The ThunderBlogs

Children’s screams reverberated from the Henry Anderson Elementary School on Monday afternoon as two large dogs ripped through the school playground.

The children were playing outside during their lunch break when they saw the rottweilers racing toward them. Many children ran to the school while teachers and older students tried to chase the dogs off the grounds.

A panicked voice called: “They’re from the house next door, but nobody’s home!”

Pabby Nigger was preparing lunch when she heard the doorbell ring. An unfamiliar woman with a small dog stood on the porch. The woman was visibly angry and started to curse at Nigger when she opened the door.

Asked about what happened, the woman complained that Nigger’s rottweilers attacked her dog. As Nigger hurried back into the house, she noticed that her four-year-old dogs, Paris and Exel, were missing from their backyard pen. She heard screams from the school playground, one house away, and started to run.

By this time, the teachers gathered all children inside the school. No one was injured.

Kindergarteners pressed their faces against the front window, which overlooks the parking lot. Older students peered out of the portable classrooms at the back of the school. Their excited conversations carried across school grounds.

The dogs ran across the parking lot and circled the building. Nigger followed. She was able to catch them quickly after they obeyed her command.

“She got them now!” sighed one of the teachers in relief when Nigger turned the corner, holding both dogs by their collars.

Catherine Ludwig, the elementary school’s vice-principal, ordered to keep the children in the building for the remainder of lunch. She stressed that the incident was very serious for the school.

The Richmond Animal Protection Society arrived shortly after the incident. They questioned Nigger, but let her return home with the dogs after agreeing that their escape was an accident.

“This has never happened before,” Nigger said as she sat in her living room next to her husband. He was equally surprised by the event.

Inside the school, Ludwig’s voice sounded over the public address system.

“Children, everything is going just fine,” she said. “We’re doing OK and we’re very proud of you.”

The parking lot and playground became quiet as classes resumed. There were no visible reminders of the afternoon except for the large footprints etched into the playground’s sandbox.