My dog/the neighbor's son
By Sissy15
@sissy15 (12303)
United States
July 19, 2024 9:30am CST
I have told a lot of stories about my childhood and crazy things that have happened to me, or my family and I often realize how insane they sound and wouldn't be surprised if people didn't believe me. The story my son finds the most amusing is about how my dog jumped out of a second-story window to try and attack the neighbor who later became nationally infamous (albeit not on a large scale like some). The neighbor that lived behind us was this super nice guy who did a lot for my brother growing up, but one of his sons who was staying with him was this quiet and strange guy. He once sprayed my dog with mace while my dog was inside our fence barking like dogs do. After that, he made an enemy. Before he sprayed her, she never tried to attack him but after he sprayed her, she tried to attack him on several occasions, and he had to be cautious whenever he went by our house or if she got loose because she was an escape artist. We are all lucky she never did attack him try as she might because we would have gotten in trouble, and they probably would have tried to make us put her down.
The neighbor's son later on became national news when he forced a military base in Texas (Fort Bliss) to go on lockdown. He shot a psychologist and then himself. I always felt terrible for his father. His dad was such a nice guy who worked hard and did his best to raise his kids to be decent people only to have one of his sons turn out the way he did. I knew one of his other sons better than I did his other kids as his one son was dating my then best friend's mom.
When we heard the news about the shooting one of my sisters struggled to believe it because she grew up with him and I told her he wasn't what she thought he was. My dog sensed who he was after he sprayed her with mace for no reason other than barking but you can't convince people of things they don't want to believe. She thought he just snapped but he didn't, he was always a little odd and you could just tell there was evil in there lurking.
My dog was convinced he was a terrible person and she hated him to the point she was willing to risk it all to attack him. She knew he was a threat and she was bound and determined to get rid of him. She was a friendly dog and the fact that she wanted to attack him was completely out of character for her.
The day she jumped out of the second-story window. I remember she was in my room. My dad had just replaced the screen in my bedroom window. We didn't have AC and I was finally able to open my window and not worry about anything flying in. The neighbor's son was a runner, and he was running down the alley next to our house to go back to his dad's house and my dog got super alert and started barking and before I fully realized what was happening I saw her leap out of my window taking the new screen with her she landed on all fours and kept running towards the neighbor's son. My parents were out in the yard which he should have been grateful for because my dad was able to grab her by the collar to keep her from attacking him. I often laugh at the visual of what his face must have looked like seeing a dog come flying out of a second-story window at him. He probably thought he was safe since she was inside and then SURPRISE. I never would have thought she'd jump like that to go after him.
My dog was a strange dog though, my dad often had to get out the ladder to get her out of one of our trees because she'd scale it. It was low enough she could jump up the trunk and she'd scale some of the larger thicker branches and she'd get so high before she realized she couldn't get down and my dad would have to climb up to grab her. I like to visualize the neighbors seeing her in the tree too. She was a medium-sized dog. She was a German Shepherd/husky mix. She was also always cornering animals in our yard. She once cornered a skunk and our whole house smelled for close to a month. We gave her so many baths/tomato juice baths and they just didn't work that well. I remember going to school smelling like skunk. It wasn't the highlight of my school memories, that's for sure. I'm sure people probably think some of these stories sound unbelievable when I tell them, but I don't know that I could make up something like this if I tried.
2 people like this
1 response
@celticeagle (168256)
• Boise, Idaho
19 Jul
Are you sure your dog didn't think she was a cat? Funny story. She was a good dog. I've had a few of those in my life. I am mostly a cat person though.
@sissy15 (12303)
• United States
20 Jul
I'm not always sure what she thought. she also weighed like sixty or so pounds and thought she was a lap dog. I was eight with this big dog laying on me. she was the best though. she's the only dog I ever had. I have two cats now. I love animals and I love dogs but I prefer cats. Cats are also easier to take care of. My husband and son are also cat people who also love dogs but we just don't want a dog. I love other peoples dogs but don't want the responsibility of taking care of a dog. I have always just loved animals but I'm a realist and know you have to take care of animals and with our schedules we don't have time for a dog. Cats can be left alone longer than a dog and are easier to take care of than most animals and they are fun to play with and show affection without having to take them on walks and make sure they're let out several times a day to use the bathroom. Dogs are also too high energy for me. I'm exhausted at the end of the day and don't have the energy to deal with all of their needs. So while I love dogs I don't want another one. I'll just love and appreciate other peoples dogs.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (168256)
• Boise, Idaho
21 Jul
@sissy15 .......Yes, cats are great and very self-sufficient. Dogs are a whole other story.
1 person likes this