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Dog Attack, how to handle it?


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Moved from: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/664918-emergency-dog-attack/

 

I went outside with my three dogs and a stray we're gonna be taking to the Animal Shelter (AS), soon. 

 

Our neighbor's dogs have been coming in through a hole we couldn't find until today, and barking at our dogs. They hadn't attacked any of them until today, this is their second offense today. Earlier they tried killing the stray puppy we have in our grounds, but we managed to chase them out. We haven't pursued anything because we feel responsible since it's our fence, but today it crossed the line. Three of them, a chihuahua and two unknown breeds, possibly around 80 LBS, ran into our property when our dogs were peeing, I didn't realize at the time because I was petting the stray puppy, all of a sudden I heard barking and when I looked up. They were attacking Rocco, a German Shepherd puppy of about 8 months. Two of them were trying to get onto his neck to bite onto or his back, while the chihuahua ran away because it saw me coming in fast with a broom in my hand, and I was screaming to the top of my lungs "Get off my dog, get out of here". I managed to scare them off and they left my dog alone, Rocco was crying and the dogs retreated and I chased after them to find the hole. Now, the neighbor's known about the hole this entire time and hasn't even tried pointing it out or mentioning it. (I'm not the homeowner of the property I'm in, it's my mom's). I finally found the hole and when I got there the neighbor came out, like a smug jerk and I blew up at him. I think it was fair, he knew his dogs have been breaking into this property for over 7 years, never trained their dogs to stop or behave, has overly aggressive dogs who even bark at me, or threaten me, and none of them are collared or have had their shots. He threatened me, that he was gonna get his attorney, but his dogs come into my property and my dogs have NEVER gone into his property, because I'm always watching them. 

 

Luckily, since I arrived on time, Rocco wasn't seriously injured, just a lot of drool on his fur. Because, again, I reacted the second I heard a bark and went over there with intent to kill those dogs to protect my puppy. My dogs are not aggressive, they don't bark at other dogs unless they're barked at, and most of the time they just ignore it. They're very good boys, I'm not sure what to do at this point. 

 

Whose fault is it really? I threatened to call the cops, but I feel like I'm responsible because it's still my fence. But regardless of it being my fence or not, his dogs are poorly trained and poorly taken care of. I'm considering calling animal control and the police, but I really don't know what to do in this case.

 

I just wanted to say, we haven't been on this property for those 7 years, the owner brought that out of his a**, because we haven't been here for that long at all. These surges of the dogs appearing have started since May, one of the holes is where his barn is and we have no way of getting to that fence, because it's his and the other hand, the hole we found, looks like it was caused by the dogs, because it's bent upwards, and it's not missing the portion. I don't mind fixing the fence, I just didn't know where they were coming from until now, because not only did we have a fence, but we had trees lined up all the way across the fence. 

 

And I repeat.

 

> His dogs are not vaccinated and do not have collars or rabies tags (which is illegal in my state, all dogs must be vaccinated and wearing proper ID)

> His dogs are coming into my property through a means we can't reach and he refuses to patch

> I have no problem fixing the fence, it wont take much out of me

> He is threatening to sue me, because his dogs are coming into my property and attacking my dogs

> We have a stand your ground law in my state, that includes any trespassers will be killed. (Including dogs)

> The owner refuses to train his dogs and believes the fault is completely on my end (even though my dogs do NOT instigate and NEVER cross over to their yard)

 

I have a huge feeling that even if I were to fix the fence, that dogs would still come in through the owner's barn. In that case, what am I supposed to do if he refuses to patch up the fence? I don't have money to go to an attorney.

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Patch your part of the fence ASAP. How can they get onto your property via the owner's barn? If there is no way you can block that off, can you buy or borrow a large live animal trap and place it near where you think they are getting in? Then if one of the dogs gets onto your property, you can call animal control to come pick it up. If you can't trap the dog(s), I'd just call animal control the minute you see them on your property. If you can open a back yard gate so the dogs are then loose on the street, that would make it even easier for animal control to come get them.

 

ETA: He has no grounds for suing you — it's his responsibility, not yours, to keep his dogs off your property. So the only issue for you is what to do if/when they do get on your property. Assuming you don't want to shoot them (which is not something I would ever do unless my kids or my own dogs were under threat), then all you can really do is call animal control. If you can get them from your property into the street, so much the better.

Edited by Corraleno
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it is 100% the owners responsibility.  legally - your fence is there to keep your dogs in.

