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Has Achieved Nirvana |
My golden retriever Maggie and I were out for a walk and got rushed by a pit bull that broke its collar and came after us. I saw the dog maybe 100 feet away from us and couldn't tell if it was tied up. It lunged and it immediately became clear it was loose. I picked Maggie up in my arms and the dog came running up to us and immediately started jumping and snapping at Maggie's face. I was spinning around trying to keep her face away from the other dog while trying to block it away from us with my knee. Mr Miyagi from Karate Kid would have been proud of me. The dog grabbed my forearm but didn't bite down hard. The owner finally came over and dragged the dog off. I went home and then went back to talk to the owner. He was apologetic, but his assessment was that his dog just wanted to play and that it started biting after Maggie bit at his dog, which is total nonsense. I was like, "sir, you have no business leaving a dog like that in an unfenced yard." He told me he had tried three or four things to keep the dog in the yard. He had the dog tethered with a metal cable, but the weak link was a collar with a plastic snap buckle on it, which the dog either broke or popped open. Duh. He explained how his dog lives with his two children and goes to the dog park. I explained that I'm sure it's a nice dog, but some of them get very territorial and that his falls into this category. He was adamant that it's a nice dog and there's no problem. I finally went home and called the police to report what happened. This guy's house is next to a children's park and a little kid might not have been as lucky as Maggie and I were. I couldn't let it slide. We're both OK (I got a tiny little scrape where the dog was snapping), but my heart rate hasn't come down yet, and this happened about an hour and a half ago.
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Foregoing Vacation to Post |
You did the right thing IMO. People can be blind about their dogs. You notified the authorities of a potential issue and now they can make a judgement on the safety (or lack thereof) of the animal. Deep breaths. Breathe in, breathe out. | |||
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Minor Deity |
The dog is clearly territorial. Whether it would have hurt Maggie or played is impossible to say, but even If Maggie snapped at it that is to be expected when a dog breaks its leash and runs 100 feet at you. You did the right thing. This guy needs to control his dog or get rid of it.
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| Has Achieved Nirvana |
I don't think Maggie even knew what was going on. I had her up in my arms well before the pit bull managed to reach us. I kept spinning in a circle to keep her face away from him, at the same time picking up my knee to block him away. The owner noted that if his dog had really wanted to bite us, we wouldn't have escaped uninjured. Have to say I agreed with him, as the dog did have its mouth around my forearm but wasn't biting down hard. Might not be the same result next time it happened, though. Thanks for the reminder about breathing.... 
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| Pinta & the Santa Maria Has Achieved Nirvana  |
"But he's normally so friendly." Yeah, until he isn't. This drives me crazy. You did the right thing. | |||
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| Minor Deity |
The owner just admitted his dog is dangerous.
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Has Achieved Nirvana |
Reporting the dog owner was a good thing to do. People that buy dogs like that buy them because they (the buyer) want to hurt someone. Have been treated in an ER because a dog attacked me.
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| Shut up and play your guitar! Minor Deity  |
I can't even count the times I've been told that pitbulls are just big babies and that they get a bad rep because of bad owners. Bullsh!t! They are bred for a reason. And that reason isn't to have a sweet angel of a dog. | |||
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| knitterati Beatification Candidate  |
I’m so sorry this happened to you. You picked up your dog before it could snap at his dog. His dog was unprovoked. And dangerous. It doesn’t matter if it’s a pit bull or some other breed. It’s not appropriate to let this happen. Mr. AM knows someone whose sister died last week after being attacked by a pit bull. Good on you for calling the police. Again, I’m so sorry.
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| Has Achieved Nirvana |
I just got off the phone with the town animal control officer who was following up after the initial report I gave to the beat officer. Animal control guy said that not only did I do the right thing, I could have been cited for *not* reporting it. Not that he would have - he was trying to give me an excuse to feel ok about calling it in. Which I really didn't need because I know it was the only thing to do. We had an incident in the town last year where a corgi was killed by a pit bull. After the fact, the neighbors told cops it was not the first time the dog had gotten out, but apparently no one reported it. Officer said that the police have to jump through all sorts of hoops to act on a dog that is a problem, and when people don't report incidents, it takes away a lot of their ability to act if there isn't a history. I told him I thought the owner needs training as much as the dog does. The cop told me that the owner was not seeing the scenario that he laid out for him, namely that his dog was running loose and not where it was supposed to be. The owner is getting a $25 ticket for an uncontrolled dog and he has to take the dog to the vet twice ten days apart for observation because I did get a skin break in the incident. And of course now there's a record of what happened. I think he's getting off easy and hope he learns his lesson, but I'm not optimistic.
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| Has Achieved Nirvana |
Thanks once again for the support. I know it sounds silly, but I'm still winding down from the adrenaline hit. I keep hearing Dan's voice in my head telling me to breathe in and out....
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Minor Deity |
Oh how scary. Coupla things I thought of... What if the owner hadn't come out....there you were being snapped at and holding your doggie going round in circles...how long could you ou have maintained that? Your doggie is big...how did you pick him up? Poor you. I'd forever be scared.
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| Has Achieved Nirvana |
The owner was in the yard with his two dogs. He ran over immediately, though of course it seemed like forever. Maggie weighs about 55 lbs. I can pick her up if I have to, one arm under her hips and the other around her chest. The adrenaline helped a lot. All in all I was very lucky. Had a hard time sleeping because I kept replaying the incident. It will take a little while to shake off the uncomfortable feelings.
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| Has Achieved Nirvana |
There was something else he said when I talked to him after the incident. He said that if I had had a gun and shot the dog, he would have totally understood. I found the guy's Instagram page and there are a lot of pics of the dog, including one that he took from inside the house. The owner is standing behind the dog, who is looking out the front window. There is a woman walking by on the sidewalk with a toy breed dog; I happen to know her. The post says "No #Barks just crying. Poor guy just wants to play. #pitbull #dog #quarantine #quarantinelife now you know how pits feel. Everyone always crosses the street when I walk this guy." https://www.instagram.com/p/B-4sHV3jzNm/ I didn't notice yesterday, but it's clear from the photo the dog is not neutered....
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| Minor Deity |
Disingenuous. When a dog breaks his collar and runs up on you from 100 feet away you have no reason to believe they want to play, especially a breed like pits that have been bred for certain traits. The guy needs to control his dog, full stop.
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