Was watching a movie when I saw my dog running in circles, looking uneasy. This is a typical sign that she either has cramps or needs to pee/poop. Since she had already been outside at the usual time, I assumed it was cramps / diarrhea. I quickly grabbed the leash and took her to the playground near my house so she could poop.
Because I was in a rush, I forgot my phone at home, so I had no light with me. That meant I needed to stay close to the path, since it’s the only source of light in the area. I was also wearing the hood of my jacket because near light sources at night, there are tons of insects—and I really don’t want them flying into my face or ears.
My dog went halfway into the bushes, so I was standing right next to her, which meant I wasn’t visible to people walking along the path.
I heard footsteps coming from the path, and since I was so close to it but hidden from view, I did what I usually do to let people know someone’s nearby—I cleared my throat. (I usually do this in public bathrooms too, just so people know they’re not alone, etc.)
Turns out, it was a woman in her ~20s. From her point of view, she suddenly heard a deep sound coming from the bushes, and when she looked over, saw a hooded, 2-meter (6.5-foot) man standing right next to her.
This poor woman probably saw her life flash before her eyes. She had a look of terror on her face and completely froze for what felt like 30 seconds without moving a muscle.
I felt awful and tried to apologize and point out my dog to show that I was just walking her, but the woman didn’t really respond and stayed frozen in place. It took her a good 1–2 minutes to calm down and realize everything was fine before she continued walking.
When she got further away, she told me to be careful—especially with my hood up—because there are some really bad people out there at that time of night. When I explained that I’m fine and only had my hood up to avoid insects flying into my ears, I think it finally clicked for her that I was just a huge idiot walking his dog while being scared of bugs.
If by some huge coincidence you’re reading this: I am so, so sorry for scaring the living shit out of you. I’ve been feeling terrible about it for hours now.
TL;DR: Walking my dog late at night as a big guy. Tried to make a sound so I wouldn’t scare anyone. Ended up terrifying a woman and probably almost gave her a heart attack.
Comments
Literally every man has such a story.
Hows your dog doing?
I’m concerned for her that she just froze in fear. That’s not the ideal reaction when faced with danger.
Poor girl. If her instinct is to freeze for a while and it was a predator she would of been a very easy target.
Fight or flight are not the only primary fear responses. There are also freeze and fawn, and I think one or two more. They’re driven by our upbringings and what kind of danger we’ve been exposed to in our lives. I’d be careful in making judgements based on how she responded, because those reactions are not as simple as they’re made out to be. Fight and flight can often escalate a situation faster than freezing.
That’s not a fuck up. You didn’t do anything.
In all honesty I’ve walked passed a mirror after pausing a zombie movie omw to walk the dog and screamed bloody murder. Thank you for being kind to her and at least making yourself known!
Try baby-talking to your dog. “Good poo poo girl! Good girl! You did it, good job!” In a high-pitched voice. I do this all the time but it could be more useful for a large man.
You brought your dog specifically to a PLAYGROUND to have diarrhea. Gee, how considerate.
I think it’s great that you are so considerate of the other walker and their feelings but I don’t get why you keep referring to yourself as an idiot or apologizing for doing something wrong.
You didn’t do anything wrong by walking your own dog or wearing a hoodie. Just because their feelings are justifiable fear and reaction as a woman doesn’t mean that you made some sort of mistake.