Bad Idea

In retrospect, I should have known better. I'm not sure what came over me. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Live and learn, I guess.
Last night was a beautiful summer evening in Mandan. Warm enough to be out in shorts and shirt sleeves and not so hot that you sweat just by thinking too hard. We are only granted about 2 weeks worthy of truly beautiful weather, and I wasn't going to waste the time indoors.
A little background will be helpful. I have a golden retriever puppy named Lucy. She is 20 months old and looks a lot like Duke from the Bushes Baked Beans commercial. Lucy weighs about 90 pounds and she is a big dog. The vet says that she is not fully grown yet; I'm consulting someone to make a saddle for me. However, inside the body of a giant beast lives the heart of a hamster. Lucy is a huge chicken. Everything scares her - lawn mowers, motorcycles, umbrellas, laundry hanging out on the line, people wearing hats, people not wearing hats.... you get the idea. My brother's family has taken to calling her Scooby Doo as she is afraid of everything and really likes Scooby snacks.
I do not encourage her timidity. It decreases her quality of life and is dangerous for her. She once bolted while I had her out on a walk and ran haphazardly through traffic until I caught up with her four blocks later. It's a miracle she wasn't hit by a car. The scary culprit -- a man seeding his lawn. I try to give Lucy "safe" scary experiences in hopes of helping her understand that everything in the world is not scary.
Last night, I decided that we would venture down to the free concerts in the park at Dykshoorn Park in Mandan. I wasn't sure who the entertainment would be, but, hey -- it's free and it was a beautiful night to be out and about. I found a parking space right across from the park. True, I don't live far from the park, but Lucy is afraid of the traffic on Main Stree and I wanted to have a backup in case my plan misfired. Good plan.
She was scared when I parked the car and the traffic was whizzing past us. I got out my car and then got Lucy out of the car. When Lucy is scared, her ears get plastered to her head, her tail ges between her legs and she walks crouched down as if the sky is going to fall down at any minute. Not a pretty sight for a beautiful dog who should be walking tall with her head held up. We got safety across the street and found a place way behind the rest of the crowd. As I sat down and settled in, Lucy was visibly shaking. She put her paws on my knees and looked me in the eyes as if to say, "I'll do anything if we can leave right now!" I reassured her that she was doing fine and she was a good girls and put her four paws back on the ground. After a while, she seemed to settle and even enjoyed an older couple who came to pet her and tell her she was pretty. What girl doesn't love that!
I thought I was home free until.... the train came. The train runs right on the edge of the park. You can see the color the eyes of those people riding on the train - you are that close. They didn't sound their horn or call attention to themself. They just rolled past. Lucy started to head for the street and pull against her leash like a puppy possessed I got down on my knees and tried to calm her with soothing words. This was my big mistake. Lucy took off and the next thing I know I'm being dragged behind a hell-bent hound as she makes for the street. I'm sure that the sight of me being dragged on my stomache behind a huge dog was entertaining for the rest of the crowd. I, however, was not having a good time. I eventually was able to stop her and get back up, but she was so panicked that she was frantic. She was jumping and pulling against her leash and discovered my dreaded secret. She is stronger than I am. Not good.
Just when I thought we would both be pulled into traffic, an angel was sent straight from heaven in the form of my friend, Deb. She had stopped to visit at my house and finding no one home she decided to see if Lucy and I had gone to the concert. I find this amazing as I have never gone to the concerts before last night. Praise God!!
She could tell from across the street that things were headed South and rushed to my aid. As I surveyed my scraped knees and dirty arms, she calmed Lucy as she shook against her pantleg. We decided to stay a bit longer to give Lucy a chance to settle and left before the last song to give us some breathing room. Deb took Lucy by the leash and off they ran toward the car. With Lucy tucked safely in the backseat of the car, she seemed a little less scared and we headed home. Once out of the car and her own backyard, she was the galloping, goofy puppy that I know and love. I was exhausted, but she seemed unscathed.
Today, I consulted a sage who told me to proceed in baby steps. Walk her a block from traffic. Walk her along the sidewalk on Main Street. Then proceed slowly to the Park. She needs to face her fears and get past this bump in the road. I want her to walk with her head held high enjoying the breeze and stopping to sniff the roses. Until that day comes, however, I'm thinking about investing in some knee pads.