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I was going to write a more introspective blog today but ohhh no! Some crazy loose K-9 put an end to that. Normally I keep a pretty strict regiment of running outside several times a week. Yesterday I didn't really want to run but I had some aggro built up from work (A quick shout out to all the bad kids who make my job close to impossible Yay!)

I should have listened to my inside voice but I just thought I was being lazy so I forced myself to hit the streets. During my jog there is this one particular part that is tucked away in a back street and is void of any street lights before I come to main road. And of course it would be fitting for this particular incident to happen while I was in this shoddy little area.

As I was coming up this little "T-Section" I saw two things moving in front of me. The first thing I could make out was a woman, who had just walked into her house. And the second was the silhouette of a large dog. Now being that I am from Los Angeles, being chased by dogs was a part of my school curriculum.

So after I confirmed that it was a dog I immediately stopped running, took my headphones out of my ears, turned, and quietly walked in the other direction. Namely, because I wasn't interested in being filmed in the Korean version of "Cops" by proving this dog up and having it chase me. No as I walking back from the direction from whence I came, I turned my head to see if the dog was following me. Taking a hard swallow I said "Yep, it's right there."



To give this creature its proper respect I took the time do some research and find out more it. The dog that chased me a Jindo dog, this Korean breed of dog looks like a half wolf and half dog. The Jindo is known to be very fierce, strong, agile, loyal and ridiculously territorial. This would seem to be a perfect dog that I would honestly consider purchasing when I return to the states but I realized yesterday two big huge flaws in my inability to read dogs.

Mistake #1 - I forgot that these dogs have ears that rarely ever go down. So you can't really know how they feel until it is too late.

Mistake #2 - I also forgot that even if this dog enters YOUR immediate surroundings it is now THEIR surroundings and your new name is "Kibbles and Bits" - YIKES!

Back to the story...



While I was slowly retreating back down the alley I honestly wanted to give this little fella a chance. I slowed my pace down to a stop and put my hands out. With palms exposed I wanted the dog to understand I meant it no harm so he could smell me and be on its way. But as I extended my hands the dog quickly went from a playfully panting to snarling and growling. At this moment I could have kicked myself for letting this dog come even closer to me but now all I could to do was ease backwards and figure out what to do next.

My options were simple: Fight or Run. I hated the thought of running because I didn't want to be in a situation where I was slower than the dog and all my energy would be wasted from my frantic escape with nothing left to defend myself. However since I didn't see any rocks, large sticks, baseball bats or katanas lying around I resorted to my orginal plan of chancing a foot race with the Jindo. The first thing I thought while trying to set a new Olympic speed record was to try and lose the dog by running up some stairs. I quickly tossed the idea after thinking that the dog would be smart enough to chase me up the stairs and corner me.



I remember very vividly that the only thing that I wanted to do was yell for Help. But I thought that was stupid because I was in South Korea where they speak a different language. I might as well have screamed out "Chicken Sandwich, Chicken Sandwich, Chicken Sandwich!" while being chased by this super wolf-dog. So in a literal mad dash of desperation I jumped on top of a car and then jumped onto the roof of a house. After that I made my way to the next street via roof top and ran home.

Sorry Fido, but I am way too broke for Rabies Shots.

Granted that I am happy that I got away unscathed it is unfortunate that I didn't really learn anything from this. Because knowing myself I will probably get bored running a shorter track and end up meeting this dog again sometime in the near future. What I did learn, however, is never deplete yourself while working out because you never know when you'll need that last little bit to get you out of a jam!

Joe - OUT!!