Excerpt:

It did not take them long to reach the park, and Hannah clipped Rip Tide’s leash off as soon as they were through the gate and in the safe, off leash area. There were no other people or dogs in the park, which was unsusual but somewhat nice. Hannah had Rip Tide’s ball and tug toy with her and was hoping to get an hour of play time in before they had to head back. Rip Tide sprinted away at full speed, full of joy and fun as he circled back toward her before tearing off again.

“Rip Tide! Here boy!” She called as he ran to the other side of the park. He stopped, turned toward her and looked at her with his tail flagged and eyes bright and excited. She showed him the ball and that was all the incentive he needed. He was off like a bullet back toward her, and more importantly, his toy. She threw it with all of her strength and he tore off after it, leaping into the air with perfect coordination to snatch it before it could reach the ground.

He ran full tilt back to her and dropped the ball onto the ground a few feet from Hannah. She laughed and shook her head, “You know better than that! Put it in my hand if you want me to toss it again.” She held her hand out for it and he brought it closer, once again dropping it on the ground, then he nudged it closer and wagged his tail at her, looking at the ball and back at her. She shook her head again and told him once again to put it in her hand. He finally acquiesed and then backed away, crouching his front end down, while his back end was standing up in classic play mode. Hannah deeked left, but he did not even move until she threw the ball.

They played a few more minutes, then suddenly Hannah heard an unfamiliar dog bark from near the entrance to the park. She turned, looking for the dog, it was a Labrador Retreiver, large and black and it was coming toward them in an aggressive stance, with his teeth bared and his hackles standing straight. His gaze was locked on Rip Tide and seconds before he took off at full speed toward her dog, Hannah could see what was going to happen. She started running toward Rip Tide, but she could not gain purchase on the slippery ground. Rip Tide had not noticed the other dog until he was just about on top of him. By then, there was nothing to be done to stop the attack.

“No! Rip Tide! Oh my god! Stop!” Hannah was horrified at the sight of her beloved dog being attacked, she was still too far away to do anything but watch the brutalization. The Labrador leapt onto Rip Tide’s back, sinking his teeth into the smaller dog’s neck and shook. Rip Tide twisted and turned, trying to dislodge his attacker, finally he was able to heave him off and defend himself. Going after the other dog’s neck, he growled and snapped at him, but was unable to make contact. The Labrador Retriever switched tactics and grabbed hold of Rip Tide’s leg and started to drag him.

Hannah frantically looked around for some sort of weapon to use against the feral animal. There! She saw a few large rocks left over from some child’s play. Grabbing them, she hurled them one by one at the dog. Fear made her aim go wide on the first one, but the second landed with a loud thud, causing the dog to yelp and let Rip Tide’s leg go. He looked around for the unseen enemy, but as he did, Hannah had hurled the final two rocks. Then, picking up a stick that she had found, she ran towards the two dogs, yelling and screaming at the top of her voice. She did not even know what she was saying, she was aware only of her goal - to get that dog away from Rip Tide.

The dog took one look at the possessed woman wielding a stick and decided that he was best to cut his losses and run. As he ran through the snow, away from the two of them, Hannah dropped the stick and fell to her knees. Rip Tide looked at Hannah, his eyes pain filled, before he gingerly laid down on his uninjured side. His injured leg was torn and punctured, but from where she was, it looked as though it was not as bad as it could have been.