 

eta: I hope you reported your neighbors dogs to animal control, and the police.  it could have been a child.  this is so far over the line - it's gone way past a warning.

Edited by gardenmom5
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My main issue is that, it's not a regular house. It's two acres of fence, and we don't have that kind of money to put two acres of new fences. That's thousands of dollars. I'm planning on patching the fence, since it's just a chain link fence, but there's not much I can do about the dogs barking war, I don't mind that they bark at each other, I have a problem when their dogs come to my land and assault my dogs and threaten me.

 

It shouldn't be a lot of trouble to get them out the street, in fact, they're normally out on the street or chasing cars down. They always let their dogs run loose and about on the property. The owner has been knowingly letting their dogs come into and refuses to train the dog, instead he's been illegally caging them out in the sun and tying them to posts (also illegal). I'm issuing a last warning for his dogs, if his dogs come here again, I'm having animal control come in and take all of his dogs, which is over 6 dogs.I wouldn't mind if his dogs came by and just walked about. My problem is that they're aggressive.  I'm calling AC tomorrow morning no doubt, but it's relieving to hear it's not illegal to have a hole in my face.

 

As for the barn, the dogs climb onto the barn and jump onto the fence that they've bent out of proportion. Their dogs have done most of the damage on the fence, which frustrates me.

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My main issue is that, it's not a regular house. It's two acres of fence, and we don't have that kind of money to put two acres of new fences. That's thousands of dollars. I'm planning on patching the fence, since it's just a chain link fence, but there's not much I can do about the dogs barking war, I don't mind that they bark at each other, I have a problem when their dogs come to my land and assault my dogs and threaten me.

 

It shouldn't be a lot of trouble to get them out the street, in fact, they're normally out on the street or chasing cars down. They always let their dogs run loose and about on the property. The owner has been knowingly letting their dogs come into and refuses to train the dog, instead he's been illegally caging them out in the sun and tying them to posts (also illegal). I'm issuing a last warning for his dogs, if his dogs come here again, I'm having animal control come in and take all of his dogs, which is over 6 dogs.I wouldn't mind if his dogs came by and just walked about. My problem is that they're aggressive.  I'm calling AC tomorrow morning no doubt, but it's relieving to hear it's not illegal to have a hole in my face.

 

As for the barn, the dogs climb onto the barn and jump onto the fence that they've bent out of proportion. Their dogs have done most of the damage on the fence, which frustrates me.

 

If he's caging them and tying them out in the sun and letting them run in the street where they're likely to get hit, then it sounds like the very best thing for the dogs ( as well as you) would be to have them removed from that "home." I hope you can get AC to come get them the next time they're loose. Ugh. What an @ssh*le.  :angry:

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As for the barn, the dogs climb onto the barn and jump onto the fence that they've bent out of proportion. Their dogs have done most of the damage on the fence, which frustrates me.

 If the fence is clearly on my property, I would SPIKE  the top of the fence (like those on wrought iron gates).  Those dogs will get the point. 

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I'd have a vet check out the puppy. Our lab was attached by a pit-bull that broke free of a chain and after the police came and stopped the attack (with a bullet) our Lab ran home. He looked scared and had drool on his fur, too. Took him to the vet through, and they hustled Captain to the back room. An hour later a doped up Lab was brought out with dozens of cleaned puncture marks from being chomped - shaving the fur showed how badly he was bitten.

 

Unless you shave the fur to reach actual skin, you won't know if puppy was bitten or not. If those were 80-lb dogs....:-(

 

 

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I'd have a vet check out the puppy. Our lab was attached by a pit-bull that broke free of a chain and after the police came and stopped the attack (with a bullet) our Lab ran home. He looked scared and had drool on his fur, too. Took him to the vet through, and they hustled Captain to the back room. An hour later a doped up Lab was brought out with dozens of cleaned puncture marks from being chomped - shaving the fur showed how badly he was bitten. Unless you shave the fur to reach actual skin, you won't know if puppy was bitten or not. If those were 80-lb dogs....:-(

 

Thank you for telling me this, I'll try to check through his skin. It would honestly explain his incessant crying tonight.

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Considering everything you said he's done to his dogs and about his dog's behavior, I think the time has come to continually make reports when he violates the law. If you know his dogs are aggressive and un-vaccinated, I can't imagine you could ignore the behavior with a clear conscience.

 

It time he and the local police officers meet one another.

 

That said, my daughter was bitten a few months ago.  We called the police. They said it wasn't their problem, it was animal control.  Animal control said it was a civil matter. My daughter had a hole in her leg and no one with any power to do anything even contacted the dog owners.  So, even calling and reporting may not do any good. But, at least you  would have begun a paper trail.

