WWYD? Loooooong

CaliopeSpidrman

Another dog attacked Maggie on Tuesday night while we were out on our walk.  A woman with a large Malamute/Husky type dog was coming towards us, and she sort of put her hand up in either greeting or warning.  I pulled Maggie over to the side of the path to let them pass by.  As they started to pass us, we began to continue when the other dog started tugging pretty hard at its leash.  The woman tried to pull it back, but warned us, "She's going to run!"  We were in a very inopportune place and ended up pinned, and the other dog bit Maggie.  Maggie is old, has no teeth, can't run very fast, and was half this dog's size, so she attempted to get away and not even fight back.  Once we got them separated, I began checking her over to see if she was bleeding.  The woman pulled her dog away and called to me, "Is she okay?"  She left before I was able to determine anything.Maggie has two big puncture wounds and fairly extensive internal bruising, but for the most part she's okay.  The vet re-traumatized me by saying that a dog that size vs. a dog Maggie's size can sometimes break bones or pierce internal organs and cause death.So here's my dyellemmuh -- should I bother trying to track down the other lady and let her know what happened?  Since she walked off, she may think her dog didn't actually break skin with her bites and is less dangerous than it really is.  The only way I can think to contact her is to put up signs in the park asking her to call me and hope for the best.  What do you think?  Mr. Spiderman said it best yesterday -- "I'm not upset about the $100 vet bill.  What pisses me off is that this woman has a dog she clearly cannot handle."  So please, be my rational decision masters.  I realize I am not in a rational place about this and need someone not as emotionally invested as I am.

ChristinS

I probably wouldn't bother trying to track her down, just because I don't think there is any chance she'll respond. That being said, if it's important to you, go for you. It might make you feel better to at least try to contact her. Or maybe put up warning signs around the park.

buddhagouda

[i]I probably wouldn't bother trying to track her down, just because I don't think there is any chance she'll respond. [/i] I have to agree with this, but if it will make you feel better, there is certainly no harm in trying. She clearly needs to get the dog in some sort of obedience training. It's absolutely not acceptable to be walking around with a dog that large, that likes to bite, and won't obey.

mashedpotato

she may not respond, but a sign couldn't hurt. I'm really sorry Maggie got hurt, I hope she's feeling better soon.

FallinAgain

If you aren't wanting the vet bill back, I'm not sure what you can do.  Tell her that she shouldn't have a dog that she can't handle?  True but I'm not sure that's going to accomplish anything.  I'd just be on the look out to steer well clear of her and if you see her and can speak with her without getting close, tell her that her dog bit Maggie, broke the skin, necessitated a vet bill and  she should be more careful.  Mostly, I'd just stay away.

Knottie_22382080

I would try to track her down.  Maggie is luckily OK, but the next dog this untrained dog/owner come across may not. And who is to say that Maggie is the first one? 

Mrs.Expchic

Poor Mags.  I'd put up WANTED signs with her picture.  Then find her and kick her.

VickiSept2006

I think that the woman should know that her dog bit & pierced the skin, and that much worse could have happened.   Maybe she won't care, but I think she needs to know. 

buddhagouda

[i]I think that the woman should know that her dog bit & pierced the skin, and that much worse could have happened. [/i] That's the scary part. Maggie is thankfully okay, but what if the dog goes after a Monty sized dog next? Or god forbid, a small child?

.MrsBailey.

If you happen to see her at that park again I would say something. Putting up signs might make her never come back, which isn't a back thing if she has a dog that bites.I agree with your H that she should have a dog she can't handle or at least not have the dog in places it can harm other dogs.When we took in Charlie we didn't know if he had had his rabies shot so I wouldn't take him to PetCo or a park for fear he would bite another dog (he tends to think he is bigger than he is)My H works for an insurance company and says that people who have the beware of dogs signs shouldn't because they are admitting you have a dog that may attack and that has come into play in some dog bite cases they have seen at work. Seems like she may have done the same thing with putting her hand up?And who the efff just walks away when their dog just attacked another dog?!?!

ftnups

Yeah I don't know that I would go to tremendous lengths to find her, but I would be on the lookout for her on your walk route. And I would march on up to her if I had the chance and let her know what happened. Had you ever seen her before? She either needs to learn to control her dog or not subject other people and animals to him. This is why I seeth (seethe? huh wha?) when I see people violating leash laws, and the owners shrug it off like "oh my dog is so friendly though." Yeah that is great until a dog like this goes after your nice dog and you have zero control. ARGH.

ftnups

OR I would yell at her from a distance if she had her out of control dog with her.

FallinAgain

It's outrageous that she just said "she's going to run!"  I mean a dog would have to drag me across the ground to the other dog.  Did she just let go?

