Woman Panics When Strange Man Approaches Her in Parking Lot, Then Her German Shepherd Starts 'Going Mad'
It was around 4:50 in the morning on Sunday when Lorraine Scott arrived at a familiar dog-walking spot with her 3-year-old German shepherd, Toby.
Though she’d been to Leasowe beach before, this time something different was waiting for her.
“I turned into the car park for the beach, and I spotted this maroon car on my right-hand side,” Scott, from Birkenhead, England, told the Liverpool Echo.
“I carried on driving down towards the steps to the beach because it’s easier for the dog and parked by a vacant car.”
“I then started to sort everything out, like get my wellies on and get Toby sorted and noticed that the maroon car must have turned around from the way he was facing when I drove in as it was pulling up beside the vacant car by me.”
Scott, 40, was trained in kickboxing and clearly aware of her surroundings. At first the “strange man” didn’t seem nefarious, but his behavior grew increasingly suspicious, and soon she was freaking out.
“I knew whoever it was had seen that I was on my own when I drove past, but I didn’t think anything of it at this point,” she added.
As she continued getting ready for their walk, the man got out of his vehicle and moved toward her passenger side door.
“At this point I started to get really panicky, and I just froze,” she admitted. “I couldn’t really do anything. I just froze.”
Thankfully, Toby was not frozen, and as the man drew near, he let out a volley of threatening barks.
“Toby started barking and going mad at him and then straight away the man jumped and ran straight back into his car and drove away very quickly,” Scott said.
Scott described the man as having a shaved head (though his hair looked blond) and slim build. He was about 5 feet, 8 inches tall and was wearing a black tracksuit.
It could have been a misread situation, but the man quickly leaving after Toby reacted suggests he had something unsavory in mind. Scott soon posted in a local Facebook group to warn others of the incident.
“If I had been on my own, this might have been a different story — luckily my German shepherd is protective of me,” she wrote.
“I’ve been at this beach before and never had anything like this happen and there is always people camping the night there so never usually though anything strange about people being parked up there.
“Hopefully this post will make people aware there are some weirdos about and to be extra careful, so glad I have a German shepherd to protect me.”
Many have commented that 4:50 a.m. is rather early to be out somewhere, but it’s really not all that unusual an hour for people to be out hiking or walking their dogs, especially if they are morning people or have to work early.
Plenty of people also commented to commend Scott’s dog and share stories and photos of their own loyal pups.
“I’m just really happy I had my protector with me,” Scott said. “He’s naturally a protective breed, and because of our bond, he will always protect me.”
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