I was just bit by a dog!

[Scurvy]

I hope the dog never harms a child, but her dogs are her responsibility, not mine. Plus it is pretty small. How badly could it hurt someone, even a kid?

Even a small dog can hurt a child. How bad is too bad in your opinion? Is it okay if it just draws blood but the kid doesn't need stitches? What if the kid falls when running from the dog and the dog bites the kid's face? Is that bad enough? The dog isn't your responsibility, of course. But you are the one who could report the dog's behavior, which could cause the owner to be more responsible with her dog. You know the owner isn't going to do anything to keep the dog from biting someone else right now, but you could. If you choose not to, and the dog does bite a child, then in my opinion you will be partially responsible. Sorry, I know that sounds harsh. But it's important to document these things. Reporting the incident is the right thing to do.

 

[Tony-NJ]

Janice, I'm glad you were not hurt. I probably would have ended uo kicking the dog. I'm also happy we have no neighbors like that - almost everyone here has a dog.

I will say that letting the dogs out without a leash is not safe for you or the dog. I bet she would have been a lunatic if the dog was hurt.

It's hard to say if the police would be called - if I was having a crappy day - probably LOL!

 

[BelleWDW]

As a pp replied, people place a grave blanket on top of a loved one's grave for the holidays. It's made by sticking lots of evergreen branches into a long rectangular piece of floral foam. Every Saturday after Thanksgiving, we band parents meet in a floral distributor's warehouse to decorate those and the wreaths that we've sold to help pay for the band's trip out of state the following spring.

The floral distributor sells us fresh blankets and wreaths, and they give us use of a big room that their floral decorators use. The room has a bunch of big long work tables with tools for trimming branches and wires, and big glue guns. The glue guns there are nothing like what I have at home for crafts; I guess they're commercial guns. We hot glue silk poinsettas and pine cones on them and add bows.

It must be a regional thing. We dont do that in the South. However many people put fresh Poinsettias on loved ones graves or silk poinsettias in the tomb's vase.

 

[disykat]

If you had kicked her dog, you'd better believe she'd probably be trying to make all sorts of trouble for YOU! Report it.

We have a neighbor whose dog ran into the neighbors garage and was basically attacking their dd. When he kicked it to get it away, the dog owners came running and made all sorts of nastiness. It was unbelievable that they thought it was okay for their dog to be attacking the neighbors in their own garage, but they considered their dog the victim.

 

[dakcp2001]

If you do not report it, she is going to go back in her house, have a good laugh at your expense, and keep letting her dogs run free to bite again.

When you get bitten next time, you will wish you reported it this time.

 

[golfgal]

I'd report it. That dog could bite a child next time, and the history will help the police deal with it. Were you protected by clothing? If it goes after somebody in shorts it could do real damage

I agree-REPORT THE DOG. Our dog was attacked last year by the neighbor's dog. She ended up with stitches and a bad infection that led to a heart murmur. This is at LEAST the second attack we have experienced with this dog (well there are actually 2 of them). The first one we assumed the people who's dog was attacked reported it, they didn't. As a result there wasn't anything the police can do about these dogs. After the SECOND reported attack the dogs have to be chained in their yards anytime they are outside (the neighbors have a wooden fence in the backyard and an invisible fence in the front). On the 3rd attack the dogs get put down.

What if that dog bites a kid? Wouldn't you feel guilty for not doing something to prevent that???

 

[Carly_Roach]

DH doesn't want me to report it; he and my son can't believe I didn't kick the dog. :rolleyes DH doesn't want to start a tit-for-tat quarrel with a neighbor, though I can't see anything we do that she could report.

In this case, I'm going to have to agree with your DH's reasons for not reporting it. It sounds like you've had bad blood with this neighbor for many years and she will see this as you escalating the feud by bringing in the authorities for what she sees as an "accident".

Having said that, the other posters have a point about this dog getting out and perhaps endangering children. You're more than welcome to report it so that there's something on record in case her dogs get out again, but be aware that your actions will likely bump the whole feud up to another level. You may not think there's anything you do that she herself can report, but you'd be wrong. I'm sure she'll find something.

It may not be right, it may not be just and it may not be fair, but that's the reality of the world. If it were me, I'd let it go and merely avoid walking down that side of the street. This is not a hill I'd chose to die on, especially if my DH or family had already expressed their opinions to not escalate.