CaliopeSpidrman

Bailey -- I don't fault her for leaving, necessarily, because she had to get her psycho-ass dog away so as not to have a repeat performance.  But I wish she would take the responsibility to contact me instead of vice versa.I just go back and forth on this.  If I did contact her, it would be to ask her to pay the vet bill.  It's not really about the money -- it's more about making sure she is aware of the consequences of her choice to have an out of control dog.  I can't say for sure, but I don't think she had any sort of prong collar or choke chain (even though I'm not a fan) on the dog to at least show an attempt at working on correcting her dog's behavior.  I do realize that she is not likely to respond.  And I don't know if contacting her will make me feel any better, even if she was extremely apologetic about the whole thing.  I'm just carrying around a lot of emotion about it still, and this might just be me trying to focus my helplessness over the situation onto something.  You know how some people obsess over money?  Well, I obsess over Maggie getting attacked.  It's irrational, I know.  But it's because she was attacked (by the exact same kind of dog, no less) about 3 weeks after we first got her.  So I'm extremely sensitive to it. 

CaliopeSpidrman

Fallin -- no, she had both feet planted firmly and was leaning back in an effort to hold the dog back.  I do appreciate her trying and the warning.  But there was just no way she was going to be able to stop that dog from eating my dog.

Novemberrocks

First off, poor Maggie!  I'm so glad she'll be okay, but what a traumatizing experience for both of you!  I would try to track the woman down.  I mean, I wouldn't make it my life's work to find her, but she should understand that her untrained and uncontrollable large dog can do some serious damage.  And what if it's not to another dog, but to a kid?

tastyburger

hayzeus all mighty.  I'd have to restrain myself from slipping rat poison into that dog's kibble.  or, maybe if I assign blame appropriately, into the owner's morning oatmeal.I cannot BELIEVE she walks a dog she can't handle.  that is absurd and disgusting.  I'm just so mad at the situation that I can't really think of anything helpful.  sorry!

Hezzerlah

I can't believe she left while you were still looking Maggie over. I doubt the sign would work just based off of her leaving right then and there... But I would definitely say something to her if I saw her again in the park.I'm so sorry she got hurt. And I'm sorry it's thrown your for such a loop. What a helpless, scary feeling.

Vinny08

I'm so sorry Cali!  I will just repeat, but what kind of an a hole walks a dog that is clearly hard to control and dangerous?!I hope Maggie heals quickly.  If you see that woman, go up and kick her in the shins...hard.

EvilleLady

If your Vet didn't contact Animal Control that would be the first thing a would do.  It's a vicious dog and not knowing if it has had it's rabies vaccine is a concern.  I wouldn't post signs but I would maybe walk around the area a couple times the next couple weeks.  Of course with the vet bill in my pocket and maybe you could find her that way. Sorry about your Doggy I hope she gets to feeling better.  A dog her age the recovery is the toughest part.

the_mulva

if it was my dog that did the damage, i'd want to know about it. 

AngieP900

This pisses me off. I got into an argument with a man in a cemetary about this. His (3) dogs weren't on leashes, mine was, and all 3 of his dogs attacked mine. He got mad when I kicked one of his dogs in the face, telling me the dog was friendly. Clearly. But in your situation I agree about trying to find her if you can just to let her know. I am not very helpful. But it grates when people can't control their dogs. Or their kids.

CaliopeSpidrman

Angie, please walk with me from now on.  I wish I'd had the instinctual reaction to kick that dog in the face.

the_mulva

He got mad when I kicked one of his dogs in the face,that blows my mind.  if my dog attacked another dog, I would hope someone would kick him in the face.  I would kick my own dog in the face if he was attacking another dog.

AngieP900

Seriously. My dog growls out of turn and he'll get a smack. Unfortunately Cali, you are rather far from me. Maybe we can get you some bear mace.

SarahBethBR

I would want to know if my dog bit and caused harm to another dog, but I also wouldn't run away from the scene of the attack either.  This woman's shiity behavior leads me to believe she won't care or do anything about it.

the_mulva

but I also wouldn't run away from the scene of the attack eitheri don't know... if i didn't think the other dog was hurt and I was trying to get my massive, snarling, doggie assailant away from the victim, i'd probably bolt just to get my dog away from the other dog and get the situation under control.   i'm just sayin...

CaliopeSpidrman

I'm trying to give her the benefit of the doubt, so I'm with Mulva.  Also, I had to check Maggie for a while before I saw any blood.  She has a ton of fur, so it's hard to get past it to see skin, and the dog bit her on the back where it's thickest.  I didn't look up, but I think she probably waited from a distance for a bit before deciding to get the eff out of dodge before anything else went wrong (also, there was another dog approaching).  I'm trying hard not to blame her because she did try her best.  I just think she's probably ignorant and selected her dog based on how pretty it was and not that it had the demeanor she was looking for.  Or maybe she did want a dog for protection and didn't realize it might come with dog aggression too?  Who knows.

laladypoet

I would've kicked the dog. I love dogs but I love mine the most. then I would've kicked the lady. cause I'm mature.I'm sorry, I hope she feels better.

laladypoet

and I hope she has better control over the dog when there's a kid around.