The jogger never saw it coming

For a brief time we had dog named Rowdy, a hound dog with a great heart that did eventually find a different home.   Once we got Rowdy I had to figure out how to take him for walks while John was working, and it was tricky because the boys were two and three at the time so no matter what plan I concocted,  there were drawbacks.  For example:
One morning I decided I would take the boys and the dog around the block - only one block, but still, I figured it was better than nothing.  At this time Gabe had a stuffed puppy dog that he had also named Rowdy, and he would tie it to a leash, which is not as effective as attaching something to a leash, so the poor little stuffed animal was dragged to and fro through out the house. That morning Gabe wanted to bring his puppy with us on the walk.  I popped Zach into  a backpack, handed him his current favorite stuffed animal (a giraffe), hooked Rowdy up to his leash,  and headed out the door.
We started off around the block, Gabe dragging his puppy, and Rowdy dragging me along; the progress was slow, like any walk with toddlers, but eventually we made it three-quarters of the way around the block and I could see our house up ahead.  Out of nowhere, a jogger passed us, and like a shot, Rowdy took off after him.  I broke into a run to keep up with the dog, but of course had my three year old son by the hand, not to mention the other son on my back.  Gabe held on for dear life, his poor stuffed puppy flailing along behind at the end of a very long leash, and in all the excitement, Zach squealed and threw his giraffe on the ground.
Now it was like a demented parade, with the jogger in the lead and the rest of us behind - it was so ridiculous that I started laughing, doing my best to keep up with Rowdy as he continued to race after the hapless jogger.  Behind me I heard someone calling ,"Miss, excuse me!"  and I turned to see a kindly neighbor following me with Zach's discarded giraffe.   The margin between my dog and his prey was growing, so now we took up the whole block : the jogger, my dog, me - cackling hysterically , holding on to Gabe and trying to keep Zach safe as we zoomed along, the stuffed animal at the end of its leash that by now looked like road kill,  and our conscientious neighbor, racing after us, waving a giraffe in the air like a flag.
Finally, finally, the unsuspecting man was out of sight, so Rowdy came to a full stop and our neighbor caught up to us, her face full of bewilderment. 
 I took a deep breath, tucked my hair behind my ear, held out my hand to retrieve the giraffe, and smiled.
"Hi, " I said nonchalantly, wondering if she would buy it. "I'm Katie. Thanks!"