Nice Doggy?
One of my worst nightmares came true yesterday. I mean, worst! I have nightmares about this, I worry about this when I am awake.
I decided to take my 2 year old for a walk last night. I had mentioned to him that it was staying lighter later now, and I would be able to start taking him on walks when he comes home from daycare. Apparently, this was all he needed to hear and he started running around the house yelling "Shoes" and "Walk"! He came running out with his shoes and we set out to the park.
Just about half a block from the house, I look up to see a young man, probably 13 years old, running down the middle of the street. Just behind him is a dog. At first, I figure the kid is out playing with his dog. Then, the boy sees me, and starts running towards me saying "help!". The dog running along behind him, chasing him, is a pit bull.
My heart actually stopped.
I swung my son up onto my shoulder, and braced myself. The boy actually jumped onto the roof of a parked car right next to me. I watched as the dog ran right passed me, and put his paws up onto the car. The dog then turned away and started sniffing the grass.
I moved over to the car, and asked the kid if he was all right. He was visibly shaking. I asked him if that was his dog. He said "No".He had been walking down one of the side paths that wind around the houses in our area, when he saw the dog running towards him. He told me he was scared. I have never seen a boy his age admit he was scared. We both watched the dog. It totally ignored us, and I helped the kid off the roof of the car. He walked towards it, hands still shaking, and looked at the dog's collar. His name was Lucky, and he lived just up the street. I started to walk towards his owner's house. The dog followed us half way there, but got distracted by someone else's dog behind a fence.
My son and I rang the doorbell, and informed the woman inside that her dog was loose, and where I had last seen it. As I'm talking to her, I can hear dogs barking, and an angry male voice yelling "Get out of here!".
The woman shut the door, and my son and I walked across the street to the park. I had trouble enjoying our outing after that. I was worried about the dog - and I was worried what would happen if someone else walked down the street with their pet. I kept glancing at the woman's house, waiting for her to come out and get the dog. The clock ticked, and I was wondering what the hell was wrong with this person. How do you let your pit bull roam around the neighborhood? No dogs should be out on their own. There is a lot of traffic, and he could get hurt. People also have a gut fear of pit bulls. After almost an hour, I finally saw her van pull out of the driveway. She drove in the opposite direction of where I had last seen her dog. She came back around the block about 5 minutes later and parked. The van door opened, and out ran the pit bull straight over to the park where there were groups of kids playing football. A very small child, maybe eight years old, followed the dog and stayed playing at the park.
Now, I have never owned a dog in my life and I don't want to sound like one of those people who doesn't have any kids but loves to tell you how to raise them, but, what the hell! Where in your mind is it OK to leave an 8 year old boy in charge of a pit bull, one who is not on a leash and doesn't appear to follow any commands like "sit" "stay" or "come"? I was scared out of my wits and I couldn't wait to get back home.
I haven't had an unknown dog come charging straight at me like that since I was a young child. I think what scares me more is the fact that I knew I couldn't do anything to stop him if he attacked me and my son. There was no time run, or climb a tree, or yell for help. All I could do was stand there with one hand on my son, and one hand clenched into a fist.
I decided to take my 2 year old for a walk last night. I had mentioned to him that it was staying lighter later now, and I would be able to start taking him on walks when he comes home from daycare. Apparently, this was all he needed to hear and he started running around the house yelling "Shoes" and "Walk"! He came running out with his shoes and we set out to the park.
Just about half a block from the house, I look up to see a young man, probably 13 years old, running down the middle of the street. Just behind him is a dog. At first, I figure the kid is out playing with his dog. Then, the boy sees me, and starts running towards me saying "help!". The dog running along behind him, chasing him, is a pit bull.
My heart actually stopped.
I swung my son up onto my shoulder, and braced myself. The boy actually jumped onto the roof of a parked car right next to me. I watched as the dog ran right passed me, and put his paws up onto the car. The dog then turned away and started sniffing the grass.
I moved over to the car, and asked the kid if he was all right. He was visibly shaking. I asked him if that was his dog. He said "No".He had been walking down one of the side paths that wind around the houses in our area, when he saw the dog running towards him. He told me he was scared. I have never seen a boy his age admit he was scared. We both watched the dog. It totally ignored us, and I helped the kid off the roof of the car. He walked towards it, hands still shaking, and looked at the dog's collar. His name was Lucky, and he lived just up the street. I started to walk towards his owner's house. The dog followed us half way there, but got distracted by someone else's dog behind a fence.
My son and I rang the doorbell, and informed the woman inside that her dog was loose, and where I had last seen it. As I'm talking to her, I can hear dogs barking, and an angry male voice yelling "Get out of here!".
The woman shut the door, and my son and I walked across the street to the park. I had trouble enjoying our outing after that. I was worried about the dog - and I was worried what would happen if someone else walked down the street with their pet. I kept glancing at the woman's house, waiting for her to come out and get the dog. The clock ticked, and I was wondering what the hell was wrong with this person. How do you let your pit bull roam around the neighborhood? No dogs should be out on their own. There is a lot of traffic, and he could get hurt. People also have a gut fear of pit bulls. After almost an hour, I finally saw her van pull out of the driveway. She drove in the opposite direction of where I had last seen her dog. She came back around the block about 5 minutes later and parked. The van door opened, and out ran the pit bull straight over to the park where there were groups of kids playing football. A very small child, maybe eight years old, followed the dog and stayed playing at the park.
Now, I have never owned a dog in my life and I don't want to sound like one of those people who doesn't have any kids but loves to tell you how to raise them, but, what the hell! Where in your mind is it OK to leave an 8 year old boy in charge of a pit bull, one who is not on a leash and doesn't appear to follow any commands like "sit" "stay" or "come"? I was scared out of my wits and I couldn't wait to get back home.
I haven't had an unknown dog come charging straight at me like that since I was a young child. I think what scares me more is the fact that I knew I couldn't do anything to stop him if he attacked me and my son. There was no time run, or climb a tree, or yell for help. All I could do was stand there with one hand on my son, and one hand clenched into a fist.
posted by Robyn at
10:50 AM
2 Comments:
That is scary. And that lady is certainly stupid. In my area, a couple left their pit bull at home with their child, and the dog attacked and killed the little boy. Some people shouldn't be allowed to care for other living creatures.
By
Jomama, at 4:56 AM
If that were here in Australia, I'd have gone and called the Council, the Pound, the Dog Catcher and the RSPCA and got the book thrown at that owner.
Btw, here too, they've banned American Pit Bulls. Any that are in existence MUST be neutered and not bred whatsover, or it's a gaol sentence. Too many kids have been mauled, and they turn so quickly, even the best trained ones.
I'd call the local authorities to keep an eye on that family or dog if I were you, your son and everyone else's child is way way more important :<
By
Squishi, at 5:04 AM
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