Nice to See You Again

I don't know his real name, so I shall call him "Lucky" because he is the luckiest dog I know. Today was the second time I've found Lucky running loose on the street. He was un-collared. He was un-leashed. And, despite Bob Barker's cries, he was un-fixed. Even with all the odds against him, Lucky was still alive.

One time, about a year ago, I found Lucky running loose, crossing the streets in zig-zagging sprints like a toddler. I managed to round him up, tie him to my dog, and walk around until the owner luckily found us.

So I was pretty surprised to see an unattended Lucky again. Even after a near loss of their pet, the irresponsible dog owners still didn't fix whatever allowed Lucky to escape.

Running in a mad, collar-less dash at my dog, Lucky was totally oblivious to the green truck that almost plastered him to the asphalt. The owner of the truck braked the kind of way that would cause loose items riding shotgun to slide to the floor. As he accelerated off, he gave me a look like "control your damn dog." Funny, I was readying that same look for Lucky's owners.

In usual dog greeting, Lucky started smelling my dog like a mechanic examining an undercarriage. Then, the usual changed to the strange: Lucky started excessively licking my dog's penis.

Now, I understand dogs are very different than humans, but it's still very strange and rude. My dog backpedaled trying to escape this unwarranted fellatio, but Lucky was too amorous. Lucky isn't the cleanest dog, so I began to worry about my dog's health. Is there such a thing as doggie oral herpes?

I reached for the scruff of his neck to stop the assault and to harness the stray, but he ran off thinking it was a game. My dog was too apathetic to chase after Lucky with me. I hope he got home okay.

No address for me find his home. No phone number for me to call. No doggie-proofed house. His owners are dog owners in name only. Maybe Lucky isn't so lucky after all.