Choppy tends to be fearless – and it’s not always a good thing.

Whenever we’ve seen a bear along the side of a the road, she treats it as she would the UPS man: much barking and baring of teeth until the offending creature goes away. Or, in the case of a bison on the side of the road, until I can’t stand listening to her any more and drive away.

Imagine a dog barking in your ear while you take this picture. Because that's what was happening to me when I took it.
Imagine a dog barking in your ear while you take this picture. Because that’s what was happening to me when I took it.

I’m pretty sure that, without the car, Choppy would lose a fight to either a bear or a bison. But I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t stop her from picking that fight.

However, there was one time – a single time, over the course of her lifetime with me – when Choppy was truly scared of something. And there was another animal involved.

We were in Tucson, and I took Choppy to a dog park so she could stretch her legs after days in the car and on a leash. Choppy was one of only two dogs at the park, probably because, for the first time in years, there was snow on the ground in Tucson.

However, it was this day, at this dog park, and this other dog that would prove to be the scariest thing Choppy has ever seen.

I should start by noting that this other dog? The largest dog I have ever seen. Imagine a dog with the height of a Great Dane and the width/fur of a Saint Bernard, and you’ll be within the realm of how large this dog was.

Day 20 - Choppy is Scared - Cropped
A rough guess as to how large Choppy viewed this dog in comparison to other animals (the dog is on the right).

Choppy and I stepped into the dog park, and the very large – and, as it turned out, absurdly friendly – other dog came over to say hi to Choppy and me.

Choppy took one look at the giant creature coming toward her, yelped, and tore off across the dog park with her tail between her legs.

I went after Choppy – feeling bad for the giant dog who just wanted to make a friend – and for the next few minutes, we kept our distance from (and Choppy kept a wary eye on) the other dog, until it headed home from the dog park. Choppy was relieved, and likely hoped that the next giant creature we ran into was something more manageable.

Like a lion.

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