i just thought of another childhood memory related to dogs. when i lived in fresno, my parents had friends with 7 kids, and i used to hang out at their house all the time, especially during summers. one day, a few of us were walking back to their house from somewhere (can't remember where...the park where we usually played maybe??), and jay-yi uhn-yi was walking next to me, two others in front of us, when jay-yi uhn-yi stops talking and shushes us. i could hear jingling behind us. i turned around, and holysh*t there's a huge black dog right behind me! i freak out, and start walking faster. by now, everyone's noticed this large dog. we're about a block from their house, and we just start running. well, running from a dog is just about the dumbest thing you could ever do. but we ran. luckily, other kids were home and the door was unlocked, and we all ran as hard as we could into the house. the dog chased us for a little bit, but lost interest i guess, cuz by the time we were all save behind the screen door, the dog was just trotting along the sidewalk. *sigh* i was about 6. scary. and yet i'm once again amazed that i don't have a fear of dogs...