Mastiff

Was it the man's instinct to rescue the woman or did he really love her? The way she describes how he acted on the hike was somewhat selfish but was that just men being men? Because when it came down to it, he was caring for her all along. If you look at it from his perspective he would have probably thought he wasn't being selfish at all. He made sure she was prepared to go on the hike reminding her to bring a jacket and water and what not. He's also older than her and probably hasn't dated in awhile either.
She was scared to fall in love and thought there was no one out there that was right for her. She wanted to skip the scary but thrilling part of dating and be settled down with someone already. I think this preconceived notion of dating put her off from the man she was seeing. Did she realize she loved him in the end for saving her? Her dream at the end of the story reveals what she is afraid of. I feel that he's there to protect her and make her feel safe. The dog waiting there for her is her feeling of being scared to be in a relationship but she knows he will be there to make her feel safe.
The gory details of the mastiff attack was surprising to me in this story. I didn't expect it to be so gruesome and to do so much damage to the man. I think it struck me more than other horrifying scenes in past stories we've read because this was an event that I can easily picture happening.