The attack began without warning last Sunday. Two dogs came over the grassy hill from the center of the campus. When the noise grew loud, a large third dog came from the nearby neighborhood to join the fun. Snarling, snapping, biting, they circled the 82-year old walker and went for his legs.
Harold had just returned from walking across northern Spain on the Camino del Santiago, a 300 mile trek that involved walking seven to twelve miles a day for weeks on end. To continue walking while avoiingd the dangers of traffic, he chose the local community college campus and walked the perimeter road.
Until the dogs came.
The attack lasted twenty minutes, and Harold had brought nothing to defend himself on this walk around a college campus but his hiking boots. A middle-aged couple watched from their car a short distance off, then drove away without helping. Harold blew a shrill whistle to call for help, and later the campus policeman said he had heard it and wondered what it was. Three calls to an incompetent 911 dispatcher produced no help. The attack went on. Occasionally the dogs would pull back to rest, then launch in again.