Aug 11, 2008

Soccer Dog

G'day Dog Lovers,

Late yesterday afternoon I was playing in a soccer semi-final. The atmosphere was tense, the score was close and every possession was being fiercely contested. Everyone was getting a little hot under the collar and tempers were starting to flare...but then, when things were just starting to get really heated, the game had a bit of an interruption. In the middle of the game, a Jack Russell ran on to the field and started attacking the ball.

Immediately, all the players on both teams just burst into laughter. The dog was leaping at the ball and yelping excitedly as everyone watched on. When a couple of players tried to shepherd the dog off the field, he thought it was all a game and wanted everyone to chase him. Eventually the dog ran off and the game got back under way...

Only to be stopped again about 10 minutes later when the plucky pooch returned for round two of his bout with the soccer ball. By this time everyone realised that no-one knew who owned the dog. He had a collar and looked very fit and healthy, but his owner could not be found in the crowd of spectators. After another couple of minutes the dog ran off again and never returned. I certainly hope he was reunited with his owner...and that that person manages to keep better control of their pooch and not just let him wander off.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a lovely story Tim! Though a better ending would have been "and being a dog lover, I whipped out my leash, caught him and contacted his owner".

I think this a great reminder to everyone try and carry treats and a spare leash when out and about. And also not be afraid to step in and help pets who look lost? Even if if means getting a telling off by a jogger just on an offleash run - better that than this little guy running off and getting skittled by a car.

Lets hope he found his way home!

Laura - Editor said...

Hi savingpets,

I would've needed the reflexes of a cat to catch that dog - he was pretty quick!

Luckily this story did have a happy ending. When I left the ground after the match, the dog was nowhere to be seen. But yesterday I spoke to one of my teammates who had stayed back at the ground longer than I had after the match - he said that as he was walking to his car he came across the dog on a leash with his owner. The pooch looked happy and as full of beans as ever.

So all's well that ends well - let's just hope his owners keep a closer eye on him in future!

Anonymous said...

Hi Tim!!

That happened to me also not so long ago; at first I think I was a little apprehensive about if the dog would wrap his jaw around someone's leg, but the dog seemed to be enjoying himself as much as the spectactors!

It is unfortunate his owner wasn't about...no-one likes to see a dog unaccompanied, but it's great to see new technologies like dog microchipping to be used in our doggy world to ensure our dogs can be as safe as us!!