ARGHing all over the place

[trystinn]

Monday night (as I type, that's tonight) a f*cking Rottweiller is running loose on our street and attacked our van, running with us for about 1/4 mile...911 has been called. Shit, I hate this kind of crap. What is it with irresponsible neighbors and their dogs? About every other month, there's a knock on the door and I'm being asked about a dog running loose, attacking folks, etc.

Oh goodie, we get an interview with the Animal Control cop tomorrow to discuss and sign paperwork. I haven't gotten a good look at that side of the van - but it better be in perfect condition!

I love the questions they asked:
* Did it have a cropped tail? Sorry the dog attacked the driver's side of the van and hubby was driving. He only noticed the teeth and tried not to run it over, though he was tempted to.
* Was it all black? No, it was a Rottie, therefore it had brown/tan spots.
* Was it a purebred Rottie? I dunno, couldn't see the AKC paperwork from the passenger side of the van. Certainly looked like the purebreds I've seen, but the black was darker which I usually consider one of the more American strains of Rottweilers.
* Have you seen this dog before in your neighborhood? You know, we have ONE Rottie on our street, and I'm fairly afraid of it so I haven't studied the dog. The other two in our neighborhood live more than five blocks over. I'm assuming at this point.
* Was I afraid for my safety and the safety of my dogs? Would I have called 911 if I wasn't!?!?!

I'm about 90% sure I know who owns this dog - there's only three Rotties in my neighborhood and the other two are significantly more brown and have lighter black coats, than the big black one who attacked us and chased the van down the street to our home. Had to sit with my three dogs in my driveway for ten minutes before we felt comfortable sneaking them indoors! If the owner is who I think it is, she lives in a piece of shit PINK single-wide (sorry, my New England is showing), with her poor Rottie on a running line all day (so of course, its become aggressive) and she's a cranky, chain-smoking 70 pound fragile elderly thing with a mouth like a gutter. And this all I know just from walking my dogs on the opposite side of the street from her. Half the time I go the long way so I don't pass her house, at all.

And you have to adore that the Animal Control gal told me she's had numerous complaints and is ready to seize the dog. Attacking our van is essentially considered an "aggressive act" - oh goodie. And that she's heard really great things about our dogs, i.e. how well-mannered, quiet, how well we treat them, etc. Apparently, our elderly neighbors told the Animal Control lady they feel safer with our dogs next door to them! *Squeee*

The stupid thing is, most of my neighbors are adorable folks trying to live quiet, rural lives. Absolutely beautiful people who you adore chatting with and we bake cookies and focaccia for. Quite a few even have sweet, well-tempered dogs who play with our doggies, its the mutant neighbors with the junkpiles, junkers- and RV-storage on their yards that are perennial problems! Seriously. Every damn f*cking time! You try not to stereotype, but really, every damn time!

And now, drumroll, hubby things we ought to have a gun in the house in case this happens again. I'm protesting not because I'm anti-gun (I grew up going to the rifle range with my Grandfather and have owned guns before!) but because I think that's overkill. However, if one of those loose dogs breaks into my backyard and goes after my bunnies I will definately hunt it down with my crossbow!"

Breathe...in out, in out, breath in and out..now stop.

Comments

[wild-heart.livejournal.com]

I live in a neighborhood of identical square brick houses. The trailer park is a few blocks away. (I *do* live in KY, after all.)

Most of the dogs in this neighborhood run wild. My biggest concern, since none of them are aggressive, is that one of them will get run over. The Army guy across the street - the one who spends a lot of time screaming at his wife when he's not being a lawn Nazi - doesn't seem to have a control issue when it comes to his cocker spaniel. Or his young sons, who seem to have a particular affinity for riding their bikes up into my driveway and behind my car as I'm about to pull out.

It's just a sad thing that the Rottie went after you. Most dogs aren't vicious by nature.

Have I ever written about the 4 mini Dobies next door? They bark like mad every time I open the back door or go outside. Constantly. When I had to do some tree work last fall, they threw themselves at the chain link fence with such fervor that I thought for sure they'd come through it like riced potatoes.

Good luck with the animal control people.

[tryst-inn.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Sounds like you're leaving behind some fun neighbors, too!

Our neighborhood started out as a cottage community only meant to be resided in part of the year, so we have a strange mixture of A-frames, beautiful swiss chalets, cedar cabins, single-wides, RVs and manufactured homes. There's only a handful of stick-built homes and they tend to stick out because the owners cleared the land of all trees when they built their modern monstrosity. Depending when you "bought in", you could own anywhere from 6 acres to 1/2 acre, which was the minimum until recently when the zoning changed and now folks are on 1/5 acre lots pressed right up against each other.

There's all sorts of laws in our neighborhood that disallow single-wides and RVs after 10 years, but since the community is too cheap to hire an attorney, the laws are basically useless and ignored.

[wild-heart.livejournal.com]

Your neighborhood sounds like what the barrier islands on the Jersey Shore used to be.

Ick. RV's used as long term residences. Old trailers. Bleh.

[tryst-inn.livejournal.com]

Yep, which is why after five years you're required to build a permanent structure on your property.
They forgot the part about "to replace your RV or trailer", that's something a good lawyer would have thought of. So we have plots with single-wides and RVs with stick built sheds as "permanent structures". Kid you not, wierdest thing I've ever seen, but then I was a tad spoiled and sheltered. I still have to catch myself from describing our 1500 sq foot home as "small". Hell, my whole house would easily fit on the first floor of my mother's three-story (with converted basement, not included).

As for us, we're working on a compound. I already have a garden shed (with skylight for natural lighting) and will hopefully be able to toss a greenhouse on the side in the coming year. Josh's workshop should be delivered later this month (we just finalized the arrangements for ordering the kit today) and of course, we've still got the driftwood circle and a temporary Aradia shrine.

At some point, I'm getting a meditation/shrine building just not quite decided on what I want - may go for one of those Tuff Shed barn-types or yet another cedar shed like the workshop.

Decisions, decisions...where's my tarot deck when I need it?

[wildcelticrose.livejournal.com]

I honestly don't know why most people even bother to own dogs.

They leave them locked or tied up all day, then either let them run loose to poop on other's property or attack other dogs or people.

I think we should be able to shot (metaphoriclaly speaking of course) the OWNERS, not the poor dogs.

With that said, if I had no other choice, I would shoot a dog that could do me harm.

BUT... Pepper spray can often be an effective deterrent. That's what postal carriers have with them.

You can get a decent level at a law enforcment supply store, or even better, go to an outdoor store and get BEAR SPRAY.

Just make sure that you're not downwind; you don't want a faceful of that stuff.

[tryst-inn.livejournal.com]

Yep, agreed. We have three dogs, with me working from home most days, so their days are filled with Mommy love, walks and games.

At this point, we have our crossbow by the front door and a metal baseball bat.