Does Your Dog Bite?

Unfortunately, owner responsibility doesn't rank very high in my neighborhood. Many homes don't have fenced yards. If I tattle to the authorities, what happens to the dogs?

Some folks just don't know any better. There are always at least five to seven dogs loose within a few blocks of our house. When we were new here, a few of them would come toward me with their hackles up. It took several walks past them, claiming my space and ignoring them before they calmed down. Now I'm accepted.

My teenage daughter is the same. She walks twice a day. She's confident around dogs and hasn't had a problem until recently when a new addition to the block came racing at her and grabbed the back of her pant leg.

Plugged into her I Pod and minding her own business, she was shocked at the bravado of the tiny ten pound shark attacking her pant leg. She stared at the menacing mutt and before she had the chance to react, another loose dog chased the offending biter away. (The benefits of being a pack member.)

She kept her eye out for the dog after that and stood her ground whenever he approached. No more problems, or so she thought.

A few weeks after the initial 'introduction' to the biting dog, he appeared out of nowhere. Wham! He got her in the back of the calf.

Here's a picture taken six days AFTER the incident. (And my kid heals fast.)

Initially, I was surprised at how hard the bite had been. My first reaction was to march over and yell at the owners. Obviously that wouldn't help anyone.

My daughter and I discussed it and came up with some possible scenarios.

• They wouldn't believe us. After all, he was a cute little dog
• They might not want to deal with it and take the dog to the pound
• We might be lucky and they would let the dog live indoors

I didn't go up to the house. I admit I don't enjoy confrontation but there is rarely anyone home. Plus I had no car and didn't want to walk up that long steep driveway wondering if I'd be greeted by the snappy little fellow.

Both my daughter and I put it off. A week after the canine leg crunch, a family moved in to the house across the street from the little menace. They had a little girl. That changed everything.

A young child could get bit in the face and this little dog packed a wallop. A young child could also begin a lifelong fear of dogs if there was an incident.

A letter was written to the owners of the dog explaining everything that happened with a polite request to keep the dog contained.

We haven't seen the dog since.

* * *

Does your dog bite? If so, I sincerely hope you understand that you don't have a bad dog. Simply a dog with a behavior problem that needs to be addressed.

Please take the time to help your dog. He doesn't need to be thrown out like an old newspaper.

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