the kindness of strangers

It was a foggy morning this morning, but much warmer than it had been, in the 40s. I had even opened my living room window to let some fresh air in. The pup and I went out for our morning run as we always do, although since I had to work, we had to make it a quick run, doing one loop instead of three. It was all going well until Shahna decided she wasn’t ready to go home yet. She refused to be caught, so I ended up chasing her about a quarter of a mile back down the trail. I bribed her with a stick to fetch and eventually got her on leash, but quickly realized I had lost my car keys in the process.

So back and forth that section of trail we went. I had my eyes on the ground, scanning, and the next thing I knew, there was a large barking dog on top of Shahna, who had been knocked to the ground. She had slipped out of her collar, and this dog was dragging her. I was terrified but had my pepper spray ready in seconds. Just before I was about to open it up, the other dog bolted back to its owner who had appeared over the hill. She assured me he was friendly, just an alpha male type. So he was, and off he and Shahna went down the trail again.

I was rather distraught at this point and explained to the woman that I needed to get to work soon but had lost my car keys. She went off after the dogs and I for my keys. Only the dogs were retrieved and the woman offered to drive me home. Also a runner, she and I ran our respective dogs to her car and piled them in the back, windows down to enjoy the mild air. Shahna loves car rides, but on a car ride with her new friend, she could hardly contain herself. The two dogs began roughhousing in the back, and the next thing we heard was clunk, clunk.  We both looked back to see only Shahna in the backseat. The other dog had somehow exited the car via the open window-- I kid you not. He was just standing roadside, oblivious to what had happened. We all made it home, with me thanking the heavens I hadn't closed my living room window yet. I climbed through, got my spare car keys, and a short bike ride later, I was back to my car.

Later at work today, a woman came up to me, and said “It’s me! From this morning!” We had been chatting in the car on the way home, and I told her where I worked and she had showed up just to let me know she and her husband had searched for my car keys but had not found them. Nevertheless, I was incredibly grateful for her kindness.