Update on the biting dog

Thanks, everybody, for your concern. It turns out that animal control in our town is really just focused on the public health aspect of a dog bite. This dog's rabies vaccinations are up to date, so they're requiring a ten-day quarantine (I use the term with reservations -- it's an honor system sort of quarantine, in which the owner agrees to keep the dog away from other people and animals) and before-and-after vet visits. They said, "We don't do the safety angle -- that's up to the police and the legal department."

That is not an adequate response, so we called the police tonight to report the incident.

Elwood wanted to talk to the neighbor before we called the police. He said the guy was very apologetic, but also a little evasive about what exactly would keep this from happening in the future. (Just typing that, I can feel my blood pressure rising. Makes me want to say, "I'll tell you what will keep this from happening in the future: a little oxycontin HAMBURGER, that's what.")

The police also talked to the neighbor after they talked to us. He told the police that it's a breed-related thing: the dog is a border collie, so he engages in herding behavior. Little nips, you know. Unfortunately, the police officer had just been at our house, viewing my husband's shredded jeans and the photos of his injured leg from last night and this morning. (The bruises that sprang up overnight! Ai yi yi, the bruises.) A herding dog that acted toward the herd like this dog acted toward my husband would quickly be a herding dog with a bullet in its head.

There will be an assessment of the dog to look for behavioral red flags. You would think that attacking a pedestrian would be red flag enough, wouldn't you? The owner told the police he was willing to keep the dog muzzled when it was outside. 

That doesn't really do it for me.

Elwood says he'll go to the doctor if his leg gets infected, a decision that so incensed my mother that she called him at work to read him the riot act and called my mother-in-law so she could harangue him as well. Then she and my sister called again tonight to tell me I should take him to the doctor myself. "Tell him you're taking him for ice cream," they enjoined me, "and then pull up at the clinic instead." Alas, he doesn't like ice cream. He is a grown man, and an extraordinarily stubborn grown man to boot, so I think I'll just keep asking him to show me that it's not warm. Or red. Or streaky. Or pustulent. My mother thinks his decision is not just stubborn but another word that starts with stu--. If he winds up needing treatment over the weekend, I'll be inclined to agree.

Comments

[Linda]

*sigh* Stubbornness. Keep a very close eye on it and on him in general. Bacteria can get into his bloodstream via the bite and spread elsewhere.

[Sarah]

Good grief. I like dogs as much as the next person, but there is no need to have dogs around that are so aggressive, especially when unprovoked. Especially when one considers how vulnerable children and other members of the community are to an attacking dog. I grew up in the country where dogs that behaved like this had a very restricted life span. But people in town seem to get very silly over their animals. I shouldn't even get started on this topic. Gads.

[Luo Lin]

I hope Elwood's bite stays nice (?) and clean / uninfected.

A grad school friend of mine who got bitten referred to the subsequent case as People vs. Bad Dog.

I'm not a dog person, but I do know that it is not the breed of dog, but the owner's training or lack thereof that is the problem.

[Karen]

A dog that bites should never be outside unleashed. And a muzzle is a great idea, but I have no idea how you'd enforce that. For the moment, I suggest you get a receipt for pants, plus the visit to the DR that Elwood needs to make, plus the cost of the antibiotic ointment that he should be applying, and deliver it to the neighbor with a nice note saying "here is the bill for your dog's bite. More to come if infection requires treatment."

I write this as the owner of a dog who bit a bike rider a couple of years ago. Mea culpa. He was on an extendable leash and the guy rode his bike up from behind us with nary a warning. Dogs are wont to chase moving things and the bite was a natural (if horrifying result). I didn't hear the rider - my dog's hearing is much better than mine. Now I keep the dog on a tight leash when we walk in the morning, because there are often bike commuters riding up from behind us and none of them ring their bells to warn me (not that they should but it would help the dog owner!).

This should be a lesson to the neighbor, that he needs to control his dog at all times, breed tendencies notwithstanding - he is the responsible party and will be held accountable for all of his dog's natural behaviors.

[Jody]

You know what? I have been around many dogs in my life, including lots of half-wild farm dogs, and none of them randomly bit people. None of them bit people when PROVOKED. This whole situation just makes me INSANE. Elwood is an adult; what will everyone say if this happens to a child, and the damage is more profound? GRRRRR.

(I also gotta say, you guys have quite the set of neighbors. I am quickly reminding myself that all the peaceful, non-interfering, dog-smart owners just don't show up in the blog.)