Not so perfect

SHE WAS LACY; NOW, SHE'S DIXIE

OCT. 1, 2016: Dixie had seemed like the perfect dog... Until today.

It was our fifth day at the dog park, and I'd been happy with the way she'd acted. Yesterday, she met a big dog named Strider, and she spent part of the time following him around, sniffing his nether regions.

Today, we were alone on the little-dog side, with a bunch of dogs on the big-dog side. First, Dixie started growling and snarling at dogs through the fence.

Then, a woman brought three little dogs into the little-dog side, and Dixie went nuts with growling and snarling every time a dog got near her. Fortunately, the young woman realized that Dixie was just scared, but there was no reason for her to be scared.

I quickly put her leash on her and held her next to me. When the noise and hostility didn't end, I took us out of there. We went to Covington Park in Rural Hall, and, fortunately, no one brought a dog near her.

Now, we're home, and she's lying in her crate. It's quiet.

• Woof! (translation: Go away, kid; you bother me)

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EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  BLUESKY: PROFILE

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

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(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