Walks in the Dark

While returning from a difficult walk around 11 pm, I was listening to music very loud and walking fast and not paying attention to where I was going - because I've walked that road a million times - but then I suddenly stopped. And tried to stop the sudden bile from rising in my throat... Because there was something running a foot in front of me. My first instinct, after throwing up apparently, was to back up. And it kept running, until it disappeared into the bushes. It was black (because it was dark) and oval in shape, and running on short skinny legs. It looked like an owl. But then I thought "Hey, owls don't run!" so then I freaked a little because it could have been a skunk with its tail raised. But then it ran out of the bushes, curved around, and ran back in. I didn't see a skunk body. It still looked like an owl. But owls don't run, do they? Not even ground owls. Right?