. My wife and I tried getting the authorities involved but there just wasn’t enough evidence. When they traced the number they found the phone alone in an alley, only a few blocks away from the dog park.
After police involvement something about the whole situation just kept nagging me. How the hell did they find my number? I didn’t put two and two together until this morning.
I was preparing Teddy for our next walk. As I clasped the collar around her neck I noticed her dog tag. Engraved in the shining metal was my phone number. Unfortunately I’m a pretty responsible dog owner because engraved below my number was my address. I thought back to the photo the anonymous messenger sent. Teddy could be seen clear as day with her dog tag proudly shining against her fur coat. I plan on getting her a new dog tag later today. And we will never go back to that dog park again.