Feline Friday

First, let me say that Lily and I are both OK. But we had a Big Scare this week, and I learned an important lesson!

Here's what happened:

Early last evening, I took Lily out on her leash for a walk around the yard. She still won't walk much on the grass, so we ended up in the driveway which seems to be her favorite place. She was rolling around on the cool cement and generally enjoying herself so I sat down next to her. We were positioned near the closed garage door with our backs to the street and our view blocked by plants. I was enjoying the moment with Lily, oblivious to the world around us.

Then I heard voices of people walking in front of our house. Lots of people walk by our house and Lily ignores them. We live on a corner lot and often people pass by on their way to the park. 

But in an instant -- and I mean an instant -- everything changed.

I glanced around to see The Biggest Dog I've Ever Seen on the sidewalk at the base of our driveway. He was accompanied by The Smallest Dog I've Ever Seen. Both dogs were on leashes held by small children, with the father trailing along behind. 

For a split second, I thought Lily and I would remain very still (read: FREEZE) and let them pass. Her back was to them, and she seemed not to notice. Lily has encountered dogs before and doesn't seem to get rattled by them.

But then the little boy leading The Biggest Dog I've Ever Seen shouted, "Don't bark at the cat!" which unfortunately was a rallying cry. The dog began barking furiously and lunging up the driveway toward us, resulting in this:

Lily started to run and began jumping wildly, all claws extended and engaged. I was holding her leash, and somehow she dragged me across the cement before I could scramble to my feet. If startled, Lily can slip out of her collar so once I had her in my arms, I hung onto her for dear life.  Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the little boy and his dad struggling to hold onto the dog, still barking furiously. 

As soon as I had Lily in firm grasp, I ran around the corner and into the safety of the garage as the dad shouted an apology. My quick response was "Oh, no problem! I should have seen you coming!"

Lily ran into the house, collar and leash still attached, and hid under the bed until I offered her a handful of treats. I bandaged my knees and knuckles, scraped raw and bleeding from the cement.

Of course, "Oh, no problem!" was not quite accurate. I don't even want to think about what might have happened if Lily had slipped out of her collar and ran, or if the dog hadn't been restrained. I fear that the sight of a running cat would have been too much for the dog to resist.

I don't fault the people with the dog at all, although I wish the little boy hadn't drawn attention to Lily. I absolutely love dogs, and if Lily hadn't been with me, I very well could have ended up chatting with the them. I'm very grateful that they were successful in keeping the dog restrained.

The fault in this situation is mine. I'm always alert when I'm outside with Lily, watching for loud vehicles and keeping her close to the house. Had I paid attention when I initially heard those voices, I would have seen the dog rounding the corner, and could have immediately picked her up and shuttled her inside. But I let my guard down last night, and it could have ended very badly.  

In addition, I've been planning to buy Lily a new harness since she outgrew her old one, but I just haven't gotten around to it. She needs something she can't slip out of in the event of an emergency like this one. We won't be going outside again until she's properly secured.

Although we're both OK, I'm pretty sure both Lily and I lost one of our nine lives!