Thats it......I 'm gonna quit.....

Very glad you didn't quit the whole sport.

I think you know that this is not your fault, but rather the fault of irresponsible dog owners who should care more for the safety of their animals and those who pass by their house.  You can't blame yourself for any of this and there is always a what if scenario. 

It still sucks to see an animal hurt, but it's good that you made it out safely.  What you did for that dog says a lot about who you are.

Dave

OMG... I physically cringed when I read this.  I have two labs myself, and they are the closest thing I have to a family of my own.

I used to live in Oklahoma and it was really common for some people jacka$$es to drive out into the country and abandon their dogs.  I hope this was not the case and those dogs had a home nearby, but if they were eager to follow you, they probably hadn't seen another human in a while.

Poor pup.  I hope he's ok.

rfergus5 - 2008-10-11 8:55 PM ........yup I've had it. My story follows; I made the decision to run a 1/2 marathon this fall (my first). The 0.75 mile loop around the neighborhood was bordering on mind-numbing for 3-4 mile runs. To retain what little mental stability I still have and still get those long runs in, I ventured out of the neighborhood....onto the surrounding country roads. Last year when I upped my run mileage, I got used to the false charges from dogs like Dachsunds and various Terriers whose "owners" (as if they live up to that term) let them run "free". Usually, these dogs get bored after a chasing me a couple of hundered feet and find something else to bother. So I am no stranger to this primitive phenomenon. This past week I ran out of the neighborhood for 6+ miles on a route that I frequented last year. This time, two dogs (1 Lab mix and 1 Shepard) met me at about mile 2.5. At first, I was more than nervous as these are pretty large pups. The thing is.....they were the friendliest dogs and proceeded to play/trot along next to me, the shepard even licked my hands. At first it was really cool, but these dogs wouldn't leave my side. The infrequent passing car would have to stop as these two dogs would unknowinly trot out in front of it. I always run towards oncoming traffic in the shoulder and the dogs were back-and-forth all over the road. I tried to scare them off but no avail. At mile 5 I turned onto a pretty busy street. All of the sudden, I hear skreetching brakes/tires on the road behind me......then a loud yelp. I jump into the grass and look around to my right and see a pickup truck sitting in the middle of the road. The shepard took off running into the woods and the driver got out. No dents on the car and no blood on the road but I could see what looked like an impact area on the car. I had to look hard, but I did see the shepard running back through the woods and hoped that it was OK. It took quite a lick from the car. It really upsets me to think that this wouldn't have happened if I had not been running. Then I got scared and thought,"what if another car was coming towards me and had to swerve to miss the pickup.....and hit me?" Anyway, the lab continued to follow me home. I put him into the back of our Liberty and drove him back to the area where they originally started to follow me (no ID on collar). So between the dogs chasing me, mental stress thinking I indirectly caused this and the possibility of getting killed myself..........I quit (running on country roads). Only running on bikepaths, trails and of course the 0.75mile loop in the neighborhood from now on.

It's not your fault its the stupid owners fault. It happens all the time out here, where dogs come chase. I think next time I'm gonna take them back to the owners house.

So you've quit running on country roads so the next dog can die a painful death alone in the woods?

I'm not seeing the connection. Stuff happens no matter where you go. If you ever witness a bike vs. pedestrian incident on the hiker-biker trail and use the same logic your options will end up pretty limited.

Wow, a Saint Bernard in Georgia.  Ours turns 4 on December 25 and struggles with the Middle Atlantic summers.  She does love running (speed walking for her) the first 1-3 miles with me (on leash, of course) on cool days, though.

I almost hit a little black dog that was wandering on a road this morning.  It took me about 15 minutes (I was late to work) to chase this snarling, growling little beastie off the road.

This is the problem when people treat their dogs like people.  They aren't.  My Saint has an IQ of about double of a cucumber.  I would never expect her to behave any differently than how she does.  She is a sweet, but extremely stupid ANIMAL.

rfergus5 - 2008-10-12 4:12 PM Yea........stuff happens no matter how careful you are; I suppose thats the definition of an accident. This time it just sucked to be personally involved. I am really just frustrated with idiot owners who let their pets run free......preaching to the chior here, I know. Plenty of threads about the topic. Maybe I just need a temporary respite until I can devise a feasible "prevention tactic"............life is inherently dangerous so may as well be prepared for it and live fully. Whatever it takes to reduce the future probability of occurrence........

 Unfortunately the only 100% effective "prevention tactic" for stuff happening out there is never going outside.

 I hear ya, though, and I didn't want you thinking that I was completely callous. It's unfortunate that you saw what you did, but it's a good thing for the dog you were there.

And as crazy or cruel as that may sound, this is really the best option.

Before all the animal lovers and humane society types start to attack ... I'm all for animals and their safety and just like we sometimes have to display "tough love" to our own children - the same goes for dogs running wild or loose.

The pepper spray really doesn't hurt them, and who knows - maybe if just one runner sprays this lab or shepherd when it first starts out after/with a runner and after getting sprayed it runs off back home (it may just learn its lesson and never run out again).

Then, the chances of this dog ever running out into traffic won't happen again.  Perhaps if someone in the past had sprayed the dog it wouldn't have ran this time and would not have been hit by the truck.

..

As one who has run 10's of thousands of miles I would say that you either had a very localized problem or I am just lucky in the places I have run over the years.  I would not toss out the baby with the bathwater.  It was obviously not your responsibility and by all means keep on running the roads,