I still don't like stray dogs

I am still chuckling about our early morning walk today, so I thought I would share the happenings with you, the world of blog! Emily and I have been doing our daily walk in the mornings to beat the heat (highs in the mid-90's every day is no fun for walking). So, today we ventured out on our walk, enjoying a somewhat cool breeze and greeting the other runners/walkers as we made our way through the streets. We were a couple blocks from home when I spotted a stray dog, German Shepherd to be exact. If you know me well enough, you know that I DO NOT like stray dogs. I've had enough encounters with "bad" ones over the years that I just don't trust them anymore. So, here I am pushing Emily in the stroller, thinking about how I can defend her and get us to safety in the event this dog does not like us. It was so bad I was actually looking at people's houses to see which ones had the best porch to barricade ourselves on, etc. HAHA...you can laugh, it is funny! The dog is continuing to make its way toward us as I continue walking, quietly talking to Ems, trying to keep myself calm and hoping she doesn't squeal and totally set the dog off. Another runner is starting to come down the street and I start feeling better about having someone around to help me out when all the sudden the dog turns and starts barking at the runner. It continued to bark at the runner until he was away from us. It almost seemed like the dog was protecting us...surely, not. We keep walking and the dog is now following us (worst feeling!) when another lady comes out of her house to get in her car and the dog starts barking at her until she got in her car. Did I mention the dog never barked at us?? I was then convinced this sweet dog was actually trying to protect Emily and me (or at least that is what I am going to gather from the experience). Our guard dog left his post when another furry friend (aka cat) was spotted in a nearby yard.