Attack of the bad neighbor

Last Friday afternoon was beautiful and sunny and warm, but not too warm. Around 4:30p I decided to take Stelle and Captain for a quick run. We have a 5K race course that comes by our house, which is one of my regular runs. About half way through our run, I noticed a couple of dogs not on a leash and with no apparent owner in the vicinity. This is not unusual for our neighborhood, but I stayed on the other side of the street to play it safe. I then noticed that the larger of the two dogs (I will call him Blacky) noticed us and began to charge. I stood between my dogs and that dog raised my arms above my head to appear big and yelled NO!. That did not stop the dog. Blacky did not bark or growl but rather went straight into attack. I tried to pull back Stelle and Captain in such a way to keep me between Blacky and the dogs. This dog was going for a rear attack of Stelle. It was terrifying. I kicked at Blacky, I hit him with the nyla bone on the end of my leash, nothing worked. I started to scream for help. One neighbor came out of his home and I asked him to call the police. Another neighbor then came out and told me to grab Blacky by his hind legs. Is he kidding? About that time Captain came free of his leash. I think Blacky either hit him or bit him free. Anyway, Captain ran away. This got Blacky's attention who took off after Captain. Fortunately, Captain is very fast. Blacky gave up on Captain and it looked like he was coming back to take care of Stelle. Fortunately, neighbor #2 grabbed Blacky by the hind legs and put him on the ground. I gathered Captain and neighbor #2 yelled for me to head in the opposite direction because the owner had not command of his dog.

Where was the owner of the dog? Well, he was sauntering over after he heard my screams. He was almost to me when Captain got off the leash. He yelled at me for letting Captain off the leash. I had some choice words with him. He then told neighbor #2 not to be so rough with his dog. I was not happy and continued to yell at the owner of the dog. He called me a drama queen. His wife then came out yelling "it was an accident, it was an accident". The dog owner continues to act like what I can only describe as a really bad neighbor. This dog lives within about 150 yards for McKoy Park, a park very popular with families of kids and dogs.

Fortunately, I was able to contact our vet at Dearborn and they stayed open to treat Stelle. Unfortunately, she had to stay overnight. She did not want me to leave her. She has two large gashes on her right side. Both required a drain because they were so deep. On her left side is a puncture that required 4 stitches and a rough looking abrasion. She has several marks on her that look like tooth scrapes.

In the 15 years I have lived in Oakhurst I have never had a dog attack me while running with my dogs. Stelle enjoys the dog park and has never gotten into a scuffle with another dog. I hope this incident does not change her demeanor. At least for now, it has changed mine.