My mom and I thought the black and white English Pointer belonged to the man in the yellow coat until he disappeared and the dog continued to follow us over the freeway overpass. When we reached the edge of Kevin Moran Park, we finally realized the enormity of the mess we had gotten ourselves into.
My family has never wanted a pet. First, my mom never wanted to lose a dog again after her childhood pets passed away. Second, we simply are not responsible enough for a pet.
We actually tried to take care of Chowder the Maltese for a friend once, but couldn’t even handle a few hours. And there was the time I literally ran for my life from a German Shepherd named Barbara. In my defense, that was more than ten years ago, so my heedless flight was justified.
Because it was so late, my mom and I tried to shorten our walk home by taking a shortcut.
We saw the man in the yellow coat just outside the fire station. A black spotted English Pointer, clean and well cared for, but collar-free, ran recklessly before him, dashing onto Cox Avenue to force every other driver to slam on his or her brakes. The man in the yellow coat talked on his iPhone as he briskly crossed the street after the dog.
My mom and I really wanted to get home, so we cut into a nearby neighborhood. We walked on one side, the man in the yellow coat on the other side. The dog ran across the street, sniffed us both a few times, and then zigzagged across lawns we passed. It crossed in front of us now and then, just in case we forgot it was there.
I thought the man and what seemed to be his dog would go into one of the homes soon. Once we entered the freeway overpass, though, with the dog running circles around us and the man in the yellow coat nowhere in sight, we began to get confused. It showed no signs of leaving, and must have appeared to be our dog.
People in the park shot us annoyed glances whenever the dog made too big a nuisance of itself.
We walked slowly through our neighborhood, pausing at those few houses that always barked at night, hoping the dog would suddenly recognize and leave for one.
By this point, my mom and I were truly desperate. The dog needed to go home.
We hadn't brought keys, and we couldn't open the back gate without the dog following us in too.
And so, the instant the dog loped off a little too far, my mom and I raced up the driveway, climbed our fence like two ninjas, and dropped into our own backyard with the speed of professional thieves.
Almost at once, the dog chased us up to our fence, and then spent a good half hour circling our front yard.
Meanwhile, my brother and father let us incredulously back into the house through the back door.
"How do you get into these things?" questioned my younger brother. In the end, my mom simply contacted the San Jose Animal Shelter.
The dog seemed pleasantly healthy, well trained and very sociable, so I am fairly certain someone out there cares for it. Hopefully, despite its lack of collar, whoever is searching for it is able to reunite with it at the animal shelter.
Friendliness is usually something pet owners desire, but the dog we met was just too friendly.
