I Feel Like Crap

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Friday night my 8 year old was out with his scout pack delivering bags for food collection for the shelters. They would hang the bags on the doors and then run to the next house. My son ran up to a door and as he turned and ran to the next house an unleashed large dog ran up and bit him on the butt, breaking the skin.

The medical clinic told me that it is the law that I report the bite to Animal Control, and I did. They are coming to look at the bite and to have my son show them where the dog lives. They will have the owners show proof that the dog is current on all shots and also quarantine him for 10 days to make sure that he isn’t sick.

My son is a tough little shit and doesn’t really think it is a big deal (he can’t see how bad it really looks). He begged me not to call Animal Control because he is afraid that they will kill the dog or hurt it. I think I have convinced him that they will treat the animal nice, I just need to convince myself.

I think that the dog was only protecting the property and only bit my son when he started to run. I don’t really think that the dog is vicious. The only reason that I reported it is so I can have some proof that the dog is not rabid (I live in the country with lots of wild little critters running loose).

I know that I did the right thing and I never even considered NOT having the dog checked out, so why to I feel so shitty? They are only taking the dog for 10 days and won’t destroy him unless he is sick, but I feel like I am ruining their holiday and although I don’t know the family, they are young and have a few little kids. I am sure that the impound charge and fine is really going to cut into their Christmas fund. I also can’t stop thinking about them loading up the dog as the family cries and gives him a hug goodbye and then how sad he will look in the back of the truck and then later sitting in his cage for 10 days not knowing why he is there.

I know I did the right thing, I just feel like some evil villain.

>^,^<
KITTEN
Please tell your pants it’s not polite to point.

2

Come over here, let me feel you :wink:

No, really, you did the right thing. I love dogs but my dog would never bite unless there was something wrong. You had to do what you did. Think if this dog did this again only much worse… perhaps the owner, after having to go through this, will make DAMN sure the dog is restrained in the future.

Best!
Byz

3

Imagine how you’d feel if they were taking your kid away during the holidays b/c he had rabies. did they have a beware of dog sign?

We live in an age that reads to much to be wise, and thinks too much to be beautiful–Oscar Wilde

4

Yeah, Diane, what choice did you have? I mean, you MUST make sure the dog is okay for the sake of your son. A holiday with a pet in Dog Jail is far better than a holiday with your son undergoing painful shots or, worse, seriously ill and in the hospital. I don’t see that you had any choice. Sometimes unfortunate things just happen, and this one was not your fault so try not to sweat it.

5

Diane,
Stop beating yourself up- I mean it. Irresponsible dog owners should learn a lesson from this. I have a big Rottie and a Shar-pei, and they are ALWAYS in a fenced area or we are with them. Dog owners who let dogs run are incredibly irresponsible- you never know how dogs will act. Your son was bitten by this dog- if it were my dog I would be doing everything I could to make it up to YOU AND YOUR SON. You aren’t the bad guy here.

FWIW, my Rottie bit a neighbor who was breaking up a fight between our dogs (his dog came into our yard and started biting my Rott). He reported the bite (they knew it was a bite), and all they did was call us and ask if we had a Rottie and if it had shots. I said yes and we never heard another word about it.

Be glad your son is OK- the only way they would destroy that dog is if you wanted it done and caused enough stink. I do think you should have a chat with them about leashing their dog. No one should be afraid of walking in a neighborhood.
Zette

Click here for some GOOD news for a change

Zettecity

6

I don’t really support having these large numbers of carnivores (other than the people) living and running free all over the cities. All dogs should have at the minimum a hidden fence collar.
I would never be a mail man.Or I might enjoy the pepper spray part.

7

Actually, the dog’s owners should thank their lucky stars that you’re going so easy on them. If there was no “Beware of Dog” or “No Tresspassing” sign, you son was not out of line on their property, running or not. Sure, in the dog’s mind he was protecting his property, but his owners need to teach him to bark first and bite only to defend himself or his family (don’t know why I’m assuming the dog is a male, but it saves keystrokes).

I’m not saying you should sue those people … I think your response was just fine. I’m just saying, you could sue those people and make their lives hell (whether or not they won), and a lot of people would do just that, to make a buck or get revenge.

