I had been operating construction equipment for five years. It was a job I liked. Long days operating a backhoe wasn’t something I enjoyed but those days were rare. Most jobs aren’t that repetitive. It was a late spring day with sunshine and fluffy clouds and I had a job that would pass the time quickly and there would be very little boredom. I had to drive a rubber tired backhoe 6 miles to a small job, dig a footing for a small room addition and drive back to the shop. It would take 6 hours and I’d be in the country for most of my drive and all of the machine work. Not a bad day at all. I didn’t even think about what job might be waiting when I got back. I was young enough not to care.
This job was for a homeowner so all I had to do was knock on the door and he would show me what he wanted trenched. I drove away from the shop, hugging the roadside so traffic could pass easier. I jogged a half mile over to a gravel secondary road to stay away from fast cars and semis. I drove between fields of corn with a breeze ruffling through it. I could see over the tops of the corn and the wind created waves that almost looked like water……if the imagination was exercised a little. I was enjoying myself.
I found the number on the mailbox and pulled into the drive of the farm house. I could see the stakes and lines painted on the ground where I was to dig. I wheeled into the grass and backed up to line up my backhoe with the line of the trench that was to be dug. Then I waited. There was no movement from the house. How could someone NOT know a big noisy machine had driven up? I got out and walked toward the house. There was a yard windmill with a flower bed around it……not a real working mill, just one of those yard decorations. I walked past admiring the garden around it when something caught my eye. I looked up toward the barn and three dogs were running toward me.
I was once bitten by a neighbor’s dog when I was five or so and have always had a fear of certain breeds. Don’t get me wrong, I love dogs but German sheppards bring back the uneasiness. One of the three was a German Sheppard. One was a Rottweiler and the other was some mixed breed with what looked like mastiff in it. Three large, powerful dogs ran up to me with only growls, not a single bark. This was serious. I know pack mentality. It works in humans, apes, birds, and very much so in dogs. If one attacks all will. The decision to attack, once made by one member of the group is then taken up by the whole group. I was very uneasy but not alarmed yet. The owner would come out and call them off and they probably wouldn’t attack anyway. I stood stock still, my arms wrapping my body, hands tucked away so they couldn’t be grabbed by teeth.
The three dogs surrounded me. I couldn’t see the one behind me but I felt its breath and its nose as it sniffed me. Then the Sheppard growled and bared its teeth. It was almost in front of me. Its eyes looked at me and I looked away. Making eye contact might be a bad thing. The Rottweiler was slightly to my left. Its’ tongue was in its mouth, its teeth bared. Deep urgent growls came from it as it edged closer, its snout only inches from my arm. I stood stiffly, tense and suddenly very afraid. This was a totally serious. If one attacked all would grab me. I don’t think I could stay on my feet. Once on the ground I’d be mauled with all the fierceness an attack dog like a Rottweiler could manage. I wouldn’t last a minute. The mastiff was huge. It could snap the bones in my leg or tear a hand off. I knew if I moved I would signal an attack. The sun beat down hotly now. No breeze stirred. I felt myself getting dizzy. I realized I’d been standing there stiffly for ten minutes. That’s how you faint. I had to relax. Sweat ran off me and I felt sick to my stomach. I slowly relaxed my shoulders, letting them sag and trying to relax my legs. That very small movement caused the Sheppard to bite my arm. He didn’t break the skin, only snapped, pinching the skin. A surge of adrenaline went through me and I stiffened up again.
I looked toward the house, hoping someone would come out, knowing I couldn’t stay on my feet much longer. I could see my watch and was surprised to see I’d been there more than 15 minutes. My legs trembled and I swayed, trying not to stagger. I was so weak now I knew I couldn’t fight them off. Growls increased as I swayed, at the end of my strength. Now was the time. This is how I was going to die. I wanted to see my children again. Suddenly nothing mattered except holding them in my arms again. Something happened then that I can’t explain. I relaxed and breathed deeply. What will be will be. I thought of my sons and a breeze blew. The sun wasn’t that hot now. I stopped trembling. The fear that had almost killed me eased. I took a slow deep breath and looked toward the house. I could stand here all day and all night but I was going to hold my sons in my arms again. For thirty nine minutes I stood there. The dogs got bored and circled. They growled and stalked. Then one went to the stock tank and reared up to take a drink.
The tension had left the dogs. They were getting bored. Anyone who could stand that long must belong there. Or they’d gotten used to me…or I had become a member of their family on a trial basis. I slowly turned and walked without noise or sudden movement and got on the tractor. I drove it back across the grass to the drive and back to the road. Back through the corn fields and down the busy highway to the shop. I parked the tractor and without telling anyone where I was going, I went home and hugged my boys.
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