HOLLY NADLER

508-274-2329

(hollynadler@gmail.com)

Somewhere someone must be writing a canine horoscope chart and warning about a recent date: Here in town within a six-hour period on May 31, I personally was aware of at least three vicious dog encounters. Let us hope this isn’t a preview of things to come this summer. Normally we brace ourselves for a small minority (that translates to some 7,000 people of the extra 100,000 on Island per day in the season) of rude people. Now we may have to add to that demographic unmannerly dogs.

The first dog fight was a case in point since it verged on a mini-riot involving people and dogs. At the upper eastern end of Circuit avenue, a young woman clad in shorts and a tank top walked her two dogs, both of them big, bulky boxer mixes.

Cut to a visiting man walking in the opposite direction, handling a mid-sized dog of unknown lineage. Suddenly the young woman’s dogs bolted away from her and sprang on the new pooch in town. Owners screamed and scrambled to regain control of their charges. When the dust had settled, the man’s dog was bleeding. The young woman, close to tears, apologized profusely. The guy shouted, “You’ll pay for this!” among other things.

A young man who worked in the wine shop on Circuit ran onto the street to defend the young woman. The two men moved closer to each other, yelling still more loudly. It was only a matter of seconds before one of them took a first swing, inciting their dogs to rumble again.

Enter my pals Paula Catanese, Holly Alaimo and Rita Imbimbo from their adjacent stores, Craftworks and Sanctuary. Rita and Paula tried to calm the men, and Paula said to the new guy on the street, “You’re escalating.”

Later Holly told me it was the use of this interesting word “escalating” that got the guy to stop and mull over his actions. At that point he took some 12 steps backwards with his wounded pet. Moments later, a cop arrived.

Only an hour later my own dog, Huxley, got the you-know-what kicked out of him in a play date gone bad with two other dogs who shall remain anonymous, one twice his size and the other twice that dog’s size. What was it about “play” and “date” none of our dogs understood? The minute they locked eyes, they formed a tumbleweed formation of three dogs lunging for each other’s jugular. Until it happens to you, you can’t imagine how hard it is to grab the collar of a deranged pooch.

At last, we separated all three. Huxley limped away with a couple of superficial gashes under his left armpit. He played it up for all it was worth, acting baleful all day and night, but come morning he was fine again. Knowing the thuggish mentality of Boston terriers, he probably thought he’d finished off those two bigger dogs, and that accounted for his being whisked away so as not to make him overly philosophical about the damage he’d inflicted (which was actually none).

Finally the third fight ensued at the end of the day when one of Paula’s dogs got down and dirty with an adorable teacup boxer Paula was taking care of for a friend who was in hospital. Well, the teacup inflicted so much damage on Paula’s big old hound dog, Cashmere, that Paula found herself later watching Dr. Steve Atwood put 200 stitches in her own pooch at the time that the young woman mentioned earlier was paying for stitches as well.

Any other canine rifts on that day? Hopefully not!

This just in from Karen Achille, president of the Friends of the Oak Bluffs Council on Aging: “Put your glad rags on and join me, hon, gonna have some fun . . .” Tomorrow night is the Seniors’ Prom for Islanders over 55. Join in the fun at the senior center from 6 to 9 p.m. There will be music from the 40s, 50s and 60s to listen to or dance to, a photo corner to capture the memories of the evening (just like those proms we attended when we were in high school), and light refreshments will be served. Call Rose before 3 p.m. today at 508-693-4509 to make your reservation; tickets are $7.50 in advance and $10 at the door.

And here’s a delightful message from Barbara Peckham, poet of Pennacook avenue: “Douglas and I will have been married 60 years on June 14. (You will note that all the flags will be put out that day!) (And there are those who said it would never last!) Our kids gave us a lovely 40th anniversary party in Syracuse, and we had all of them here in Oak Bluffs for our 50th, so this will be a quiet day for us. Our daughter, Jennifer Mattea, from Omaha, arrived June 1 for the month, and we are expecting company for a couple of weekends. Also, my brother, Father Bob Pope and his wife, Alice, will be here June 20 to 24 from Colorado with their two Bernese mountain dogs to keep us and Andy, my Bernese, company! It will definitely be a full house!”