Excuse Me Mr. Coyote

Tonight I came out of my dance class, held in a strip mall in Ahwatukee, feeling good that I hadn't been as much of a doofus on the dance floor as I'd anticipated. I searched idly for my blue-green Saturn, not in a particular hurry. Finally spotting my car, I saw a four-legged creature beside it.

My first thought: "Doggie!" Second thought: "....Very weird looking doggie". Third thought: "Why does it have such an erratic gate and why is it crouched down and why are people backing away from it...?" Fourth thought: "I think I will remember this all my life because I am alone in a parking lot five feet away from a coyote".

Dialogue in my head as I walked away from it: "Please don't follow me, please don't follow me, please please pleeeasssseee don't follow me."

After what seemed like hours, I made it the 20 yards or so to the sidewalk and ran into a 'Cost Cutters' hair salon, whose door was open (of course the coyote wouldn't come in there. It would stop and think to itself "I'm a coyote. What need have I for a hair cut or upper lip wax?").

I ran up to the cashier who was engaged in conversation with a customer. I politely waited two and a half seconds then blurted out "I have a very weird problem!!"
Both of them looked at me and cartoon balloons formed over their heads, reading "Yes Lady, indeed you do." In order to clarify, I continued: "There's a coyote by my car!! And...I'm not into it!!"

The young Aussie gentleman who had been talking to the cashier offered to escort me to my car (lowering my odds to 50% of being consumed alive since coyote might favor foreigners- you know, ethnic food..) When young Aussie dude saw the animal he said- making me feel like a complete idiot- " I think it's just a dog." Then coyote/dog/jackal/dingo whatever loped a few steps in it's weird gate and turned it's very-undomestic-dog face toward us and young Aussie agreeded with my assessment.

I dove into my car, thanked him profusely (the guy,not the coyote)and headed home.