just got attacked by same dog again! (pics)

[silverlance]

today i was walking my dog in the hot so. california sun, with my glasses off. my dog was on a retractable leash. as i passed the house where last year an unleashed rottwieler had attacked me right in front of its owner, the dog itself suddenlyt hopped up from benhind a car where it had been laying down out of my sight. it went straight for me and my dog. stalin (my jindo) immedialy intercepted, and i made the terrible mistake of trying to pull my dog back. immediately the rott jumped stlin and bit him severely on his neck, back, and side. i suffered 5 second degree rope burns on the insides of the fingers of my left hand.

the dog owner came out 8 seconds later and separated his dog by kicking his dog five or six times.

as i led my bleeding dog away, he said, "i am sorry, but he does not do this.."

i took stalin to the vet er. he is now sleeping off surgery.

i had to then go to my own er. i have a bandaged up left hand. hopefully infextion will not aset in and i will regain full use of my hand.

if i had been allowed to carry, this would not have happened. even in the state of ca nobody would argue that a 200 lb rott does not present danger of serious bodily harm.

my wqarning to the rest of you: always be aware of your surroundings. this was on a balmy afternoon, nobody on the streets (except for two door2door salesmen who have since given me a written statement), peaceful lazy 4pm.

you can tell this story to those who say, "you're being paranoid - you don't need -that-".

i hurt like heck right now, cuts in my hand are about 6mm deep, and my dog has a tube sticking out of his back.

...

now. any suggestions on what i should do? the police wont take a report because an off leash dog is not a crime, only a maytter for the health and safety dept. and they are closed until monday.

should i hire an attorney? any recommendations?
should i go tak to the stupid owner?
and how should i prepare myself against future events?

 

[RNB65]

Present the owner copies of all the medical receipts and let him know you expect full reimbursement. If he refuses to pay, hire a lawer and sue.

Also, talk to the police. Unrestrained dogs are prohibited in most communities.

 

[Kurt_M]

Geez that's awful! I hope your dog and your hand turn out OK. First, I personally would hire a lawyer. The fact that this is the second attack makes the owner completely liable IMO, any dog that habitually attacks people needs to be put down immediately. Best of luck to you.

 

[Ovid]

Is this an area that you will have to go by again?

 

[silverlance]

re ovid

yes. this is my own street! guy lives no more than 100 yards from me.

i still refuse to blame rotts as bad dogs, but leaving one unrestrained is like leaving a live bouncing betty on your lawn and being shocked when someone steps on it.

 

[Sgt Stevo]

call animal control, the leash law, or lack of it, does not matter. A dog has to be deemed a threat.
Which means, he has to do this more than once. But, he is probly not trained and I am almost sure this has happened before. I have trained a lot of aggressive problem dogs. It can be done. But this is not your problem. It is his. Animal control will contact the person, a make a report and this becomes a public record.
If he had been contacted in the past, they will take some action. take the advice to drop the bill on him.
or, have a lawyer draw up a demand for you. And get yourself a big cold steel knife.

I tell lots of people who by our dogs. be responsible, or you will be held responsible.
My three year old girl does not need to on a leash either, But if she ran up and bit off your ear. I would be responsible. See what I mean?

 

[Kentak]

I don't freaking get it! You have no laws making the owner liable for the dog's actions? See a lawyer and sue this guy, or quit whining to us about these dog attacks. Or at least try to get some dog owner responsibility laws passed.

K

 

[Sam]

Sue for actual damages and enough grief and heartache to buy a case of beer.

Sam

 

[Zundfolge]

Present the owner copies of all the medical receipts and let him know you expect full reimbursement. If he refuses to pay, hire a lawer and sue.

That's your best bet.


I hate to say it (because its not the dog's fault) but this dog really needs to be put down. It seems clear to me the owner has no intention of controlling his dog.

Imagine the damage you and your dog suffered being inflicted on a small child.


Oh and here's some light reading about the laws in CA regarding dogs http://doglaw.hugpug.com/law/california/

and this is an interesting one too http://doglaw.hugpug.com/doglaw_081.html

 

[CK]

Go over/Call the dog owner, and ask what is he going to do to prevent this thing happening again. Record the conversation (covertly if possible). Decide from there, what to do next.

Depending either he is taking prenventative measure or not, It is your shoot to either call the Animal Control, or take the man to court on civil law.


edited. ps. Check if taped conversation is admissible as evidence or anything. But, still tape it.

 

[Kentak]

If the owner won't cover all your and your dog's expenses, sue in small claims court. He needs to take responsibility or have it forced on him.

 

[Low-Sci]

That's ridiculous. I hope you both recover well.

There should be any number of things you can do. Should be able to sue, call animal control, call the police on the guy for abusing his dog, something.

I have a soft spot for dogs, I grew up with them. I learned to walk by pulling my little butt to a stand by the fur of the family german sheperd. It really pisses me off that someone would own a dog that needs an experienced owner and lots of correct discipline and just not train it and leave it out alone, then kick the sh*t out of it when it misbehaves. Of course it's gonna misbehave if you do that crap. People should have to pay fines for that kind of mistreatment.