But that's just me. YMMV.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Just because it didn't bite you hard does not mean it is not capable of drawing blood or doing real damage. This may seem like a really weird comparison, but please bear with me:

I have a student in my room who bites. He had "bitten" me multiple times, but it had never hurt and never drawn blood. So I had the same mentality you had with that dog. He's too little to do any damage and I got complacent. Until the first time he bit me that drew blood, and now I have to go in and get tested ever 6 weeks for blood borne pathogens.

Dogs can be the same way. There's a million reasons why he may not have bitten you hard: didn't get a good hold, your clothes were too thick, wasn't serious, etc. That doesn't mean that he can't bite hard. A lot of little dogs are bred to be game hunting dogs and to kill game. They may be small, but they have powerful jaws that can do some very serious damage if they want to.

Please report the dog. You were lucky. The next person may not be.

 

[AlohaPolynesian]

First let me say how sorry I am that you had to deal with this woman. I am a huge animal rights supporter and am interested in a lot of animal welfare issues. 99.9% of the time that you find a dog who is vicious and aggressive it has to do with the OWNER!

Not one breed can be responsible for all incidents involving similar breeds. That would be like saying if someone with blue eyes robbed your house, that all blue eyed people are prone to robbing houses. Nope. The most dangerous breed of all is the human!

OK, now that I am done with that little rant, I think you SHOULD report the woman to the police. The only thing is that usually they euthanize the dog who attacked, which is unfair to the dog. It needs a chance to have owners who know how to take care of a pet! The least she can do is put her dogs on a leash!

 

[Planogirl]

I hope that your leg doesn't hurt too bad.

As for reporting it, only you can make that determination. You can see what the overwhelming sentiment on the DIS is though.

 

[Sarah_Rose]

This is just my opinion, but I would report it. I've reported many of my neighbours who allow their dogs to roam off leash. I've never once been bitten by another dog, however I have had off leash dogs rush up to my two on-leash dogs while on walks. My dogs are big German Shepherds and would almost certainly come off as the victor in a fight (especially as there are two of them and they stick up for each other) so I'm not worried about their safety or my safety, but the safety of the off-leash dog. Yes, their dogs are their responsibility, but I love dogs and don't want to see another dog get hid by a car or mauled by an unfriendly on-leash dog (including potentially mine, depending on if they thought they were being threatened!). Yes, there is the chance of escalation with your neighbour, but I also think there is a responsibility to protect your own neighbourhood. If you saw another neighbour going into someone on your street's garage and stealing things while they weren't home, would you report it? Or would you stay silent, for fear of "escalation"?

The women's reaction about her dogs completely mystifies me, as well. My male German Shepherd drew blood on a man's hand on Friday, while at a dog park. The man was using the dog park hose to spray the mud off of his dog. The dog thought it was a game and started dancing around and biting at the water. My GSD decided to join in the game, and by the time we could could get close enough that our dog could hear us calling over the noise from the pressure hose, he had snapped at the water too close to the man's hand and nicked his knuckle with his teeth hard enough to draw a bit of blood. We all knew it was a total accident, but my DH and I still apologized profusely and gave the man our phone number in case there were any problems. That is what a responsible dog owner would do. Any owner who would not be horrified that their dog had bit a friendly stranger should not own a dog in a residential area, in my opinion.

 

[robinb]

The women's reaction about her dogs completely mystifies me, as well. My male German Shepherd drew blood on a man's hand on Friday, while at a dog park. The man was using the dog park hose to spray the mud off of his dog. The dog thought it was a game and started dancing around and biting at the water. My GSD decided to join in the game, and by the time we could could get close enough that our dog could hear us calling over the noise from the pressure hose, he had snapped at the water too close to the man's hand and nicked his knuckle with his teeth hard enough to draw a bit of blood. We all knew it was a total accident, but my DH and I still apologized profusely and gave the man our phone number in case there were any problems. That is what a responsible dog owner would do. Any owner who would not be horrified that their dog had bit a friendly stranger should not own a dog in a residential area, in my opinion.

That is the reason that I would report the dog bite. She gave the OP "attitude" instead of an apology.

