She lives in an area much like this one…
…and she used to walk 2 to 3 miles per day. She’s not young, and walking has improved her health and well-being while keeping her mobile.
That is, she walked until a convicted rapist moved into the neighborhood.
He went to prison, he paid his debt to society and now, he walks, too. When driving down her street, he will stop and face the car as he hears it coming, in some weird, pathetic display of xy dominance. He seems to always be walking, I see him just about every time I drive out to her house.
She told me that she no longer walks. That needs no explanation, we all know it, we are all subject to it, the patriarchal leash that is male sexual terrorism and the potential male violence that we are imprisoned by. It controls our movements, limits our freedoms.
The freedom of a rapist trumps female autonomy.
Every time.
She has a permit to concealed carry a gun, but why risk it? Especially when male law punishes us when we defend ourselves against a violent male, more often than not.
But then, there’s Teddy.
Teddy is a dog, much like this one..
…he is a little bigger, his ears are a little floppier, and he lives on the same road that the rapist now walks.
Teddy is a friendly, goofy dog. He regularly visits my friend and her chickens and guinea fowl. Whenever Teddy shows up, his owner always shows up immediately, to wrangle Teddy, apologize for Teddy’s escape and to take Teddy back home.
Sometimes, a few minutes passes before Teddy’s person realizes that Teddy has gone on an adventure.
One day last week, Teddy’s owner realized that Teddy was on a walk-a-bout.
He immediately goes out to look for Teddy, only to find that Teddy has chased the rapist up a tree.*
Here is an almost totally professional artist’s rendition of a recreation of the event…
*It’s also possible that said rapist, being a coward, saw Teddy and just ran because he is afraid of dogs, or whatever, and possibly Teddy thought that he was participating in an innocent game of chase. But I don’t think so.
Teddy’s owner was confused at Teddy’s intense dislike of the rapist. Teddy never meets a stranger, he seems to love everyone, including chickens and guinea fowl. Teddy seemed to know an evil asshole when he saw an evil asshole.
Teddy’s person controlled Teddy so the skeered little rapist could scuttle down, out of the tree, complaining that he had been terrified, hiding in the tree, for at least 20 minutes, waiting for someone to come along and save him from Teddy.
Teddy is the Goodest Boi. And if Teddy ever needs a home, I have sent word to his owner that he will always be welcome here.
Jayne❤ (see below for bonus video…)
P.S. I recorded this on January 29th, while I still had the flu.
If you can stand my commentary, which includes some coughing, you can watch the video below.
If you want to skip the cough filled commentary, then watch here, it’s the same video of a dainty Xy being a dainty skater…
From Twitter….
Jayne❤
RadFemSpiraling 
UPDATE: It’s now 5 full days since Teddy treed the rapist.
And no one has seen him walking, since.
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Good dog Teddy!!
I have a solution. Why not let the woman who walks borrow Teddy when she wants to go walking? Teddy seems to like a walk about. He knows an evil asshole when he sees one and the woman would get her walk and probably even more fun because well, it is fun to go around with dogs as I’ve discovered late in life. It might even curb Teddy’s walk about tendencies and help the owner out. Everyone wins. Except the rapist. Which is as nature intended it.
I love this story Jayne, it’s making me smile so much!
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I had the very same thought as you did here.
I thought about it a little more, and walking is still not worth the risk.
The rapist is now aware of Teddy. And honestly, I am a little concerned about Teddy’s safety.
At the end of the male love of sexual terrorism is their willingness to hurt anyone or anything in their path. Including animals.
Teddy caught him out unaware. I don’t think that will happen again.
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Oh man. I didn’t think that all the way through. I still adore Teddy for treeing that evil asshole and not even protecting anyone.
What you say about hurting animals as well as people is true. And that made me wonder if maybe Teddy treed him for a reason we don’t know.
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Life is always just safer for women with a dog. A dog is a deterrent to some males, even if it’s a small dog.
My dog, Duckie, is just over 40 pounds, and scares some people, just because she is a dog. She also talks, and dog banter is scary to some people.
That’s the thing, though. Males are opportunistic. Even a friendly dog is an inconvenience to an attacker, he may move on to find an easier target. Or he may remove the dog.
But now he knows how it feels to be walking along, minding his own business, and to be met directly with a threat. Which I think is hilarious.
And the male hierarchy depends on male race, and the rapist is black, and Teddy’s owner is a white male. That may be enough protection for Teddy. Males are so fucked up and unpredictable, it’s hard to say.
By the way, my friend still gets to walk. She and I have been going to a local park twice a week, we take Duckie, and we walk a trail that is almost 2 miles. But once again, neither one of us would ever go alone. So. The prison that males keep us in is always safer with a sister. And a dog.
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Animals can tell things about people…
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Indeed.
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