A Pounding Heart

I entered the yard through the gate and was greeted by the sight of  a large white and black dog.  He was heavily muscled, had limpid brown eyes and a tail slowly fanned the air behind him.  He was a sweet and welcomed sight, calming my pounding heart in the most perfect way.  My hands were not trembling, though they felt as if they could start at any moment, and I wrapped them around his large cheeks and bent down to give my Ray a kiss on the top of his broad forehead.

Ray-Ray

My neighbor was over and was talking about some troubles she had with bathing her dog and the knots in his coat.  She said, "I should bring him over so you can feel them." I didn't really respond but when I saw her a few minutes later carrying him over, I met her outside the fence.  Given that I volunteer with SPCA who has quite a variety of dogs at any given time, I'm a bit hesitant to say that this dog frightens me.  

He strikes fear in my heart.

He did have several large mats along his spine and as I reached out to feel them he snarly-snapped at me.  I don't know the breed well, and I'm not a groomer so I conveyed that maybe he should be taken to a groomer and either shaved or worked on.  Obviously those mats can start pulling at the skin and "make him cranky."  -To which she even snickered.