Suddenly all my "way in the future" deadlines are next week, including the return of Alice. Abby is dancing and singing cause she is so excited to have her sister back.
A quick update on the dogs... I now see why the dogs are vicious. i saw the owner put them out today and watched as he slugged the female (the one that attacked me) right in the head for no reason at all. This set me off and I've been fuming mad all afternoon. I called the City, Animal Control and the police department again to complain about how wrong the situation is. I even vented angrily at a title insurance representative who needed me to copy a 13 page document about my divorce decree so it was in the house purchase file.
An interesting side note... after I posted the Vicious Dogs video on YouTube, I got a message from a Pit Bull lover. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VoSBg8g3KE It was a very sympathetic voice which is not what I expected. Most pit bull lovers want to go on about how wonderful the species is. This person commented on how stupid people can be.
The house sale seems to have taken a positive step forward. The buyer declined an inspection. He knows he is getting a good deal and doesn't want to spend the extra $400. He called me and he seems like a real nice guy. He asked if it would be OK to make copies of the house pictures that are hanging on the wall. I think we can work it that we can close on the new house before Alice gets home so we can show it to her right away and begin moving at any time. We won't need to get out of Grove Street until after December. We'll be straddling two houses for about a month and a half. Can't wait to show Alice the Coit Street house. I think she is going to like it. It will also be a distraction from the inevitable post-adventure letdown that will undoubtedly occur. It's a whole new adventure.
I also got a really great idea for Alice. Of course it is my idea and not hers so I must prepare myself for the possibility that it will not seem as mind-blowingly great as I think it is. Here is a hint... it's a volunteer opportunity that could stretch into an internship that could take her exactly where she wants to go.
I also need to mention that Mary and I had another Emergency Room adventure. This time it was for her. That kidney stone decided to take a trip part way down her urethra. This caused a blockage that backed up her kidneys and told her stomach to throw up any liquids that went in there. Turns out it is a biggee. 8mm in diameter and another one waiting in the wings. 6mm is considered impassable. This means she has to schedule a lithotripsy. Apparently there is a lot of people with stones and only so many lithotriptors. They can't get her in to bust up that sucker until December 3rd when I'll be saying, "Seriously, it's December?" In the mean time, lots of drugs.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Monday, November 12, 2007
Guess Who is Back?
After a one week hiatus, my friendly neighborhood dogs are back. I guess the story the neighbor told the police had a one-week shelf life. We noticed on Friday that they had returned. In the video below, you will see how I am greeted each time I come and go in my car. The first dog of the two is slightly larger. His chain seems to have been shortened about 2 feet since he no longer comes all the way through the fence. The second dog, a female, is the one who attacked me. Note the size of the leash holding her back.
I called Animal Control. They were very serious on the phone and told me that they would send someone over that day. (Friday) I noticed the dogs were back in the house about an hour after I called. I don't know if that was before or after the AC visit.
On October 23 I received a note from the City saying the landlord had 21 days to fix the fence. By my math, that would be tomorrow. So far, nothing has been done.
I called Animal Control. They were very serious on the phone and told me that they would send someone over that day. (Friday) I noticed the dogs were back in the house about an hour after I called. I don't know if that was before or after the AC visit.
On October 23 I received a note from the City saying the landlord had 21 days to fix the fence. By my math, that would be tomorrow. So far, nothing has been done.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Blood Lust
Yesterday afternoon, Abby called me to come and pick her up from her mom's house. I gathered my shoes and keys and headed out the back door. When I reached my car, I was greeted in a most unfriendly way by a pit bull with no collar and no chain, just fangs and drool and barking. I recognized her as the neighbor's "less aggressive" female dog. The larger of the two I had photographed a few day before (see below right) as I was complaining to the City that the larger, more aggressive male pit bull's chain allowed it to come halfway through the fence into my yard. and he took advantage of that by greeting me in this fashion every time I walked out to the backyard.
The dog in front of me had me wondering why I had thought of her as "less aggressive". She lunged at me and I yelled at her and she backed up about 10 feet away from me and continued barking at me with full teeth bared. Each time I reached for the car door handle, she lunged at me. I reached in my pocket found my cell phone and called 911. A cell phone emergency call takes you to the State Police. They then route you to local emergency. I had to explain my situation twice while this animal lunged and roared with anger in her eyes. "Is it a puppy?" they asked. "Are you in the house?" "Is that the dog that we hear barking?" "Is he tied up?"
