Well, in this case, there were no lost lives on either account, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen. Anybody have a story of crazy dogs chasing you, your friend, or anyone else? Have you ever been bitten? What kinds of precautions do you take?
This being West Virginia, have you ever been attacked by anything else? Rabid Possum/squirrel/raccoon?
My buddy, Mike Miller, had a bear lunge out at him on the trails before… Came within a very close radius of his foot/leg, and he about shat himself.
I don’t ever really worry about dogs too much. Either I ride away from them, or I throw stuff at them. I haven’t really met any vicious dogs either…. so…. yeah…
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WV Cycling 
You raise a good point here about riding without being bothered by loose dogs, as you so vividly illustrate in the video of that small, yippy dog barking at you as you approached. I have lots of small, yippy dogs (Yorkies) that I never let out without being protected in our fenced-in backyard or out walking with us on a leash.
The smaller dogs really believe they are bigger then they are, and will approach almost anyone or anything, including larger dogs, animals or even vehicles. Often, the outcome is not a good one for the small dog. Yes, riding a bike past a troublesome Yorkie can be problematic for the rider (bites and possible falls), but as you allude to in the first part of your article, they too often lose their lives while running free.
That small, yippy dog should be on leash for your and his protection.
Hopefully, you don’t meet any loose bears, rabid racoons or those other nasties while riding around WV! Be careful!
I encountered a black bear mama, and it’s two baby cubs about a week and a half ago! It was exciting, still being the city boy. I started to chase it, but they were already running away~