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Considering everything you said he's done to his dogs and about his dog's behavior, I think the time has come to continually make reports when he violates the law. If you know his dogs are aggressive and un-vaccinated, I can't imagine you could ignore the behavior with a clear conscience.

 

It time he and the local police officers meet one another.

 

That said, my daughter was bitten a few months ago.  We called the police. They said it wasn't their problem, it was animal control.  Animal control said it was a civil matter. My daughter had a hole in her leg and no one with any power to do anything even contacted the dog owners.  So, even calling and reporting may not do any good. But, at least you  would have begun a paper trail.

 

I don't understand how that could possibly be considered as a civil matter when someone didn't have clear control over their dog. I would never in good conscience let my dog near other people if they weren't properly trained. Isn't it unlawful to own an aggressive dog after its attacked someone?

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I don't understand how that could possibly be considered as a civil matter when someone didn't have clear control over their dog. I would never in good conscience let my dog near other people if they weren't properly trained. Isn't it unlawful to own an aggressive dog after its attacked someone?

 

All I know is that we spent days on the phone with doctors, police, and animal control and never got an answer or action from anyone. We never even saw a shot record.  In the end, the doctors said that her risk for rabies was low, so she didn't get the shot series.  But, I worried for quite a long time.

 

The biggest thing that concerns me is that I hear people say, "Contact animal control and they will take care of it."  From my perspective, don't count on it. That's why I think it is imperative to have a paper trail in case something serious does come of it.  It might be the only thing that paves the way for a lawsuit should it come to it. In my experience, you can't always count on the 'authorities' to do anything about the situation.

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We had neighbors with problem dogs. The dogs were very aggressive and kept coming into our yard. I am certain they would have attacked a child and killed them if they had a chance. We couldnt play outside, had to be careful going to get in our van, etc. It was an awful time. Animal control came and took the dogs a few times, but they always gave them back. When we tried to talk to animal control about how bad it was, they just shrugged their shoulders and told us to call the police. The police told us to call animal control.

 

Dh was so fed up, he demanded to talk to the sheriff. The sheriff said, "Wait until it crosses your property line and shoot it." We didn't want to, and it was really frustrating that was The answer. We lucked out, and neighbors moved about 2 months later.

 

I'm sorry you have this problem! It is horrible!

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My main issue is that, it's not a regular house. It's two acres of fence, and we don't have that kind of money to put two acres of new fences. That's thousands of dollars. I'm planning on patching the fence, since it's just a chain link fence, but there's not much I can do about the dogs barking war, I don't mind that they bark at each other, I have a problem when their dogs come to my land and assault my dogs and threaten me.

 

 

We have lived in a subdivision where the lots are all about 1 acre.  Most of the people have fenced off smaller, more manageable sections to be used as dog runs.  You can use kennel panels supported with t-posts within existing fence lines to create runs if you do not want to create a permanent fence. As a short term fix maybe use kennel panels to fence around the holes so even when the dogs come through they can't access your whole yard.  Put down a cattle panel on the ground under the kennel panel to prevent digging.  My dogs were escape artists.  One of them even broke a newly built privacy fence.  The kennel panels + cattle panel did the trick.

 

Stefanie

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Thank you for telling me this, I'll try to check through his skin. It would honestly explain his incessant crying tonight.

You are a very new poster here so I don’t “know “ you but I am struggling a bit with your posts. If you own dogs you need to be responsible for providing a safe environment for them. So fencing is paramount no matter what the neighbor does. You don’t have to fence the entire area- just a portion of the yard could be fenced especially if these are small dogs. There are dog runs that you can purchase. Providing this is part of dog ownership for the safety of the dogs and the safety of the neighborhood. While this is equally true for the neighbor, it was true for you as well. I don’t know if you have children but if you do, their safety from the neighbor dogs is important as well.

 

It is also part of good dog ownership to provide adequate and quick veterinary care. I don’t understand not taking in a dog that was attacked especially if it is continually crying. (I am assuming the crying is unusual since you say that puncture wounds would “explain itâ€. ).

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All I know is that we spent days on the phone with doctors, police, and animal control and never got an answer or action from anyone. We never even saw a shot record.  In the end, the doctors said that her risk for rabies was low, so she didn't get the shot series.  But, I worried for quite a long time.

