I know the kind of terrible reflex one has in such a situation. Once I was going toward the riverside in my village. It was morning but the dark of the night had yet not lifted completely. I was sleepy and a dreadful silence prevailed all around me. It was horrifying to hear my own footsteps so loudly. Then just like in this situation, suddenly I felt something sniffing at one of my ankles. Before I could look at it, I heard a thunderrlike bark. It was a a cheetah size black dog. I was scared to death. I shouted at the top of my lungs, completely out of reflex: "Go Away!" The dog did not bite me but just started running while still barking. I tried to take a step, but my legs would just not let me. As soon as I came out of the terror spell, I looked around to see if anyone had witnessed this embarassing scene. I then leapt to get a large stone to pelt the dog with, but it had already gone too far by the time.