 

[crofrog]

Sue him in small claims court _and_ call animal control and have his dog put down.

 

[silverlance]

thank you for all your support.

please pray for us if you are so inclined.

i am seeing about a lawyer for the injuries to my hand - i will not be able to do my work properly for a while with only one hand.

although my hand seems fine in the pic, in actuality there is a 6mm deep groove running through all four fingers, exposing the connective tissue beneath.

i am just so mad, mad at this idiot for being so irresponsible, and at CA for no allowing me to carry a gun to defend myself. if my dog handint taken the bites for me, i'd be still in surguery right now.

 

[tegemu]

Did you make a Police Report? It might help in any legal action. Perhaps some Pepper Spray might be in order.

 

[357wheelgunner]

Pepper spray and a good knife, maybe an ASP?

If you can't carry a gun why not train with a knife? Dogs are fast and have a mean set of teeth, but give em your arm and you have a few seconds to cut up their vitals pretty good....

 

[kirkcdl]

If all else fails,make the neighbors dog some treats,use raw hamburger with ExLax inside,and just toss them in his yard in an area where the owner is not likely to find them.Don't worry,the dog will find them.Then,at night,when the dog is inside the house,do something,anything,that will make the dog bark at you from inside the house.After the dog empties his bowels every time he barks,maybe the owner will get rid of the dog.Don't ask how I know,but it works VERY well,just keep in mind the dosage will be much less for a dog than a human..

 

[bg226]

Contact an attorney and see what options you have.

You should look into pepper spray.

www.foxlabs.com is really good stuff.

Good luck.

 

[pcf]

the dog owner came out 8 seconds later and separated his dog by kicking his dog five or six times.

I have a pretty good idea why this dog attacked you.

I'd sue the guy, he should have paid your medical bills or you should have already been contacted by his insurance company.
-You need to be compensated because you can't work or do your job properly.
-Your medical bills need to be paid, and any in case long term health issues that might develop.
-Your vet bills need to be paid, and any long term health issues, relating to the attack, your dog has need to be paid for.

 

[Kentak]

Silverlance,

I'm sorry if I sounded less than sympathetic earlier. I am sympathetic. I would be royally pissed if this happened to me. I don't have a dog, but I could have been walking with my handicapped daughter who would be less able to defend herself than your dog would. I would have wanted to throttle the owner with my bare hands.

The only way this guy will become responsible (if that's at all possible) is by making him pay dearly for his irresponsibility. IANAL, but surely you will recover damages and, hopefully, punitive damages as well. Good luck in your recovery and efforts to get your due.

K

 

[Kentak]

I just thought of something.

Do not do anything, like presenting him with vet and ER bill. Don't have any contact with him at all. If you present him with a bill and he pays it, that could be deemed a settlement and jeopardize your rights to recover further damages, such as loss of wages or loss of function in your hand.

Let the lawyer handle it all. (I can't believe I'm saying that)

Best.
K

 

[pcf]

One more thing why did you name Jindo, Stalin and not Kim Jung Il?

 

[hso]

It's unlikely that you would have prevented the attack since you weren't prepared for it.

It's unlikely that you would have prevented injury to your dog due to the speed of the attack and the fact that you had your dog on one of those stupid reel leashs. Keep your dog on a stout static leash and keep him at heel. This keeps him close and under control and the two of you present a more imposing figure than the two of your seperately. If you can't prevent the attack then you can turn him loose and at least allow him to fight unencumber by you holding onto the leash. Think of it as trying to defend yourself with someone holding onto your belt. You can't dodge or feint or strike or run.

What prevents you from carrying pepper spray and a cane? You could have reduced the injury to your dog by having him on a close lead and spraying the Rotty as it approached. Failing that you could have turned your dog loose and waded in with the cane and the two of you take the Rotty.

The advice to take the bills to the Rotty owner, request full payment and threaten him with animal control destroying his dog are spot on.

 

[Devonai]

Go over/Call the dog owner, and ask what is he going to do to prevent this thing happening again. Record the conversation (covertly if possible). Decide from there, what to do next.

edited. ps. Check if taped conversation is admissible as evidence or anything. But, still tape it.

Not only is covertly recorded audio inadmissible as evidence, but YOU might get in trouble. Doing so in New Hampshire is illegal, and IANAL but it's probably against the law where you live as well.

Silverlance, good look and good mending.

Edit: Hmm, at the time I posted this it was post number 1911 for me... maybe I should go buy a .45.

 

[pythonguy]

Geez, you do not need to anything illegal or immoral to get justice, follow the law and do it. File a police report and then hire a lawyer on contingency to sue for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, et al. I just don't understand owners that let their dogs run loose to either harm others, or use personal property as a bathroom. My neighborhood is full of people that lets their dogs go leash-less, I make them clean up any mess the animal leaves. You cannot however, shoot, poison, or otherwise harm the dog or owner for retribution. There are legal methods to accomplish recovery for your loss and injury, use them to the fullest extent, it'll burn the guys ass when the judge throws the book at him, you get money back, and this jerk now has a criminal history. Fight smart and legal, you'll feel much better when you walk out a winner!