“Touch it and she’ll rip your throat out before you can blink,” I said calmly.
The man paused and stared at me. “You willing to take that chance?”
“Are you?” I asked with my glass held up and ready to stab.
“Where’d the kid go?”
I didn’t dare take my eyes off the man in front of me. I hoped Lucas had taken advantage of the moment and ran. I didn’t want him anywhere near this mess. If Kona attacked, it was going to be ugly. If they hurt her, it was going to be really ugly.
“The kid is right here!” Lucas yelled. “Go! Go! Go!”
Barking dogs filled the lobby. They barked because the others were barking. Lucas released eight of our biggest dogs into the area. One man screamed and climbed onto the desk. A shepherd mix went on its hind legs barking at the man. I wasn’t about to tell him the dog wanted to play.
“Lucas, run!” I shouted.
“Let’s go!” he called out.
“No, go,” I ordered him.
I wasn’t about to leave all these dogs in this situation. If any of them did give in to their need to attack, they would pay the ultimate price. It didn’t matter they were protecting themselves and their home. Animal control would put them down.
“You guys have about three seconds to get out of here,” I said. “These dogs will rip you to shreds. There are more of them than of you. Have you ever been bit? Do you know what it feels like to have a dog’s jaw lock down on your arm? Your neck? One bite and they will all attack you. They are a pack. They will tear you limb from limb.”
I saw them realize they had fucked up in the worst way. The barking was making my ears ring. The larger dogs had deep, booming barks. I knew most of them were harmless, but they were only harmless until provoked. If one of these men kicked, threw something, or tried to hurt them, it was all over. The dogs were excited and trying to calm them was going to be difficult.
“We can’t leave!” the man standing on my desk whined. “This one wants to eat me!”
“Shep, down!” I ordered in my most authoritative voice. “Down, now!”
The dog dropped to all four paws. “Sit!” I put my fingers in my mouth and whistled.
The yapping dogs stopped and sat down. Some were struggling to stay seated, but they weren’t actively attacking.
“I’m going to bring them with me when I leave out that back door,” I said calmly. “If you’re not gone, I will let out the rest of them. You cannot outrun these dogs.”
They all looked at each other. “What if they attack anyway?”
I smiled. “I guess that’s something you should have thought about before you broke into my shelter and tried to hurt my dog.”