 

The biggest thing that concerns me is that I hear people say, "Contact animal control and they will take care of it."  From my perspective, don't count on it. That's why I think it is imperative to have a paper trail in case something serious does come of it.  It might be the only thing that paves the way for a lawsuit should it come to it. In my experience, you can't always count on the 'authorities' to do anything about the situation.

 

I don't actually "like" this, but I "liked" it because I can totally relate. Our sheriff's department punts all animal issues to AC. AC is worthless beyond picking up stray/abandoned but friendly dogs and cats. If your neighbor lets his aggressive dogs run loose or you've got wildlife hanging around that you think is rabid . . . you're on your own.

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I'd have a vet check out the puppy. Our lab was attached by a pit-bull that broke free of a chain and after the police came and stopped the attack (with a bullet) our Lab ran home. He looked scared and had drool on his fur, too. Took him to the vet through, and they hustled Captain to the back room. An hour later a doped up Lab was brought out with dozens of cleaned puncture marks from being chomped - shaving the fur showed how badly he was bitten. Unless you shave the fur to reach actual skin, you won't know if puppy was bitten or not. If those were 80-lb dogs....:-(

 

Also, sometimes the bites cause crush type injuries, also not readily visible.  I am so sorry you are dealing with this.

 

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Considering everything you said he's done to his dogs and about his dog's behavior, I think the time has come to continually make reports when he violates the law. If you know his dogs are aggressive and un-vaccinated, I can't imagine you could ignore the behavior with a clear conscience.

 

It time he and the local police officers meet one another.

 

That said, my daughter was bitten a few months ago.  We called the police. They said it wasn't their problem, it was animal control.  Animal control said it was a civil matter. My daughter had a hole in her leg and no one with any power to do anything even contacted the dog owners.  So, even calling and reporting may not do any good. But, at least you  would have begun a paper trail.

 

I don't know what state you are in.  Here in MA we have strict liability and you would go after the homeowner's insurance.   If someone is bitten by a dog here, it is absolutely the animal control officer's realm and there would be an automatic 10 day quarantine for the offending animal.

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Now that I have read more posts, want to add, while I was waiting at the emergency vet for Captain, hubby called - the police wanted Captain's tag number to look up and prove he had had his rabies vaccinations. The dog that chomped him did not..and w/o proof HE had had his shots, I imagine they would have impounded Captain. If you do not report the attacking dogs, I think the vet will anyway. Hope your puppy feels better soon!

PS - do you have a Cone of Shame? If there are any bites on his legs, he may need a cone to prevent incessant licking open of any wounds he can reach (ask me how I know this) :-(

 

We could not get any damages to pay the vet bill since the dog was owned by a renter. Apparently here you can not sue the homeowner for a renter's dog's actions. Or maybe the renters claimed they had no idea whose dog it was - I forget (it has been over ten years now).

Edited by JFSinIL
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Now that I have read more posts, want to add, while I was waiting at the emergency vet for Captain, hubby called - the police wanted Captain's tag number to look up and prove he had had his rabies vaccinations. The dog that chomped him did not..and w/o proof HE had had his shots, I imagine they would have impounded Captain. If you do not report the attacking dogs, I think the vet will anyway. Hope your puppy feels better soon!

PS - do you have a Cone of Shame? If there are any bites on his legs, he may need a cone to prevent incessant licking open of any wounds he can reach (ask me how I know this) :-(

 

We could not get any damages to pay the vet bill since the dog was owned by a renter. Apparently here you can not sue the homeowner for a renter's dog's actions. Or maybe the renters claimed they had no idea whose dog it was - I forget (it has been over ten years now).

 

While you may not have been able to get a liability claim for a renters dog, you still may still have been eligible for med pay coverage for vet bills.  I know it's too late now, but the info might help someone else.

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While you may not have been able to get a liability claim for a renters dog, you still may still have been eligible for med pay coverage for vet bills.  I know it's too late now, but the info might help someone else.

 

 

May depend on the state. Hubby is an attorney and believe me, he looked into every possibility. Happily we did have pet insurance on Captain, which covered 50% of the cost. But we were still out about $400.

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Call animal control now (or as soon as it opens Monday) -- don't wait for another incident.

 

Take photos if you can of the dogs out on road, without proper id, caged or staked wrongly, in your yard, damaging your fence.

 

Contact the owners of your property so they know what is going on, and can enter into decisions about what to do.

 

Repair whatever you can on fence for your dogs, kids, and personal safety.

 

Consider calling a lawyer to try to get the people whose dogs are damaging the fence to pay (reimburse) for repairs.

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