How I got bit by a dog

It occurred to me that I had not recorded this episode for posterity, so I had better do so. So two weeks ago I was out running, and there was this youngish lady hanging out at the bottom of a driveway with what turned out to be an old hippy in black leather pants. This being Chapel Hill. And she had a dog. On a leash. Now, many people walk their dogs on this stretch of road, and they are invariably friendly, so I don't always take evasive action, and I didn't this time. The dog, a hound, whose name turned out to be Hunter, starts jumping at me, and I figure he's being friendly and wants a pet. But no, he's a tad hungry, as is apparent when he bites me in my bicep. A little nip, but still, a bite.

The adrenalin started firing in me, and I yell out "he fucking bit me!" She pulls him back, but she's freaked out by my aggression, and starts crying. So I apologize for cursing, she says it's not her dog. I get the name of the owner and jog on home, pissed off that my evening was going to be blown.

You see, Mary was headed out to dinner with some friends, and I had plans to get Mexican take out and watch The Sopranos with Graham, but now I see my evening disappearing down the drain of the emergency room. I was pissed.

At any rate, turned out OK. I went to the FastMed place up on the corner, where we checked that I had had a recent tetanus shot, the RN or PA attending gave me a scrip for an antibiotic and told me to expect bruising, and our evening came out OK.

Somewhere in there I had tracked down the owner who was shocked that Hunter had bit me (as had been the neighbor from whom I had gotten his number), but he wasn't sure that all his shots were up to date because the vet was closed.

The next day I'm sitting out on the porch reading, when my phone rings, and it's the dog owner. "Hello," I said. And he says: "I just wanted to let you know that Hunter's OK." And I'm thinking: what a relief! I was so concerned that somehow nibbling on my arm had harmed his teeth. Turned out, he meant that Hunter didn't have rabies. "Awesome," I said, and we were more or less done.

Unless I get a bill for hundreds of dollars from the FastMed. Then he'll be hearing from me.