We were involved in a full-blown, no-holds-barred dogfight today. Oddly enough, Max and Buddy were on the same side. Even more peculiar, I may have been the most injured party.

Walking back from our morning excursion, we encountered a big Boxer type dog. I felt uneasy from the moment he suddenly appeared out of nowhere, bounding around the corner unleashed and unescorted. He just seemed out of control. I tried to get between him and my dogs and asked him who he belonged to. He came bounding over to me, stooped to smell my boys and the next thing you know, it was on.

Mind you, everything happened in such a flash, I can barely recount the course of events. All I know is he was attacking Max and I instinctively grabbed him by the neck in a headlock until he released him. The dog broke away to grab Max while Buddy was snapping at his heels, and then he was all over Buddy.

By now, Max had completely broken away from the leash by slipping out of his collar. He was ready to rumble. I kept pulling the stray dog away from them both, commanding Max to stay. I had to physically restrain the dog, which my guess is weighed about 80 lbs. I grabbed his collar from behind pulling back on it, and held him in a death grip between by legs while I reached into my pocket for my whistle. Another lady who was passing by walking her dog asked if I was okay, and I just screamed, "Call 911." She went into the store on the corner and everyone came running out to see what was going on. By now, the owner came strolling down the street in her bathrobe, carrying a leash and calling the dog's name. I screamed at her to get control of her dog while I checked mine out. She kept saying, "He's never attacked anybody before. I don't know what happened." I told her while I didn't know about his history, he definitely attacked today.

Turns out that neither Max nor Buddy had a scratch, which, unfortunately, I can't claim for myself. I don't know how it happended, but someone in the scuffle my knuckle got scrapped. By the time I got home and my adrenalin calmed down, I realized I was sore all over. I felt like I had been in a fight which, realistically, I guess I was.

All things considered, it could have been much worse. The lady, who is a neighbor I had never met, called shortly after to apologize profusely. Somehow the dog had escaped the gate when she went out to clean the yard. She told me they had rescued him about a year ago so she didn't know a lot about his history. They suspect he had been used in fighting because, at just a couple of years old, she said he has very few teeth left. I guess that explains why Max nor Buddy was injured. Or why I wasn't hurt worse.

I have a soft spot for rescues, and for those who take them in. I can also relate to having your dog embarrass you by behaving like a dog. The lesson for me in this unfortunate incident is twofold: stay out of dog fights and always carry a cell phone.