On Monday it got up to 70 degrees and I was so excited to get home and go out for a “test run”. It was a bit windy when I got home but with the time change I knew that the temperature would hold for a few more hours. I felt like I was long overdue for a slow, long distance run. I needed to get out, stretch my legs, and feel the sun on my skin. So once I got there I changed and headed out.
Everything was fine, up until I hit my .5 mile mark. Since the sun was pretty high still I decided to take the longer route home. And that’s when things got interesting. I rounded a corner and saw a dog out in the middle of the road. Now, I’ve encountered this dog before (about a month back), and he actually nipped at my shoe once. That day, I squirted him with water and he ran away. This time he didn't look very threatening at first because he isn't very big, but he was barking up a storm and growling. I just assumed he was being a tough guy. But, I still picked up a rock and opened up my water bottle just in case. I had my headphones in and I kept up my pace. I saw him start circling me, but I kept my eyes ahead. At one point he got a little too close so I kicked in his direction and told him to “get”. He took off behind me back to his house so I assumed I was clear and started to speed up. That’s when I saw another dog coming at me really fast from the left side, and then I felt a bite on my right calf.
As a reflex I kicked back when I felt the sting and the dog let go. But he kept trying to come back at my leg, and the other dog that had caught my attention before was also growling at me. I checked my leg and it didn't look bad at all but I did see some blood so I wiped it away. Then, I went in search of the first big stick I could find. My first thought, in all honesty, was to hit the crap out of that damn dog. But then I realized I needed to tell the owners and see if I could find out any information about the dog (did he actually belong to them, was he vaccinated?). So I made my way up to their fence, stick in hand, and tried to get someone to come out. I was out there hollering for about 3 minutes and no one came out. I knew someone had to be home because cars were parked out front, but either they really couldn't hear me or they were hoping I’d just go away. So, I decided I’d continue my run and then come back to talk to them in my car.
I swung my stick and backed my way down the road before I started off again. Once I got home I told my husband what had happened, and he insisted I call the police. Now, I’m an animal person and I know how bad it sucks to have the cops called on you because your dogs loose. So, I told him I wanted to speak to the owners first. He said he’d come with me so we all loaded up and made our way to the house. When we got there he knocked on the windows and yelled. No one came out. Finally I honked, and started yelling with him and a little girl came out. We asked to speak to her parents and they came out a few seconds later. They claimed the dog belonged to their daughter’s boyfriend. He wasn’t there at the time, because his daughter was in labor. I introduced myself, showed them my leg, and told them I ran by there often. I told them that this was the second time that this dog had come at me, and my husband made some reference about calling the sheriff. That’s when they told me that the dog had his vaccinations and that the dog would be taken care of. I told them we didn’t want any trouble, but if it happened again I’d call animal control. They shook our hands, and took both dogs into their fenced yard.
My husband insisted that I call the police but I felt we had handled the situation. It wasn’t until I was at work the next day that someone asked me “What if he had attacked a child? or What if you had been out running with Emery and he bit her?” So, I called the sheriff and made a report. I let them know we had spoken with the owners, and they immediately knew who I was talking about. Apparently, I’m not the first to complain about their dogs. I told them I didn’t need a sheriff to come out, but I just wanted it on file that I had made the report in case it happened again. They asked if I had gone to the ER, because the owners would be held liable to pay for my visit if I had gone. I told them that I hadn’t since it wasn’t that deep, and my leg was healing so rabies wasn’t an issue. The sheriff told me that if it happened again to call them immediately so they could have animal control pick up the dog.
I honestly don’t want any trouble because this is a small town. We see everyone pretty much every afternoon. But I would feel so bad if that dog got out, bit a kid, and I hadn’t spoken up. So, I feel like I did the right thing. The owner can be angry with me if he feels like it but I’m sure if the roles were reversed they would not have hesitated to call and make a report. The bite wasn't that deep, mainly deep scratches, so it’s healing really fast, and it’s mainly just one big bruise. If I’m on my feet for a long period of time then it swells up a bit, but other than that it’s fine. Since then, I've gone on one run by that house. The dog was outside of the fence but he was tied up. I glad to see that they were serious about making sure he wasn't loose again. I really would have hated to have another conversation with the police.
p.s. I was reading Erica's current post,
and come to find out bloglovin has my blog listed.
So, if anyone has that, you can also use that to follow along.
Click here ---->Follow my blog with Bloglovin
No comments:
Post a Comment