An almost killer attack/smack down

Today I got to go running, for the first time all week.  Silly weather. I was so excited, but I didn't have time to drive to the park to run (they have a 4 mile track there), so I decided to run on this cool route I found a few weeks back when I was riding my bike.   With my daughter in the jogger, we set off running down the street.  As we turned the corner and ran past a few houses, I heard a dog barking.  It sounded like a big dog,  but I did not pay much attention because I thought that surely it would be behind a fence or something.  Out of my peripheral I see this big dog run up to me barking, and all I thought to do was to keep running.  I didn't run faster, I just kept running and tried to ignore it.  He was so close to me that he was hitting my heels as I ran, and I felt him bump my legs.  I prayed for two things at that instant- 1. That he would realize we weren't a threat and stop chasing me, and 2. that he had better not get even remotely close to touching my daughter.  To my greatest hope, he must have realized we weren't a threat (I am so grateful I decided to act like nothing was happening, and keep running at a normal pace) and just stopped following us.  I was so releaved that he stopped, and was overcome with emotion as I realized what had happened. 

As I was running I started to think about it, and I am so happy nothing happened, because my daughter was with me.  Bite me and attack me all you want, but when my daughter is involved you best believe I would come out with my fists ready.  I am so glad that he did not attack, because that is not an instance where I want to test my strength!  But, there was no way in heaven I was going to let me touch my daughter.

Needless to say, I probably won't run down that road EVER AGAIN.  I can't put my daughter at risk of that again.  Thank goodness I exercise and am fit, so if the occasion arrives, I will be able to hopefully hold my own, but I hope that it never coems to that.  Dogs can be viscious. 

I am so grateful to Heavenly Father for protecting us today, because there is no way in heaven my survival instincts were the only thing telling me what to do this morning, I believe I had help.  I will forever be grateful today for the fact that our lives were protected.