THE TRAVELS OF GHOST DOG

He's passed the house again. He lives.

So I'm out in front yard, all lights off after sundown watering the front gardens. It was about 11:00pm. Dark. Silent. And, while I'm standing there with my back turned to the street behind me, I hear what can only be described as a huffing sound, the sound of someone running slightly short of breath and then I hear footsteps making their way up behind me. I cautiously tense up and 'bout face to see what was approaching me and upon turning around to see what was steaming my way, I notice Ghost Dog--an almost 4 foot, pitch black Great Dane. No collar. No home. And he was only about 10 feet away from me. Frightened, I throw the hose and leap onto the porch in a panic, in sheer terror. I kick open the door, dash inside and lock the door behind me.

I dart to the window and peek through the blinds and see Ghost Dog unphased, head forward continuing down the block.

We've seen this dog before--my lovely wife and I. Our first sighting was close to four months ago. We're sitting on the steps of our house after sundown and I hear the same huffing sound and I squint to the other side of the street to see this large, four-legged shadow pacing almost mechanically along the curb. And, the creepiest part was watching this beast take the corner. He hits the corner of our block and executes a perfect and flawless 90-degree turn without a leash, without direction and then silently disappears out of view just on the other side of street light.

Second time I saw him, same pattern. Jogging stealthily about 10mph with no head motion, all leg movement, panting very subtly and takes the turn eastbound on 11th street without hesitation, without thinking, without breaking speed.

Where is he going?
Where has he been?
Who is his owner?
Is this Ghost Dog?
What happened to him? How did he die?
Has he been sent to haunt me?

Freakiest thing I've ever seen. I kid you not. If he's not, in fact, Ghost Dog. Why doesn't anyone pick him up? I mean, our tax dollars pays for services like that and this isn't the first time I've seen him out and I'm sure he's been out more than I've seen him out if he isn't Ghost Dog. If he doesn't belong to someone, how does he eat? Who feeds him? Maybe he feeds on fear. Maybe he's like a sasquatch of the dog world. Maybe he eats toy dogs. I'd say, by most standards, this awesome beast would qualify more as a horse or equine based on its sheer size. See exhibit A.


Ghost Dog rides again.