Nice Doggy

Since in past years I usually finish the Tromptown half-marathon in the dark, facing heavy traffic from the Firemen's Field Days, the race director called me to ask if I would like to start an hour early at 5:15 this year. We agreed that an hour's head-start would allow me to finish while it was still daylight and would be a lot safer. The sun was shining as I left the start with an escort for the first mile through the village streets. After the first mile I was alone and started looking for the usual water stop at the second mile.

But this year they'd moved the water stop further along and I kept going. After a hill climb, I saw two dogs ahead playing in a yard and two adults nearby working in a garden. The dogs were medium-size and didn't look threatening, but I crossed over to the opposite side of the road anyway and continued on. Glancing back to check on them, I saw that both dogs were making a bee-line for me. I slowed down and turned. Over the years I've been able to stand off all kinds and sizes of dogs, but always one-on-one! This time I had one dog in check, but before I knew it the other got behind me and gave me my first dog bite ever. Backing off I tripped and fell backward into a shallow ditch. The dogs were immediately called off by the two owners who rushed over to help me. I told them I needed to catch my breath before accepting their offer to come to their house.

Although the bite was only painful for a little while, I was bleeding pretty good and the lady cleaned and bandaged the wounds. I felt okay so I continued on for two more miles until I came to my senses and realized I should get some real medical attention. A volunteer was driving by and he had a radio so I asked him to call it in. A lady came in a van and took me to a clinic, but it was already closed at that hour. I asked her to bring me back to the Field Days. I left it up to them to decide what to do, but the runs were still in progress and everybody seemed to have other duties to attend to (besides, I still felt pretty okay).

I was in time to watch the finishers come in. (I usually miss this part!) After talking to others, though, and thinking it over, something told me I should report this to the authorities. Two deputy sheriffs were located, and they advised me that I would have to get the names and address of the owners and proof of rabies shots. I wasn't sure whose dog it was. Now I tried to find the lady with the van and, luckily, instead I ran into the dog's owner who had come looking for me. We went to the deputies and it turned out that they didn't have jurisdiction because the incident had occurred across the county line in Cortland County rather than in Madison County

It was getting late so we exchanged names and addresses. They promised to report the incident to the officials in Cortland County. I went home to Oswego and visited my local ER, where I went through the usual routine of pulse rate, blood pressure, temperature-- PLUS two separate stitches and a tetanus shot. The rest was phone calls back and forth to the owners, the deputies, and the Health Department. I also had to get a medical report and mail it to the Cortland County sheriff's department.

As of now everything seems okay. Got myself a little pepper spray, but I still shy away whenever there a dog nearby. I like animals. Can't understand why it happened -- and I still feel bad about my DNF!

-- Joe Familio