It could never happen to me

I've been, with varying degrees of dedication, an avid runner and cyclist since I started high school and not once have I ever had an unpleasant encounter with a dog.

Sure, riding once on an unfamiliar trail in Crested Butte, Colo. I momentarily mistook a huge Great Dane bounding out of the woods for a starving crazy bear and almost fell off my bike in fear. But aside from that, all my canine encounters have been good ones.

Until this week.

Riding down a street in my neighborhood I passed a woman I see frequently walking her Golden Retriever. I know this particular dog as one that barks at me from the enclosed porch at its residence when I pass on foot or on a bike. I was not, however, prepared for the dog to race after me, jerking the leash from its owner's hand.

Thinking I could disarm an angry pup, I dismounted and spoke in that ridiculous baby voice people use when they introduce themselves to a stranger's dog. In response, he bit me. Actually he bit my shirt, ripping a relic from a 5k race in 2001.

Eventually the owner corralled her snarling, barking, growling pet, but only after the dog circled me a few more times and threatened to lunge.

After the incident I was feeling oddly guilty, aware of the fact that I was fully prepared to deliver a swift and unapologetic kick should the dog have made another attempt to bite. Would the owner have screamed at me? Would I have hurt the dog? Would I have cared? I think I know the answers and they make me uncomfortable all around.

Before getting back to my house, I intercepted a father and son riding their bikes in the direction of the dog and its walker and I stopped to warn them of the situation ahead. The kid was only 10 or 12 years old. Much better some old race T-shirt than a fifth grader.

Congrats to BHS athletes

After a wildly successful weekend at the Divisional competitions in Kalispell and Whitefish, 21 Bigfork High School athletes are headed to the track and field and tennis state championships.

For the smallest public Class A school in the state, BHS seems to produce a disproportionately high number of elite athletes. Though the track and field competition takes place in far-off Bozeman, the state tennis championship is right here in the Mission Valley, so those looking for a change of pace this weekend should head down to Polson and Ronan and cheer on the five BHS athletes who will be competing. For times and locations check out today's sports section.

—Alex Strickland