I am going to go horribly off-topic, but do be grateful someone did call.
A few days ago, it was reported by our local newspaper that a man was savagely attacked by three armed men in his house and his three year old son (that he had sole custody of) was kidnapped. Massive Amber alert, and he was found with his mom two counties away. She is being investigated to determine if she hired the three men to do it.
Anyway, long story short, one of his neighbors was interviewed by the paper. Her exact words - they were awaken by a knock at the door, but no one identified themselves as a police officer, so they just waited in their living room. They heard someone crying for several minutes, and when it stopped, they went back to bed. Didn't call 911, nothing.
Luckily, the guy did survive.
There is a case when you wish someone did take the time to call.
I know, this is totally off topic, but this story reminds me of something that recently happened in my family and I have to share (sorry for the intrusion).
On Good Friday my niece (11) & nephew (9) were home alone while my sis and BIL were at work. My niece is a major drama-queen and typically calls my sis many, many times throughout the day for absolutely nothing. On that day, she tried calling my sis & BIL (after calling them both many times for no reason) and both told her they were busy and couldn't talk. A few minutes later my sis called her back only to have my niece say, "I can't talk now, the ambulance is here!"
Turns out, the next door neighbor's college-age son was home during spring break and had had his tonsils out recently. He started coughing and ripped out stitches and was gushing blood from his mouth. Knowing my sister is an RN he went next door and rang the bell. My niece came to the window (didn't answer the door) and saw a man she didn't recognize with blood all over his face (which is why she didn't recognize him). So my niece & nephew freaked and locked themselves in the bathroom (when she tried calling her parents).
Meanwhile, a neighbor notices him on all fours on the lawn, puking up blood, and went to help. The neighbor (a grown man) didn't recognize him either because of the blood). Luckily, he called an ambulance and got him to the hospital and all was well after that.
EXCEPT, my niece and nephew were traumatized by the incident, and my niece especially felt so much guilt for not helping him/recognizing him. And he felt so bad for scaring the kids like that. Fortunately it all turned out well in the end.
Anyway, regarding the K-9 dogs and kids not being able to read the "do not pet" signs...parents,
PLEASE teach your children from the time they are toddlers to NEVER approach and pet a dog without asking the owner's permission first! This is a basic safety rule that all parents should teach their children. It can truly save your child's life or at least prevent them from a possible traumatic experience. (A few weeks ago a 9 year old boy had a chunk of his cheek bit off by a dog who was being walked by a 12 year old girl he knew. How horrible is that?!)