So your holiday gift to them was a relatively low-hassle reminder that they need to make their dog treat kids gently.

8

Reminds me of how I met my boy …

Before my dog adopted us, my stepdaughters built a dog house out of scrap wood to keep the poor abandoned juvenile in (NO, we are NOT keeping that dog !). A little girl down the street crawled in the dog house, pulled his ears and WHAM, got bit, luckily not bad. Soon after, Animal Control (LA County) shows up and wants to know what OUR dog did. We fessed up that the dog bit her and that it wasn’t ours, just a stray. Animal Control is about to take the dog away and you can imagine what happened next. sounds of shrieking wailing & sobbing We were able to keep the animal under our supervision (chained or caged) for 10 days and report any abnornal behavior.

Well, that was 12 years ago. After 10 days, I broke down and let him stay and he has been with me ever since.

Oblio

9

Diane, are you sure that “keeping him under quarantine” means taking him away to doggie jail for ten days? In my neck of the woods, unless there is an unusual circumstance, they will simply tell the owners to confine the dog for ten days, and will check back at the end of that time to see if there is any sign of rabies. No trauma for the kids being separated from the animal, and no fees for kenneling the dog in the interim.

You MIGHT be all upset over nothing! We can hope, anyway.

(P.S. – Even if you don’t sue them – and I am not big on people suing each other over this sort of stuff – it’s possible that any medical bills you are out-of-pocket will be paid by the dog owner’s homeowner’s insurance, under the MedPay portion. No need to sue, or to prove fault, any of that stuff, and this is just what it’s there for. The limit is typically low, $1,000 or $5,000, and it is meant to cover exactly this sort of thing. If you are out-of-pocket any significant sum, you might want to check it out.

-Melin

10

My sister once got bitten by her friend’s Akita, and she had to be destroyed. The dog, not my sister. That was really dreadful for her, because even though the dog had bitten her, she still felt responsible somehow. In addition, we also had an Akita, and the fear that someday she might bite someone and need to be put to sleep was there, as well. Fortunately, my sister didn’t get whatever was wrong with the dog.

Also, our cat bit my sister once. Same sister. Don’t ask me how this happened, but it did. We had to keep her in the shed for a week. The cat, not my sister. It was heartbreaking, going out into the back yard and seeing our sweet little kitty peeking through the crack in the doors, meowing piteously. Fortunately, there was nothing wrong with her, (the cat or my sister), so it all turned out okay.

These things happen. It’s unfortunate, but they do. There’s probably nothing wrong with the neighbor’s dog, or your son, so there’s probably nothing to worry about, and if there is, then the dog should definitely be put to sleep before it spreads. So, I add my voice to the multitude saying “you did the right thing.”

“That’s entertainment!” —Vlad the Impaler

11

Thanks guys.

The animal control guy came and took the report yesterday. Cute guy with a very strong British accent. I could hardly understand a word he said.

Anyway. . . .

He is going back to the house this morning to talk with the owners. They were not home yesterday and the dog was not out.

The more I think about it, the more I am getting pissed off at the owners. If it wasn’t for their irresponsibility, my son would not have been bit and I wouldn’t be going through this guilt trip of what the dog will have to go through over the next 10 days. It angers me that they both (my son and the dog) have to suffer because these people don’t take care of their pets. I did not see a chain, a dog run, or a fence on their property.

There was no Beware of Dog sign, but according to the animal contraol guy, if there was a sign, the owners would be even more liable because they are admitting that they have a potentially dangerous animal and it was unleashed.

I won’t sue. My son is okay and is healing fine. My insurance and his dad’s secondary insurance covered the entire bill, so I am out no money.

I pray to God that the dog is not sick and passed something to my son. I hope this incident wakes those people up before the dog bites someone else. They live in a new subdivision (HELP!!! They’re crowding me out of my country!!!) that is mostly young families with little kids.

There was never any question on whether or not I should have reported in. My son’s health is too important, but what a guilt-ridden hassle. :::sigh:::

>^,^<
KITTEN
Please tell your pants it’s not polite to point.

