Yesterday I visited an off leash dog park for the first time.  It is quite a distance from my home but I was curious.  There are two sections in the park and I thought I’d start with the section dedicated to the small dogs.  I was leaning on the fence studying the park when a pack of dogs came running over — all of them small, all of them so cute.  Then, when I least expected it,  a dog, a miniature doberman by the look of him, jumped right up to my face, his mouth set in a growl, his sharp teeth showing, looking very much like he might attack me.

I was stunned.  I backed away shocked.  Luckily, I was not bit. So, here are the questions that came into my mind.

•  Why do so few lists of the most dangerous dogs I’ve viewed online rarely include the smaller dogs?  I’ve heard some of the smaller breeds, bred to attack rats will attack a dog of their size or smaller.  I’ve been bit twice, both times by small dogs on the loose.

• Why me?  There was someone else with me and this dog took an instant dislike to me.  (We were both leaning on the fence, but the dog targeted me.)

• Why was the owner pretending she didn’t see anything?  She made no attempt to control this dog.  There were other small dogs there including a Pomeranian, a Maltese mix, a Cocker Spaniel and several others I could not identify.  They came running and some of them barked, but none of the others attacked.

There is a happy ending to my experience.  As I was leaving I got approached by a big friendly 6 month old husky. What a doll.