Genghis tore across the roadway. More horns and more brakes as cars avoided hitting the big dog as he ran between cars. An SUV braked hard, tires screaming, the vehicle coming within less than three feet of Genghis.
The man in the jeans looked behind as he ran, wondering what the disturbances were that he left in his wake. A few yards ahead of him were a young couple. They were sitting on the ground having an early dinner before seeing a movie. It was their third date. Suddenly a man ran across their picnic blanket, knocking over drinks and kicking a bowl of potato salad like a soccer ball. The man in the jeans stumbled as his foot got caught in the blanket. He kicked it away and kept running.
Genghis entered the park. Now without any obstacles in his way he was able to hit his full stride. The young couple were on their knees picking up the remnants of their picnic when the young man glanced up. “Watch it, Babe. Watch it!” The young lady turned in the direction of his alarm. She let out a small scream and dove for the ground as a large dog hurtled over both of them. The animal hit the ground on all fours and tore off, kicking up dirt. The funny thing was, when the young couple later thought back to the event, they both could have sworn they heard someone say ‘excuse me’ as the dog jumped over them.
A few moments after the dog passed, another man came running by. He was huffing and puffing and breathing hard. “Sorry! – Sorry! – That was my canine,” he said, as he ran by the young couple. He was followed by a woman, flailing her arms and shouting, “Wait up! Wait for me!”
The young couple stood up, looked at each other, and in unison said, “What the hell is going on?”
The man in the jeans was nearly at the end of the park, heading for an alley he knew very well, when he felt an enormous blow to his back. He was thrown forward, knees buckling as he lost his footing. His chest hit the ground hard, knocking wind out of his lungs, his face digging into the soft dirt, his mouth filling with grass. He lay there stunned for a few seconds, then coughed out some grass and proceeded to prop himself up on his forearms. He looked up and came face to face with a snarling Doberman Pinscher.
Genghis wasn’t sure why he was having this reaction, showing his teeth and growling and all. But it seemed to be the thing to do. He then gave two sharp aggressive barks throwing saliva onto the face of the man in the jeans.
The man rolled to his back and using his elbows tried to crawl away from the growling dog. “Oh, shit!”
Just then Trent came running up. Breathing heavily, he stopped, bent over, and put his hands on his knees.
“Shit, man!” The man in the jeans pleaded with Trent. “Call off your fucking dog!”
“Stay on the ground,” Trent said, still trying to catch his breath. “And the canine won’t inflict any harm to you.”
A small crowd started to gather. Among them was the young couple. More people were walking up. Some of the bystanders got on their cell phones. The woman finally caught up and burst through the small crowd. She snatched up her purse and swiftly kicked the man in the jeans in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him for the second time.
“I hope that dog bit you on your ass, asshole!” she shouted. She then turned to Trent. “Thank you so much.”
“It was our pleasure, madame,” Trent replied, finally breathing normally.
A police car pulled up to the curb bordering the park.
“You really have a well trained dog. Is he friendly?” And before Trent could answer she bent down toward Genghis, took his head in both hands, and started rubbing. “Yes, yes, you’re a good boy aren’t you, yes you are.” Genghis wasn’t sure how to react. How would a human canine react to this kind of an assault? He wasn’t sure. But one odd thing, he couldn’t stop his little nub of a tail from vigorously wagging back and forth. Now why the hell was that?
“Thank you again,” the woman said, straightening up. “Thank you so much.”
Just then a voice came from the crowd. “Okay, what’s the problem here?” It was a police officer cutting through the crowd, followed by another.
“Yeah! I can tell you,” the woman said, “This piece of shit inbred stole my purse. And if it wasn’t for this man he would have gotten away with it.”
The police officer looked down at the man in the jeans. “Louie, you stealing purses again? This is strike three buddy. You know what that means.”
The woman started to explain everything that happened. From the theft of the purse to the kick to the stomach.
The police officer looked at Trent, then to Genghis. “That’s a pretty well trained dog you got there. You in security or something?”
Jeff looked nervously at Genghis, who looked back with the same expression, then back to the police officer. “Yes, you could say that.”
“Okay,” the police officer said. “I’m going to need all principal parties to stick around and give me a statement.” The second police officer rolled Louie over and handcuffed him. “Everybody else, go home. Nothing more to see here, move on,” the police officer said, shooing the bystanders away like cattle.
Jeff Trent bent down and pretended to adjust Genghis’s collar. He then got close to his partner's ear, “I think we better go,” he whispered. “We’re attracting way too much attention to ourselves.”
“I concur,” Genghis said quietly, while looking toward the ground.
So, while the two police officers were loading Louie into the back of