12

Back in high school, after I’d walked a girl I knew home and was returning to catch my ride, I was set upon by 3 dogs, one of which bit me on the leg. Were it just one dog, I’m sure I could have fended it off, but I had to make a run for it. My folks called animal control, who caught and quarantined the dog. Everything turned out OK.

Stupid side note: since the dog was unleashed and unfenced within the city limits, a ticket was issued. However, my folks were told by animal control that the ticket goes to the dog, not the owner. In other words, if the guy didn’t give a rat’s ass about his dog, he could leave it with animal control and never have to pay a fine. Of course the dog would eventually be destroyed if he did that. Odd policy, eh?

13

UPDATE

Remember when I said I felt sorry for the family for ruining their holiday?

Well. . . .

SCREW THEM!!!

The cute little British animal control officer tried to catch up to them Monday and Tuesday, leaving a note each time for them to call him ASAP. He looked around and didn’t see the dog either day. This morning he drives over there and caught the people home getting ready to leave town for the holiday.

He asks to see their dog. “What dog? We don’t have a dog.” Yeah right, so what is that big dog dish and bag of dog food doing sitting in the garage and what is that barking noise coming from the basement?

Nice try guy.

So he admits that he has two dogs, but they are always chained up and the night my son got bit they were in the house.

Yeah right.

The officer asked to see the dogs and reluctantly, the guy lets them out of the basement. A large shepherd comes growling and barking towards the officer and acting like he was going to take his leg off. He finally had to take him back down stairs. Another dog, a golden lab, came wagging his tail towards the officer and wanted to be petted.

I get a call at work. “Can you ask your son what the dog looked like?” So I call the sitters and my son tells me that the dog was mostly brown with white and a little bit of black. “Okay, that sounds like the aggressive dog that almost took off my leg.”

Twenty minutes later I get another call.

“Can you tell me the name and address of the scout leader who witnessed the attack?” I give him the information and he proceeds to tell me that the guy is denying that it was his dog and is trying to blame it on some other nameless neighbor. He starts screaming and swearing and telling the animal control officer that if he wants to take the dog he will have to go through him first. He wants to know the name of the kid and his parents so he can sue them for making a false statement about his dog. (The animal control office said that our identity is not given to the dog owner.)

In the words of the cute British guy, the guy is a “Bloody loon!” and was on the “verge of being arrested”, because he was acting like a total spaz and would not furnish any shot documents.

Finally, the officer convinces (with the threat of arrest) the dog owner that he needs to take both dogs to have my son and the scout leader identify which one it was that bit my son. The scout leader gives a report and says the shepherd is definitely the dog he saw bite my son. He takes the dog to my sitters and my son says that the shepherd is the dog that bit him, no question.

I get another call at work, the guy is still acting like a jerk, but he has at least furnished a copy of the vet record, and guess who isn’t up to date on his shots. . . .

Yep.

Fortunately, the dog has no signs of being rabid and if he had been rabid at the time he bit my son, he would be very sick by now. They will take blood just to confirm it.

The last I heard, they took the dog for the 10 day quarantine period, charged the guy $75.00 kennel fee, $35.00 fine for not having the shots up to date, $35.00 for not having the dog on a leash or fenced, and he will have to pay for the shots and tests the dog will have while confined. I haven’t heard back from the officer to know whether or not the guy was arrested. The last time I talked to him, they were considering hauling his ass into jail for giving false information to an officer, obstructing justice, and threatening an officer.

So asshole, you want to sue me for accusing your dog of biting my son? Bring it on! I’ll countersue your ass so fast your head will spin.

I still feel sorry for the dog, but I sure got over my guilt trip with the owners.

>^,^<
KITTEN
Please tell your pants it’s not polite to point.

14

See?Carnivores.Amongst us.

15

I have no sympathy for a pet owner that doesn’t keep their pet’s shots up to date. It’s for the pet’s saftey and the public.

There is no way to be 100% sure that your pet won’t attack a person. Although my angel fish is close to nil.

The owner is responsible for their pet and that is that. I’m glad your son didn’t get disfigured from this, and they should be too.

I’m glad your not a sue happy fool, but they are responsible for the mishap.

16

Remember Rabbis are deadly, and not to be taken lightly.

17

A møøse bit my sister once.