Two blocks down, I heard whistles and shouts before I saw the source. I rounded the corner and saw a man running in my direction whistling with his thumb and forefinger in his mouth. Running in front of him, but faster, utilizing some pretty impressive "zig zag" skills, was a pack of Renegade Weiner Dogs! The long bodied, squat legged, little devils had busted free of their confinement while their people were gone and were tearing up the neighborhood to beat hell. The man giving chase was a next door neighbor. I offered my assistance but I was no better at "round ‘em up" than he was. The vicious, slippery, little suckers circled just out of our reach, yipping like mad. One of them finally broke from the pack and high tailed it to the chain link fence above the creek. He disappeared through a hole barely big enough for him to slip through, must have had it scoped out already because he went right to it. He glanced over his shoulder with an evil laugh before disappearing down the bank. Quick as a flash, the other three followed too, through the hole and down the bank to the creek. The poor man who’d been chasing them, bent over at the waist, supporting his upper body with his hands on his knees, he was trying to catch his breath. When he could finally speak he said, "that's exactly what my neighbor was afraid would happen," he gasped, "the last time they got out and went down to the creek they got hosed by a skunk!" Oh dear, one high potency noxious little wiener dog is bad enough, but four of them?! Foooey!!! He thanked me for my help and stomped off toward the fence spouting, "Damn, Damn, Damn!" all the way.
Except for the dead raccoon in the gutter - bloated and in full rigor with fangs bared, claws flexed and an expression of surprise on his face, the rest of the trip was uneventful. If you could separate the smell of the eucalyptus trees and lilacs from car exhaust, that was nice for a second or two. The ground flowers were in full bloom everywhere, they were really pretty. You know, you sure miss a lot when you're always in a car. However, you don't get smacked in the face with poopy palm trees either.