"No dammit! This dog is full grown and is snapping at me in my own backyard and I am in extreme danger. That's why I am calling emergency. Send someone fast!!"
I kept wondering what would happen when the police arrived. Would they shoot her? I was told by a cop friend that they would not hesitate to shoot an aggressive dog. I was not sure that I really wanted to see that happen but at the same time, I was feeling very angry and put-out that I had to deal with this on my own property, especially when I am trying to sell my house. I also thought about escape strategies but now that the cops were called, I did not want them to arrive to anything but a very dramatic situation. I had called emergency after all.
I began trying different things to see how the dog reacted. Reaching for the car door handle, putting hands in pockets, stepping toward the dog, stepping away from the dog, yelling at her, whispering to her, "good dog". Every new thing I tried caused the the same reaction: The dog backed up a couple of steps and then lunged even closer. For some reason, I thought that I needed to maintain eye contact to show that I was the dominant dog here. (Later I read that that is exactly the opposite thing you should do. Dogs see eye contact as a sign of aggression. You should look just a little off to the side and make no moves until they get bored and walk away.)
At one point, the dog did turn around and walk a few yards away. I truly thought I could make a dash for the car. But then I thought the Police would arrive to nothing. I wanted them to see how aggressive this dog was. Plus, a quick movement was sure to attract the dog to go for my leg. I had experienced that once before when I was about 18 or 19. I was on my motorcycle and my friend's dog, a collie shepard mix had cornered me after dropping in to find my friend not home. I had started my bike and the dog had barred his teeth and looked ready to lunge. After about 10 minutes I had decided to gun the throttle and leave him in the dust. As I peeled out, the dog leaped up and sink his teeth into my thigh. I dragged him several feet by his teeth. Canine is faster than Honda 550.
Around this point, the pit bull apparently decided that she needed to notch things up a bit. Her next lunge was aimed directly at my ankle. I yelled "No" over and over at the top of my lungs and kicked her muzzle with the bottom of my shoe. She lunged again and again, each time making contact with my shoe. I was pretty resigned to getting bitten. How long could I keep this up? After about 6 lunges, she backed off a little to bark at me from 10 feet away.
It had been 13 minutes (I checked my cell phone records after the fact) and I decided to call 911 a second time figuring by the time they got there, I would be bleeding. They asked me again if I was in the house. They told me help was minutes away. Abby called me wondering why I had not yet picked her up. I told her that I was under attack but help was on the way.
Around this time, the pit bull apparently decided that waiting time was over and it was time to separate me from my ankle. Lunge after lunge was driving me back step by step toward the front of the house. Each lunge was stopped by the bottom of my shoe. I was shaking with fear and dumbfounded that:
A. No neighbors had heard this commotion and offered to help
B. The cops hadn't arrived
C. I still had zero teethmarks
Then I noticed a couple of kids walking through the alley at the end of the driveway. The pit bull noticed too. She turned and bounded towards them, barking. All of a sudden, the dog owner stuck his head out the back door of the house next door and called the dog who obediently ran back through the hole in the fence, never to be seen again.
Cue the police. A cruiser rolls up and the officer rolls down the window. He asks me a bunch of questions and hands me a card with the police report number for the complaint "Dog running loose". He said he would try to talk to the owner but he may not come to the door. I tried to explain that I had been under attack for 20 minutes but the silence and lack of a suspect seemed to drain my story from any serious consideration. I started to vent about why it had taken so long but there was no attempt to explain. The birds were singing the trees. What emergency?
The officer later called me and told me that there was good news. The dog's owner had told him he was moving to Bridge Street tomorrow and was taking his dogs. He also told me that animal control would do a follow up.
I was so frightened and now I am so angry. I'm also angry that the police took so long getting there while I was under direct attack. The dispatcher could hear the dog and hear my fear. If they had arrived minutes earlier, that dog would be shot dead, I'm sure.
I sure hope this dog owner indeed becomes someone else's problem. Hope the landlord takes care of the yard. Last night, they moved one of their 2 cars out of the backyard fenced in area. Maybe it is true they are moving.
