MetaChat is an informal place for MeFites to touch base and post, discuss and
chatter about topics that may not belong on MetaFilter. Questions? Check the FAQ. Please note: This is important.
This is a situation where the sheriff needs to be called. The neighbor's dog is obviously a threat, and the fence is no deterrent. The dog needs to be on a leash with a person on the other end, on a chain if it's left unattended, or on Prozac.
And the owner needs an ass-whuppin' for letting it happen twice.
dog jumped fence again, i managed to get morgan inside but he went straight for mister t again. i was looking for mister t but the dog saw him first. i grabbed a shovel and used it on the dog, the neighbor kids took him back to their yard. i called the police.
when the police officer talked to him, the guy blamed us saying it was our fault since it was our fence that his dog jumped. the police officer reccommended we not have any contact with the man, he said he could tell he was going to be very difficult and he said that most of what he was saying made no sense. to make things even better, the guy's kids were telling him all sorts of insane shit. i was screaming at the dog which i thought had just killed my dog and i said something like "i'm going to kill you" at the dog... the kids told their dad that i said i was going to shoot their dog and kill them. funny, i didn't mention shooting anyone and the worst thing i said to the kids were that they were idiots and shouldn't own dogs. i also asked them what the hell was wrong with them, was their dog trying to kill my dog once not enough.
my mother and step father were both there to witness everything, thankfully.
the police officer said the guy has to have the dog quarantined for 10 days (for rabies tests, i think) and then he gets him back. he is supposed to have the dog in quarantine by noon tomorrow. i hope the dog is not brought back home, but i expect it will be. the guy is clearly an asshole who cares nothing what this dog does. all i can do is keep my pets inside all the time - i'll have to keep them out of our own fenced yard unless i am outside AND i see the dog is in his cage. ridiculous.
as for my dog, he is at the emergency vet and might end up being okay, but i don't know yet... certainly not going to count on it considerin gthe last vet trip. he could have a collapsed lung and she mentioned other things, but she seemed fairly upbeat so who knows. at least he has had a long happy life if he doesn't make it. i told them not to try to revive him if he passes away. i do not want to put him through it. if he is too bad off, i would rather him just be at peace than dealing with more crap.
now if i can just quit throwing up and having to go sit on the toilet (joys of a nervous stomach, i guess), i might get some sleep. i do love vomiting so.
oh, and that section of fence is not mine anyway. it was already there before our fence went up, it is a normal chainlink fence and we just connected our fence to it where it ended.
it doesnt really matter who owns the fence, or how tall it is... there shouldnt be angry dogs in YOUR yard. btw what kind of apeshit dog do your neighbors have, anyway?
werent you asking about this situation a few months ago? or was that someone else?
I'm glad you got the police involved weretable. Its time this dick learned that its not OK to have a vicious animal roam free. I shudder to think what would have happened if there had been small kids in your yard with your dogs.
I will be sending happy thoughts to you and your dog. I hope things turn out for the best!
I'm so sorry, weretable. This is awful. Those people should at least be apologetic.
This kind of thing fires up the old revenge engine something fierce, but it's hard to take effective revenge on a dog, and dangerous to take revenge on people.
Hoping that some kind of divine retribution will come their way rarely works. I would find out as much about them as possible, plan for years, and set into motion events that bring them to their inconsiderate knees, like the Count of Monte Cristo did.
Seriously, though, that sucks, and there's legal stuff you can do about it. Animal control officers can assess the situation and make it their dog who has to stay inside, at least for a couple weeks; they can mandate obedience classes for the dog; as a last resort, they can put it down.
Actually, I'm not sure how the laws work: I know there's differences between animal-on-animal and animal-on-human attacks in the eyes of the law. Some municipalities (NYC, for example) have no agency with jurisdiction over animal-on-animal attacks. You may find you have little recourse. I don't know. But don't take the law into your own hands.
Best wishes to your dog. I hope he gets better, fast. You, too.
Oh, Weretable, that's awful. Something like that happened when I was a kid visiting my grandparents. My dog was outside when the dog that lived across the creek got loose, swam over and attacked my dog. She had three big gashes in her side - happily, she recovered. Of course the people who owned the dog denied that their innocent little doggie did anything to our dog. (Not so long afterward that dog killed another dog and had to be put down)
I'm crossing my fingers for your dog and hoping for a speedy recovery.
Sorry, weretable. I know what you're going thru. My dog was attacked three times in the last year (while I was out walking him, on a leash). Toronto Animal Services and police are fucking useless--I hope that's not the same where you are.
An Animal Control officer once told me some pretty alarming statistics about dogs who attack other dogs turning around and attacking people. Something like 70% or more of dog-on-dog attackers eventually attack people. I don't know where these stats are available, but you could make sure everyone in your neighborhood (including the owners of the attacking dog) knows that there is a good chance they are in danger from this dog, particularly if they are small, like children.
Sometimes it seems as though our pets are the best thing in our lives. Those people do not deserve to have pets. I'm so sorry to hear about all that you've been through. You're one of the good people.
I remember when my grandfather's small dog killed my kitten. I was the one who discovered it, in fact the kitten was still in the dog's mouth. I was so traumatized all I could do was scream.
I'd be very tempted to put a fresh bowl of antifreeze where your neighbor's dog could find it. But that wouldn't be prudent. Not to mention it isn't the dog's fault the owner is so awful.
I'll add my "sorry for ya, man" to the rest of 'em. I'm of the school of thought that, in this case, it sounds like the dog should be sent away, and the owner put down.
That said, could you put razor wire on top of your fence? I'd bet you wouldn't have to keep it there very long....
I'm so sorry, weretable! All my best wishes for Mister T. I'd seriously think about taking them to court to pay the vet bills. I just wish there could be some award for your pets' pain and suffering.
It seems that rather than go over the fence as it appeared, she (all this time I thought it was a boy dog, assumed since it was big i guess) tried to push through the fence and tore it loose at one pole. Strong doggy. Either that or that is how she almost got out and then gave up and jumped, I really thought I saw her go over it. I might have seen her loping as she started up the hill. But she has jumped it before, either way.
A different policeman stopped by a while ago and said that the father of the kid that owns the dog was very sorry and seemed to accept full responsibility today and he mentioned the two of us talking if I wanted to, so I went to the back fence with the police officer and talked to the guy. He says the dog also attacked one of their little poodles one day and ripped it open (were it my dog I would have gotten rid of it as soon as it posed a threat to another of my pets) and that from now on after they get it back from quarantine, it would always be chained to a lead in the yard if it was not in the pen. This is of course no guarantee that it will not get away from the kids, but without starting a fight it is probably the best to hope for at the moment. I considered mentioning that I am going to have a huge vet bill because of this, but I just want it over. My entire upper back and shoulder area is so sore I can hardly move from vomiting and dry heaving last night and today. I handle stress so well.
Stress has always been hard on me, but I am wondering if perhaps quitting the Celexa was not a good idea after all. I've noticed no normal day-to-day nervousness or depression but still.
Mr T is at my regular vet now. He is extremely bruised up in addition to the tear wounds and the vet said that he would not be surprised if some of his skin just started falling off from the bruising. He is remaining at the vet tonight, obviously. I am trying to eat something so I can clean up the blood in the sunroom/animal corner. Morgan keeps going into the connecting sunroom and acting upset, I think she smells the blood. But I have only ate a small bowl of soup, a few crackers and some ginger ale all day. Kinda weak at the moment.