FWIW, even a Boston or a Yorkie can deliver some damage. I was bitten by my elderly neighbor's shih tzu "Sunny" many years ago when I visited her home. I handed something to her and Sunny lunged at me and bit me hard on the hand. It hurt a lot at the time and like many dog bites it took a long time to heal. I did not report Sunny since everyone knew he was an aggressive SOB and the neighbor was mortified that he actually bit someone.

 

[JerseyJanice]

It may not be right, it may not be just and it may not be fair, but that's the reality of the world. If it were me, I'd let it go and merely avoid walking down that side of the street. This is not a hill I'd chose to die on, especially if my DH or family had already expressed their opinions to not escalate.

But that's just me. YMMV.

The woman's house is next door to a very good friend. It would be impossible to never walk near it. That said, I wouldn't file any kind of police report against my neighbors without my husband's approval. He and my son, as well as my friend's DH, all think the dogs are too little to cause any real harm, so they don't see why I should report it. Also, this morning, I let my dog out in the yard around 9:00 a.m. and he started barking. He does do that from time to time, so thinking about it, I guess I'm not a perfect dog owner either.

I hope that your leg doesn't hurt too bad.

As for reporting it, only you can make that determination. You can see what the overwhelming sentiment on the DIS is though.

It doesn't hurt at all now and only a faint bruise is left. Yes, I see the Dis's sentiment, but I don't have to live with anyone on the Dis. I do have to live with my husband and neighbors, and that counts more.

 

[Deb in IA]

It doesn't hurt at all now and only a faint bruise is left. Yes, I see the Dis's sentiment, but I don't have to live with anyone on the Dis. I do have to live with my husband and neighbors, and that counts more.

Yes, only you know what is best for your situation. Glad to hear your leg is feeling better.

 

[Scurvy]

He and my son, as well as my friend's DH, all think the dogs are too little to cause any real harm, so they don't see why I should report it.

They don't seem to know much about the damage dogs can do, especially to children. If you actually want to report it and are only refraining because of your husband and your friend's husband, perhaps you should suggest that they research this further before deciding that the dogs are incapable of inflicting harm on anyone.

It doesn't hurt at all now and only a faint bruise is left. Yes, I see the Dis's sentiment, but I don't have to live with anyone on the Dis. I do have to live with my husband and neighbors, and that counts more.

I'm glad that you are feeling better. Since you don't intend to report it, I suspect you'll be enjoying more bites in the future. I hope they also are not too serious. Good luck. And good luck to the kids in your neighborhood, as well.

 

[JerseyJanice]

It must be a regional thing. We dont do that in the South. However many people put fresh Poinsettias on loved ones graves or silk poinsettias in the tomb's vase.

Fresh poinsettias wouldn't last long in this climate, but evergreens last the whole holiday season. Our grave blankets are decorated with silk poinsettias, so our loved ones' graves do get those.

They don't seem to know much about the damage dogs can do, especially to children. If you actually want to report it and are only refraining because of your husband and your friend's husband, perhaps you should suggest that they research this further before deciding that the dogs are incapable of inflicting harm on anyone.


I'm glad that you are feeling better. Since you don't intend to report it, I suspect you'll be enjoying more bites in the future. I hope they also are not too serious. Good luck. And good luck to the kids in your neighborhood, as well.

I appreciate your concern for the children in my neighborhood. However, I do think that any kids who are out walking around by themselves would be able to get away from two small dogs. If any toddlers are out and about, I would hope they'd be with an adult who could defend them against these nasty little dogs.

DH didn't want me to report it so I'm not, but I did tell him that if we (as in myself and my dog) are ever attacked again, I am calling the police and filing a report. The one time that one of her dogs attacked mine while he was walking with me on a leash, my dog didn't know what to do, which kind of amazes me because he has a fierce demeanor. Max seems to think that every dog in the entire world is his friend, and he's always stunned when one gets nasty toward him--and that seems to happen a lot with small dogs.

 

[Gabes_mommy]

OP - I am so sorry to hear this.

I was bit by a small dog once years ago while visiting a home of a client for a "home visit". That family was not apologetic either and the bite broke the skin.

I didn't report it either though. I didn't want the dog to be put down and I didn't want the whole thing to ruin my relationship with my client (a teen boy in a bad situation). Like you said, dealing with real people and relationships is complicated.

I hope you can avoid the meanie and her wild dogs in the future.