“The Leashed Dogs”

As a modern folklorist—urban legendist, legend urbanologist, or what have you—I gather a great many bits and pieces of stories that may or may not be urban legends. But I never throw anything away too quickly, since sometimes the least promising and most obscure fragments suddenly blossom as legends.

What makes these oddments seem to be possible pieces of modern folklore is some weird or comical plot twist in a tale that is said to be true. What’s often lacking, however, is enough reports of a story—different versions from different sources.

Here are a couple of examples of suspicious animal stories—wild plots that just may be true but have a fictional flavor. Both stories concern a dog on a leash.

The first story, which I call “The Leashed Dog No. 1,” is one I’ve heard just a few times so far. As the story goes, a family is on vacation with the kids and the dog when they stop for refreshments. One of the kids sets a dish of water for the dog behind the car or camper trailer, and ties the pet’s leash to the rear bumper. But the child fails to mention this to Dad, who is driving. When the family starts out again, the leashed dog is dragged to death behind the camper. The kids become hysterical, but all of them deny leashing the pet to the camper.

I suppose such an accident could have happened, then been talked about enough to bring it to my ears as a doubtful story. In fact, after I mentioned this story in a column, I heard from two people—one in Maryland, one in Indiana—who had personally witnessed similar mishaps—one in 1954, the other in 1976. Neither dog died, I am happy to report.

At the same time, though, “The Leashed Dog No. 1” sounds a great deal like the urban legend I call “The Nude in the RV,” in which a husband or wife is left behind after stepping, nearly naked, out of a camper or travel trailer when his or her spouse pulls over to the side of the road.

Also, the dog story (as numerous readers reminded me) was also worked into the slapstick plot of the film National Lampoon’s Vacation released in 1983. The oral circulation of the story precedes the movie use, but the filming of the incident may well have given a new boost to the legend.

“The Leashed Dog No. 2” is either a variant of the other legend or another strange-but-true occurrence. I was sent the story a couple of years ago by a reader who said the incident occurred in Laguna Beach, California. For all I know, it really did happen. But it seems to be a particularly close relative of the first story.

One member of a family takes the family dog outside of the house for some fresh air and leaves it there, tying its leash to the handle of the garage door. Not long afterward, another member of the family comes driving home. A block or so away, he or she hits the remote control that opens the garage door. As the door opens, it pulls the leashed dog into the air, lynching it.

The key to this story, whether it is truth or legend, is a garage door that opens by remote control. As with legends about microwave ovens, sun-tanning lamps, and cruise control, the problems that might arise from a modern gadget are dramatized in a wild story.