Mean Dog
The Neighbor’s Dog, While on a Leash, Viciously Attacked Me in My Yard
The neighbor had no control. What should I do about it?
The residents of The Villages, a large retirement community in Florida, love their dogs. They dance with the dogs, take them to restaurants, have special golf cart and bicycle seats for them, push them in baby strollers. There are even stores devoted to dog clothes. Most dogs are extremely friendly.
Except for my neighbor’s large dog, Rudy
Rudy’s temperament
He must have been trained as an attack or guard dog, barking and lunging at anybody in sight. That dog is strong, and big enough to look you in the eye while standing on his hind legs.
Most Florida homes in our area have a lanai, an enclosed back porch. If I step out of my lanai, and he is in his lanai, he goes nuts barking at me. If he is in his screened garage and somebody walks by, he does the same thing.
Late afternoon Monday, December 21st, I carried my trash from my garage to the curb as usual. Rudy and the neighbor were in their front yard.
As soon as Rudy saw me walking down the driveway, he went nuts barking and pulling on his leash, trying to attack me. I ignored him, put the trash on the curb, and turned around to go back inside. The neighbor kept yelling at the dog and pulling on the leash, trying to control him.
Rudy pulled the neighbor across the yard, sliding flat-footed, like a horse pulling a man on skis across the snow. When the guy’s feet hit the concrete driveway, he stumbled forward, loosening the tension on the leash.
Rudy attacks
The dog jumped on me and bit my arm before the guy could pull him away by his collar. Fortunately, it was cold that day and I was wearing a heavy sweatshirt.
The bite did not break through the fabric, but I hate to think what it would have been like if I was wearing my usual thin t-shirt. Also, what if it was someone lighter, or if I had not been braced for the attack. He might have knocked me down and it could have been a lot worse with him on top.
I didn’t suffer any real injuries, but my ribs and arm were sore for a couple of hours. I most likely would have gone to the doctor if I had been wearing the t-shirt and the bite had broken the skin.
What now?
It’s definitely not safe to go out of the house if Rudy is in the yard, even if the neighbor has him on a leash. Although he is rarely outside, the neighbor is not strong enough to control him when he is. Rudy does not listen to commands and a leash is almost worthless.
I don’t want a battle with the neighbor, but I don’t want to carry a club or knife just to take out the trash. Most of the time, the dog is inside but I still look for it every time I leave the house.
The guy is actually the husband of the dog’s real owner. She came over a couple of days later to apologize for Rudy’s behavior. She said he was just being playful and I did exactly the right thing to stand still and let the dog sniff and lick me.
Sorry, like many other cases in life, she was looking through rose-colored glasses seeing what she wanted to see, not reality. I saw what the lead picture shows just before it bit my arm.
So, my choices are
- Ignore the whole incident and hope it isn’t repeated
- File a complaint with the local authorities and upset my neighbor
- Document the incident in case it happens again
The dog could be a danger to me and others if it ever gets loose. It would be irresponsible to ignore the incident.
I had considered not filing a complaint this time, but a friend who used to be a police chief said that publishing the event had no standing. They wouldn’t do anything the first time, but it establishes an official history for the dog if it ever happens again.
So, after reading all of the ordinances, I filed the complaint with the county. An animal control officer will call me and then check with the neighbors to ensure they have followed all of those ordinances.
I am also using this article to alert others to the problem. I may also write a condensed version as a letter to the Villages-News. Of course, that opens me up to a bunch of snide comments, many that won’t even be related to the incident.
