I CANNOT Believe I Let That Happen!

I want to start this post by saying, yes, I am incredibly ashamed of my actions this morning. I truly cannot believe that I allowed this to happen – but it caught me completely by surprise and I was obviously unprepared. What you are about to read will prove that I am the worst pet owner *ever* and the most inconsiderate runner *ever*. But in the spirit of transparency and “real life” blogging….I’m going to tell you anyway. This may be a little long – but I promise it’s totally worth taking the time to read. Please forgive me, but this is what happened…..

I have decided to run another half marathon in November. As a result, Dixie (my female boxer) and I have been going on morning runs for the past three weeks. I do hate getting out of bed each morning, but once my shoes are laced up and Dixie’s leash is attached, we hit the road hard and both love it. There is something incredibly peaceful and energizing about an early morning run with such a pretty pooch.

This morning I decided to spice things up and we ventured into a new neighborhood. The Oaks is an incredibly hilly neighborhood and I thought it might be good training to do some hill work. About half way into our run Dixie started acting funny. She kept trying to veer off the sidewalk and into the grass of homeowners’ front yards. A quick jerk and her chain and a sharp, “Heel Dixie” and she snapped to attention and came back to the sidewalk. But still…it was annoying.

Thinking that perhaps she had to tinkle I led her an undeveloped lot paused my Nike+ to allow her a moment to relieve herself. She sniffed around for a few minutes and laid down. Realizing that she was just being a brat and probably didn’t like the extra work the hills required, I jerked her up and we resumed our run.

But still, she kept swerving into the front yard every time we passed a house.

*This is where I need to explain something. Dixie never poops on a run. *EVER* I let her outside while I put on my running gear each morning so she has plenty of time to take care of her business before we ever leave the house. She’s all business when we are running. As a result, I don’t carry plastic bags with me in the morning. We usually run 3-4 miles and she never poops. So why would I carry any unnecessary extras??

Okay, so back to the story.

After dragging our butts up an unusually steep hill, we picked up our pace for the down hill. I was nearly sprinting and it felt amazing. Amazing that is, until Dixie came to a complete stop and almost jerked my shoulder out of socket. Mad as hell Only slightly annoyed, I turned around to see what the hold up was. My jaw dropped when I realized Dixie was POOPING on the SIDEWALK!

That’s right. In front of God and every homeowner in The Oaks – she laid the biggest poop bomb I have ever seen on the sidewalk. Not just the sidewalk – but the sidewalk area right.in.front.of someone’s driveway. So more than likely, they drove through the poo on their way to work this morning.

Immediately I jerked her leash and tried my hardest to drag her to the grass. I figured it was better that she poop on someone’s front yard than on their sidewalk. Unfortunately, this didn’t help at all. Instead Dixie continued to poop as I drug her and left a trail of poo leading from the large mound on the sidewalk all the way to the grass.

So not only does that homeowner have a huge pile of poo right in their driveway, they also have a nice little path leading to their grass.

And what did I do? I did what any respectable American citizen would do. I walked to their front door, rang the doorbell and asked if I could borrow a baggie so I could clean up the mess my dog had made.

NOT!!!!

Once I was sure Dixie was finished with her movement, I jerked her leash and we got outta dodge before anyone could see us! Despite the hills, I have never run so quickly in my life. My Nike+ indicated that I was running a little less than a 9 minute mile – for comparison I usually run a little over a 10 minute mile. We were MOVING! I did not want to get caught being that person who lets their dog crap on the sidewalk. Plus – I don’t live in The Oaks so I won’t have to hear the neighbors complain about it so I figured it was best to just run.

In my defense, it wasn't until a mile later when we breathlessly arrived at my front door that I realized I could have knocked on the front door and asked for a bag to clean up the mess. In the heat of the moment, my fight or flight instincts took over and I chose flight.

Obviously, I’m not proud of what I did. I really hope they didn’t drive through the poo and smear it into the concrete. I also keep sending up prayers that they don’t have small children that find the poo before the parents.

Either way – lesson learned, I need to carry a plastic bag with me every time I take Dixie for a run. Because apparently she is not the perfect little lady that I thought she was. If she’s gotta go – she’s gonna go: concrete or grass makes no difference to her. And I’m honestly not too sure how many quick getaways I have left in me.

Oye….