The dog in front of me had me wondering why I had thought of her as "less aggressive". She lunged at me and I yelled at her and she backed up about 10 feet away from me and continued barking at me with full teeth bared. Each time I reached for the car door handle, she lunged at me. I reached in my pocket found my cell phone and called 911. A cell phone emergency call takes you to the State Police. They then route you to local emergency. I had to explain my situation twice while this animal lunged and roared with anger in her eyes. "Is it a puppy?" they asked. "Are you in the house?" "Is that the dog that we hear barking?" "Is he tied up?"
"No dammit! This dog is full grown and is snapping at me in my own backyard and I am in extreme danger. That's why I am calling emergency. Send someone fast!!"
I kept wondering what would happen when the police arrived. Would they shoot her? I was told by a cop friend that they would not hesitate to shoot an aggressive dog. I was not sure that I really wanted to see that happen but at the same time, I was feeling very angry and put-out that I had to deal with this on my own property, especially when I am trying to sell my house. I also thought about escape strategies but now that the cops were called, I did not want them to arrive to anything but a very dramatic situation. I had called emergency after all.
I began trying different things to see how the dog reacted. Reaching for the car door handle, putting hands in pockets, stepping toward the dog, stepping away from the dog, yelling at her, whispering to her, "good dog". Every new thing I tried caused the the same reaction: The dog backed up a couple of steps and then lunged even closer. For some reason, I thought that I needed to maintain eye contact to show that I was the dominant dog here. (Later I read that that is exactly the opposite thing you should do. Dogs see eye contact as a sign of aggression. You should look just a little off to the side and make no moves until they get bored and walk away.)
At one point, the dog did turn around and walk a few yards away. I truly thought I could make a dash for the car. But then I thought the Police would arrive to nothing. I wanted them to see how aggressive this dog was. Plus, a quick movement was sure to attract the dog to go for my leg. I had experienced that once before when I was about 18 or 19. I was on my motorcycle and my friend's dog, a collie shepard mix had cornered me after dropping in to find my friend not home. I had started my bike and the dog had barred his teeth and looked ready to lunge. After about 10 minutes I had decided to gun the throttle and leave him in the dust. As I peeled out, the dog leaped up and sink his teeth into my thigh. I dragged him several feet by his teeth. Canine is faster than Honda 550.
Around this point, the pit bull apparently decided that she needed to notch things up a bit. Her next lunge was aimed directly at my ankle. I yelled "No" over and over at the top of my lungs and kicked her muzzle with the bottom of my shoe. She lunged again and again, each time making contact with my shoe. I was pretty resigned to getting bitten. How long could I keep this up? After about 6 lunges, she backed off a little to bark at me from 10 feet away.
It had been 13 minutes (I checked my cell phone records after the fact) and I decided to call 911 a second time figuring by the time they got there, I would be bleeding. They asked me again if I was in the house. They told me help was minutes away. Abby called me wondering why I had not yet picked her up. I told her that I was under attack but help was on the way.
Around this time, the pit bull apparently decided that waiting time was over and it was time to separate me from my ankle. Lunge after lunge was driving me back step by step toward the front of the house. Each lunge was stopped by the bottom of my shoe. I was shaking with fear and dumbfounded that:
A. No neighbors had heard this commotion and offered to help
B. The cops hadn't arrived
C. I still had zero teethmarks
Then I noticed a couple of kids walking through the alley at the end of the driveway. The pit bull noticed too. She turned and bounded towards them, barking. All of a sudden, the dog owner stuck his head out the back door of the house next door and called the dog who obediently ran back through the hole in the fence, never to be seen again.
Cue the police. A cruiser rolls up and the officer rolls down the window. He asks me a bunch of questions and hands me a card with the police report number for the complaint "Dog running loose". He said he would try to talk to the owner but he may not come to the door. I tried to explain that I had been under attack for 20 minutes but the silence and lack of a suspect seemed to drain my story from any serious consideration. I started to vent about why it had taken so long but there was no attempt to explain. The birds were singing the trees. What emergency?
The officer later called me and told me that there was good news. The dog's owner had told him he was moving to Bridge Street tomorrow and was taking his dogs. He also told me that animal control would do a follow up.
I was so frightened and now I am so angry. I'm also angry that the police took so long getting there while I was under direct attack. The dispatcher could hear the dog and hear my fear. If they had arrived minutes earlier, that dog would be shot dead, I'm sure.
I sure hope this dog owner indeed becomes someone else's problem. Hope the landlord takes care of the yard. Last night, they moved one of their 2 cars out of the backyard fenced in area. Maybe it is true they are moving.
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