When I got about 20 yards away I was surprised to see it was a dog!

He was “dog paddling” out in the surf and looked disoriented. The poor guy was shivering from exposure. There wasn’t a collar on him. I’m not a “dog person” but I am a Good Samaritan. I paddled up to the “pooch” feeling good about the situation and said, in my best baby voice, “You’re a good boy….I’m here to rescue your ass.” I thought he would be glad to see me but how would I know because dogs don’t smile and I couldn’t see his wagging tail.

I positioned myself to grab him and take him into shore. This dog was big as a baby seal and probably weighed close to 20 pounds. I sat up and pulled him onto my surfboard but he slipped off the front. He then worked his way clockwise behind me and was now swimming next to my left knee. I tried one more time to grab him when, to my surprise, he growled and took a bite at me and barely missed! I heard the click of his teeth and felt the lunge of his body. Then he bit into my surfboard on the rail about two inches from my knee! I heard the crunch of the fiberglass and felt the damage being done to my surfboard - it’s that intimacy thing between the surfer and his surfboard. I swear the dog shook his head side-to-side and his eyes rolled up like a shark when it attacked. I splashed water at him and he let go.

“Holy crap!” I yelled and back paddled to get away from this vicious “beast.”

I used my surfboard as a shield between me and the dog but he took another bite out of the nose of my board! Crunch! He bit down hard and only let go when I splashed him with more water. I wondered what this looked like from the shore.

“What the heck is Glenn doing?” they were probably saying. Will Arlene hate me for splashing the dog?
Like a shark attack victim, I paddled furiously towards the shore. Roopal and Dave were watching from about 25 yards away and wondered what the heck was going on and moved closer. When I was at a safe distance, I collected myself from the shock of the attack. That dog bit my surfboard twice and just missed biting my leg! I laughed! Roopal and Dave paddled next to me and I told them what had happened and they laughed. I realized that they were not “dog persons” either. The three of us made a 12-foot diameter circle around the dog, making sure he didn’t drown but not getting close enough to provoke an attack.

The dog was giving us a “what now?” look. But, I really felt he was giving me an “I own you” look.
We were in a classic stare down with the only movement being the swimming dog. After a while, I tried to “sheepdog” him towards shore but he wouldn’t have any of it. Instead of being directed he seemed more interested in hassling me. He was not going to be told what to do by a “non-dog person”……..the little fucker!

In a few minutes we saw another surfer paddling out to help us. His name was Robert. As he neared us we warned him that the dog bites but he continued to paddle towards the dog. He put his hand out to test “fido” and, sure enough, the dog took a bite at him too. Calmly, Robert reached behind the dog’s neck and grabbed him, thus ensuring that the “attacker” could not move his head. Then he pulled the dog onto his surfboard and sat with him. He petted the dog and it seemed to have a calming effect. I was envious of his understanding of the “monster.” He was a “dog person.”

Robert proclaimed, “This is a Chow dog and they can be vicious.” I was thinking, “I just got attacked in the surf by a Chow dog!”

Robert asked us to help him get to shore. We awkwardly positioned ourselves around him and started pushing Robert and the Chow dog. After a couple of minutes an announcement came from shore. From the loudspeaker on the lifeguard truck perched atop Calumet Beach Park overlooking the surf, we heard, “A lifeguard boat will be here in 3-5 minutes to take the dog – signal if you can hear us.” We all waved and breathed a sigh of relief.

I noticed that a crowd had gathered and wondered if they saw me splashing the dog. Could I be cited for cruelty to animals?

We saw a boat speeding towards us from the direction of Crystal Pier and in a few minutes was pulling alongside Robert and the dog. Robert warned the two lifeguards, Ed and Rod, that this Chow dog bites and they had to be careful. In a deftly coordinated “hold the back of his neck” handoff between Robert and Ed, the “mutt” was transferred to the boat. Almost immediately the lifeguards began scrambling as the Chow dog established his territory on deck. The boat sped off and we paddled over to Haniman’s to surf.

I had a so-so surf session. I was preoccupied with what had happened. I went in about 45 minutes later. Arlene was there with her husband, Dave. She thanked me. I told them the story of my encounter with the Chow dog. They laughed uproariously and marveled at the deep bites on my surfboard. Dave, a surf photographer, took photos of my surfboard. I told the story to two more friends, Steve and Jake. More people, who watched the rescue or came to the park when the lifeguard truck arrived with sirens blowing, heard the amusing tale.

“Holy shit” and “damn!” were comments from people who saw my surfboard.
One guy said, “Chow dogs with purple tongues and curly tails are the mean ones.” Another quipped, “In China, the Chows were used as guard dogs because they didn’t bark. They would run up and just started biting!”

I told them I was worried that the dog was gonna bite my balls and had the crowd in stitches.
One resident of the area said that the Chow dog had been on the loose in the neighborhood for two days. Another added that they saw him swim from around PB Point to where Arlene spotted him – a distance of a half mile! It was sounding more like a great fish story.

I wondered what happened to the dog.