It has been a strange few weeks.

First, our beloved sled dog was dognapped. I don’t know what else to call it. Basically, one morning he wandered into the woods around our house to do his business and didn’t come back. This was highly unusual for him as he never wandered far and always came home quickly, especially when called.

After 24 hours, we were worried and 8 hours later set off on a search, following his tracks. The tracks led to a nearby house, and then stopped. Upon knocking on the door, the residents – without opening the door (and locking it first) – said they had not seen our dog.

But the sound of our dog’s collar could be heard muffled. Then a muffled yelp. A few minutes later, he came bounding from around the house. Why did those people say they hadn’t see our dog? This incident was reported to the proper authorities.

Then the other night, my husband was almost attacked by two other dogs at night while walking his dog. It was dark so he wasn’t able to see them well, but he said they were vicious, relentless, and clearly trained to attack people. He was able to fend them off, however, it gave us pause when we thought what might happen if someone less physically big and strong – particularly a child – was faced with these dogs. Again, this incident was also reported, but those dogs are still out there.

We’re headed for a long, cold and dark winter. Here’s hoping we’re not going to have any more strange or dangerous dog incidents.

Keep your dogs close and safe. Keep your kids close and safe, too.