^Hotel Del Coronado^
So there I was, in the middle of a 4-mile run around Coronado Island, basking in the sunshine of another lovely San Diego day. I’d made my way from the Hotel Del Coronado down to the turnaround at the end of the beach and begun the return trip up through the dog beach, where pet owners are allowed to unleash their hounds and let them frolic in the surf. I was listening to music and admiring cute girls and dogs and enjoying the trip in general when, all of a sudden, I heard a loud WOOF ahead of me.
There they were – a pack of 5 big dogs…three mutts and a couple of Black Labs. They barreled heedlessly toward me, barking and nipping at one another, blissfully unaware that they were in my path. Before I had time to react they were on me. Two cut to the side. Two others I managed to dodge. But ol’ Black Lab bringing up the rear, he never saw me coming. He tucked his head and yelped as he crashed into my legs, sending me sprawling forward into the sand and him into a roll behind me. I managed to toss my left arm out in front of me to avoid a total catastrophe, but my elbow took a twist and I’m afraid I’ll be feeling the effects of that in the morning.
I got to my feet and my first instinct was to make sure the dog was okay. He was sitting in the sand looking as stunned as I was. He came over and licked my hand and I patted his head. Then I noticed the owners, a group of about 10 people, laughing from their spot on the sand. I gave them a sarcastic thumbs-up and a “What the fuck?!” shrug while I rubbed my twisted elbow and decided that getting back to my business would be better than any sort of altercation.
I’m not at all against the idea of a place where dogs can run free without leashes, but it just seems like a bad idea to let a group of LARGE dogs run in a pack completely unattended. They could’ve trampled a little kid or something! In any event, the rest of the run went without a hitch and the weather is perfect again. Thanks, San Diego!
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