The Dog Days of Spring

Okay, this is not the first time I have said this here, and I doubt it will be the last, but I love dogs. Generally speaking, anyway. Dogs are great. I like most of them more than I like a lot of people. And they generally like me, too. That is part of my running problem, though. I did my long run on Saturday. I ran about 14.5 miles and it was great. It was the furthest I have ever run in my life. And during this run, I encountered 11 dogs!!! Yep, 11 of them. Only two wanted me dead and they were small. They ran every time I tried to soothe them, but I didn't get bitten. They were joined by a third who thought it would be fun to harrass me. I lost every bit of 5 minutes trying to get through that little patch. then came the pack of 5 at the farm, right before I drop out of civilization. Three of them just stood around barking, but two approached. One was new, a little beagle guy that wagged all over the place and was just DELIGHTED to make my acquaintence. then there was the hound, who I will refer to as "Duke" because he looks like Duke from the Beverly Hillbillies. Duke is a BIG boy, looks like a redbone/bloodhound mix and he LOVES me. Really, really loves me. He put his great big paws on my shoulders, kissed my face, laid his head on my chest and ripped out my earbuds. When I emerged from that stretch, I was covered in paw prints. It only got better. By the time I had made it to nearly mile 7 or 8, the evil border collie and its friend harrassed me for a minute, but it never comes too close. I went on into the State Park, ran to my turning point, then came back out. When I came out, I was joined by a mutt of some sort...beagle marked, built like a bull dog/boxer without the flat face. He thought it would be a good idea to run with me...for over 4 miles!!! I had to call my husband when it was time to come get me and warn him that I had a friend. When he got there, the dog jumped into my van, kissed my 4 year old, and hopped into the back seat like he belonged there. He has a home and fortunately I knew where he came from, so we took him back. He wouldn't get out of the van and then chased the car when I finally got him out. during the ride, Xander, my little guy, started calling him "Rex". A great name, I thought. But here is the precious, I am so glad to be a mom moment: Later, Xander asked "Mommy, did you like that I called him Rex?" I told him I did. He said "Wanna know why I called him that?" I said that I did and he said "Because he WRECKS your run!!!!" I love that kid!
Seriously, how can non-dog people run, ever???