“Stop! Hands up!” those words sounded like a shot in the morning silence. Fifty meters away, a guy in camouflage was approaching, pointing his machine gun straight at us. Yes, I was not alone. Not yet awake, I was out for a walk with my dog. The familiar path along the fence made an L-shaped turn, so it wasn’t until I came around the corner that I realized we were trapped. A couple of passersby were facing the fence in the distance, and they were being searched by a soldier. The rest of the group was moving toward us. It was late February when the cleanup of saboteurs was being carried out daily in Kyiv. It was not clear who was in front of me — friend or foe.
The situation was complicated by the fact that a minute before the encounter I had let the dog off its leash. And now, while I froze with my hands up, the dog was studying the machine gunner with interest, sitting at my leg. There is a term in physics for a bifurcation point. It’s the unstable state of a system when a feather can break the back of an elephant. In a steady voice, I called out: “I’m sorry, can I fasten the leash? I’m afraid he’s about to start on you.” Approaching, the military man muttered: “If he lunges, I’ll shoot him.” The heat was so intense, you could cut him with a katana. I thought, “The dog’s about to snap. What if the guy gets scared and shoots?” So I explained, “The dog ain’t mean and won’t bite, he’ll just kick you with his nose. Can I strap him in?” “Okay,” replies the stranger, “with your left hand and slowly”. Sometimes a second stretches into infinity. Finally my “beast” is on the leash. The guy’s tension subsides: “What’s your address? Oh, close by? Okay, off you go.” We quickly pick up speed toward home: “Ohhh! That was lucky”.
What lesson have I learned? If the dog is not 100% in control, “free-range” is not an option. A little more joy, but instead an unbearable risk. This is true not only of the dog but of anything I manage, such as a business. But the main question is, in critical situations, can I control myself without a “leash”?
Sincerely yours,
-Alexander
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