No Cause for Alarm

It's like an explosion - one minute the shepherd mix is curled quietly and calmly in a chair by the window, peacefully watching the world go by.  In the next, he goes off like a rocket being launched - there's an ear splitting howl, then he bolts for the front hall, hits the unlocked front like a storm trooper and is outside and in a frenzy before we can even react.  By the time we reach him, he's worked his head and shoulders through the bars of the side fence and is desperately trying to force his body to follow, all the while barking frantically and shaking like a leaf in a windstorm.  He is, in a word, unhinged,

On the other side of the fence, I see what has set him off - a shambling old man, bent and bundled up against the cold, walking an unremarkable three legged cur dog.  It's not the devil himself, not even a lesser demon or an unfrocked angel.  It's not even the apocalypse.  It's just a ragged old man and his dog, minding their own business and walking innocently down a public street. 

There's a certain lack of consistency to the shepherd so what set him off this time is a mystery.  The house sits on a corner lot with a bus stop in front and a rehab hospital across the street so foot traffic is plentiful.  The dog hates anything with wheels - motorcycles, bicycles, wheelchairs - but with pedestrians he's totally arbitrary and unpredictable, charging the same person one day and ignoring him the next.  Dog walkers, however, cause an instant and shockingly violent melt down each and every time and we dare not think about what might happen if he were to actually get though the fence.

It takes several minutes to distract him and we do have to play a brief game of keep away to block him from charging the fence again but eventually we manage to get him back in the house and calmed down.  We then discover a window pane he has knocked out - it's the second one in as many weeks - the pane itself is intact this time so a little duct tape puts things to rights and the dog watches the process with interest.  If you didn't know him, you'd see a curious but innocent onlooker.

It makes for an interesting workplace.