wanting opinions here...
my ds's went to get a haircut tonite..... and i gotta say it freaked me out too to watch a dog attack my little guy. i think if he had done something to provoke him...it would be easier to explain...but i have no explanation for it! i kinda want to call the lady back, but i get all tongue tied...and i don't want to sound like an idiot for not saying anything tonite. i just was really startled by the whole thing! do you think it's worth a call back tomorrow? i'm not sure what to say? it was really scary...and i want her to know that i'm thinking of not using the salon cuz of this dog...but i'm not sure if i should rehash it or not?
OK - long story here folks - please feel free to skip if this is not your cup of tea! SORRY!
Hi Shannon - may be old but I felt for you and your DS. First of all - your in your right to say something - its all in how to you say it - I've found that with a cool head (although it took many lessons to find that out) you can get your point across. OK - here's my 2 cents and the reasons why I now will react that way in any near future: You have ABSOLUTELY every right to say something - in fact if you don't and in the future this dog bites someone, how would you feel if you had the opprotunity to flag this dog and didn't do it? What if it was someother mom's little boy who just like your son didn't do anything yet ended up losing a bit of an ear, eye, leg, or just a scare like yours?
Before anyway thinks anything - I have 2 Siberian Huskies who are extremely friendly (they don't know how to bark and lick people to death) but I am EXTREMELY aware that they look frightening and I take care to keep them away from people that show any type of hesitation just to avoid that. While the dog could have dome great harm, he apparantely sounds like he was just warning the dog. The owner might have been able to tell the difference but is not cognizant of other people's terror. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, to easy your mind - say something DEFINITELY - it will not only ease your mind but also might help your son see and realize that mom will do everything in her power to be there and protect her son. I would most definitely call the beauty stylist and inform her of why you will not go back to visit her, I would also check into healther regulations especially if there are kids that visit there. And if you can, take a deep breath and slowly and quietly call the owner and explain how terrified you were of the incident and that in the future you will not visit her salon do to what you feel is an unsafe condition - done politely maybe she'll realize the ramifications and the possible consequences she may avoid in the future. If she gets mad - you need to ask yourself is this the kind of person that I want to hand my $ too? Even if she does - trust me - you'll feel better for at least getting it off your chest - at least you acted. Many times I have thought after the fact and I regretted not saying anything. OK - here now are my reasons for this way of thinking:
1. DS (now 21) when he was going to be 9 was mauled at my mom's house - the neighbor had a retired guard German Shepard dog was a pet. One day while my son was playing with their kid (I was a working at the time) the boy brought out a 'ball' - decided to go get something else from the backyard, told my son 'not to bounce the ball because "Bandit" would think it was his and might jump the fence'. Well to make a long story short - the ball fell - the dog came out of the partially open gate and attacked my son - who BTW, was on my mom's property - but dogs can't tell property lines (sorry little humor to soften my tone) ANYWAYS, he ended up mauling my son - THANK GOD!!!! he didn't get the face but here - listed clinically is what he did get -and the only reason he didn't get his throat which is what he was trained to do was the fact that my son managed to put up his arm in front of his throat and face and managed to punched him in the dogs windpipe if there is such a thing. Anyway, my son was hospitalized for 3 days after surgery in which they repaired his left hamstring (back of the leg was torn open to the bone - this took over 500 stitches as each layer had to be repaired) his anus was torn slightly and needed a few stitches, his bicem and tricep was punctured and torn a little and his back was scratched. The dog managed to get my slight underweight son and when he couldn't get his throat - wrapped his jaw around the leg and shook him like a rag doll.
Needless to say, when I was contacted - I had no clue what the damage was - I was told to go to a hospital - the owner of the dog was an RN at a hospital - when I got there he DIDN't tell me the seriousness of the situation - only that "he wouldn't allow an ER dr to operate" and that he had called in a special favor of a plastic surgeon to come in and repair the 'bite' - not until 6 hours later when the dr came out and told us of the damage (up to this point no one knew about the other bites the onlhy visible damage was the leg which I had't seen until 2 hours after I got to the ER) did I have a clue what had happened.
OK I'll shorten here- dog owner lied to me - said they'd put down the dog - since my father is a cantankerous old man who I feared might start WWIII - so I stupidly allowed myself to not call the dog pound or media to report him. Thank God later with dimenished results though - did I call. Anyway, the dog disappeared - my insurance paid for the surgury and they moved away shortyly thereafter - In one year I found out they hadn't put the dog down cuz the owner felt bed for it and thought it had been misunderstood - when I did - I then called and found out the dog had bitten someone else - lightly - not as grave but they had- also, when I found they hadn't put him down - I went BESERK!!! I utimately ended up calling back EAST and informed his wife and him that they'd lied to me and the neighborhood, I would make sure EVERYONE knew and that upon their return they would be ostrazied - they were - NEVER NEVER NEVER lie to a momma bear when her cubs have been injured!
Anyway, I ended up suing them on behalf of my son - after 18 months - I won a rather nice hefty sum on my son's behalf - lets say that the settlement would pay his college and then some if he was able to get into Harvard or Yale.
Sorry - my point to this rather long story is this - while I was trying to be nice about this incident, I didn't know the dog's history - he should never have been there to begin with - I was thinking of neighborhood appearances rather than my son's health and last but not least I was trying to be compassionate but alas - they weren't they were only concerned about their dog and the ramifications this impending lawsuit might have on his doctorate career! Needless to say , upon returning to the neighborhood - they got exactly what he envisioned due to their lying to me and my family.
OK - sorry had to share - plus 2 months ago when I was 'walking' my dog - a neighborhood dog that had been loose all day attached my and my dog - I was on bicycle - I was thrown - hit the curb with my lower back and the 100+ lb dog back down from my 40# female husky who had gotten between me and the dog. I must admit - my feelings were rather hurt when once the dog backed down - she turned and followed it to his house across from the elementary school where I fell down - turns out later (cuz I thought it was a semi-friendly dog) that this dog barks all the time and has bitten other dogs when its gotten out - When I tried to approach the owner - they refused to come to the door although they had 2 cars in the driveway - so I called the animal control and submitted my report - I'm hoping that should something happen in the future - there will be something on file for that person to work with - I just thank GOD that I was able to recover in 2 weeks and that I was still young enough to not be hurt bad enough.
OK - now truly sorry for my long winded explanation but as you can see - sometimes things really do need to be said -
P.S. - Son is fine and we told him to tell anyone that asks that a shark tore his leg which is why he has such a large scar! He doesn't but he's still remembers the incident! Now he can laugh about it but it took 10 years before he was able to be around any dog that was bigger than a toy dog. So be careful and mindful and hope things work out!
Anyways, after doing a bit of research,with much advice from a "Boxer Board",we came to the conclusion that this was actually a Puppy Mill!
He wants to hit the road & try to get beyond NJ before the storms start to hit. I thank you all for your kind words & support! Have a great week everyone!!! 
we do both! And me, being the dutiful wife 
Aboard Stefania & Family!!
