SAVED BY A NOSE at the dog park

THIS WASN'T TAKEN THE DAY
LADY HELPED ME.

You can tell when a dog's going to bite you.

A 70-pound dog — I didn't notice what kind — was stalking me one day at the dog park. Maybe it didn't like my cane. Maybe it was my scent. Its tail was down, and it had the body language of a dog about to bite me.

Suddenly, my 12-year-old dog Lady came in the picture. She calmly and gently (but firmly) stuck her nose in front of the bigger dog's shoulder, and she walked him into the fence. She didn't do anything to surprise or hurt the dog, and it didn't react to her at all.

It just stood there, still looking at me. Thankfully, it left me alone after that. And my dog went about her business.

Thanks, Lady.


(NOTE: Lady, who is lying near my left foot, is nearly 15 now.)

(UPDATE: Lady passed on Sept. 17, 2016.)

EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  TWITTER: EDITORatWORK

MORE ENTRIES FROM THE DOG BLOG

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 13-plus years with my dog Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

EDITOR@WORK BLOG ENTRIES

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

BLOG ENTRIES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

ANECDOTES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer OUTTA there!

BLOG ENTRIES FROM THE AUTO RACING JOURNAL

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing