I used to love taking Laika to the dog park when she was young. Despite her leash-anxiety, she was so happy to run around like a freak with a pack of other like-minded dogs. Sometimes this meant that she would run around solo in the woods for a while, but she usually preferred chasing tennis balls or running recklessly until she was so exhausted that her tongue was touching the ground! At times, it was over-stimulating for her, but after 30 minutes, she was ready to go walk on-leash without exhibiting any anxiety. Not only did she love the dogs, but she like to beg for attention from people there as well. I remember one day Laika was so happy that she laid on the ground and let a tiny French bulldog puppy climb all over her while the owner gave her scratches!
Granted, getting to the dog park was sometimes a chore, as many people allowed their dogs to be off-leash anywhere and everywhere...which was clearly against the law. Since this would create unnecessary anxiety with Laika still on-leash, I would try to bring her to the park at times that were less busy, like weekday mornings around 10 am. Additionally, there were two neighboring dog parks in Frick Park...one was fully fenced-in and the other only on three sides with a border of woods on the fourth side. We tried to use the one that was fully fenced-in for obvious reasons, but the other one was usually more popular.
One early Fall day, we went to the park as usual. There was only one other person and their dog there. They were in the fully fenced-in park, which was great. Laika was excited to meet a new dog and they became friends quickly. The other dog was older, so didn't want to run much with Laika. It wasn't a problem, as I was able to throw a tennis ball for her and she was excited to run after it at breakneck speeds. After a short session of "fetch," without the ball being brought back (so more like throw the ball to Laika and then chase her), she wanted to just go sniff and explore the perimeter of the park. While she was doing that, the other dog's person and I started talking.
It was a pretty interesting conversation, as the lady told me that her dog had gone into anaphylactic shock several days earlier in this very park from a bee-sting. Luckily, they had gotten her pup to the vet just in time to be treated. Any longer and her lovely dog wouldn't have made it! She showed me that she was carrying and epipen from then on...just in case. I listened empathically to her cautionary tale, especially since Laika and I already had several minor accident scares. Speaking of the "canine banana peel"...over the course of the converation, I could see Laika jumping around and wagging her tail madly out of the corner of my eye. When I turned to see what she was doing, she was "dancing" with her new friend: a very angry, hissing snake!
Yep, Laika was just greeting her new pal...a 4 ft-ish black snake coiled with teeth exposed. No big deal, right? My heart immediately sank as I watched from about 20 yards away. I started calling her name, she ignored me; happily play-bowing to the snake, which was not amused in the least. The other lady also tried calling Laika, but she ignored both of us, instead focusing on having "fun." I picked up a stick that was near me and threw it toward them, as they were very close, about 3 ft. apart. To no avail, it wasn't enough of a distraction. Laika was fixated on the snake. Suddenly, the snake uncoiled quickly, trying to strike Laika. She deftly dodged the attack with a leap and returned to her spot with her tail wagging even harder! It was unreal and extremely frightening.
While this was happening, I moved swiftly moved toward the action. We continued to call Laika. Finally, she listened...but instead of coming back to me, she laid-down on her belly happily watching the still angry snake. At this point, I was pretty close to both of them and cautiously approached Laika, so I could grab her and physically move her away from danger. The coiled serpent was staring me directly in the eyes...following my every move. I swear it had fangs, but it could have been a figment of my imagination. All I had to do was just needed to keep calm and grab Laika. Luckily, as soon as I took hold of her collar, she backed away easily and the snake stopped its hissing, relaxed immediately and continued on its way across the park.
My heart was beating out of my chest at that point, but we were both safe. The lady watching couldn't believe what had just transpired. Laika was none the wiser and I think was a little disappointed that she was not able to "play" with the snake anymore. Regardless, she got ample treats and a body rub to keep her attention away from the fleeing snake, so she was happy about that. Once the impact of the entire episode sunk-in, both humans and their pups decided it would be best to leave the park. I thanked the lady for trying to help and also for having the epipen, which I thought we might need to use if Laika had been bitten by her scaly pal!
I guess the title of this story is a bit misleading...she wasn't so much of a snake-charmer as she was an accidental snake-agitator! In hindsight, this was a harrowing and exciting tale. At the time, however, it was nothing short of terrifying. File under: Just another ho-hum day spent with Laika the wonder dog.
Baby Laika passed-out, maybe after her play date with Mr. Snake.
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