The Brave One: Fighting Back--Un-leashed Dogs

By Cal Orey,

The Writing Gourmet

My former feline Kerouac would tell me to  be  fearless..

Two days ago, my two Brittanys, sibling, and myself were attacked by an ownerless dog. The nearly 100 pound Pit Bull-Lab mix charged at my family. In retrospect, my fur kids allowed their humans to protect them. This is a good thing. If my canines had chosen to protect us the attack could have spun out of control. But my brother and I stepped up to the plate; thanks to our instinctive yelling and screaming at the dog  whose tail was up and growling and trying to take us all on--we escaped by telling the aggressive bully to go away. We survived...

On Friday, as a sensitive one, I went into sad, scared, and anger mode. I still am suffering post traumatic stress disorder. The next day, I realized every time an incident like this one (there have been several in a decade) has happened where I or my family is a victim--I fight back. I won each and every situation. I am relentless like a yellow Lab chasing a ball and begging its human to toss it again. Read: It's not over.

So, I contacted the police, Animal Control, the city, the place where the event happened, an attorney (who specializes in dog bites), a neighbor whose big dog was brutally attacked and bitten by an off-leash dog (she sued the negligent dog owner), dog trainer(s), and even a reliable psychic (I wanted to know why this dog acted out). As an intuitive, I will bet my Brittany duo (and toss in my beloved Siamese) that it was an irresponsible tourist's dog--not a neighbor's pooch.  (It's calm these days, thanks to all the "bad dogs go wild" adventures I tackled in the past.) So, it's a head's up to me that the fight has just begun since summer is less than one week away.

Keep in mind, I love dogs. Ironically, I have a new animal book due to be released next month. The publisher and I chose a handsome Siberian Husky for the front cover, a cat for the back. I have written articles for Dog World and Dog Fancy. I can tell you, any dog can attack a stranger, its guardians, a dog or cat. It's not always the dog's fault--it's the caretaker's ignorance not taking control of their companion animal. 

As a teen, I was taken down by two dogs when riding my bike home at night. They shredded my leg. I was terrified. I thought I was going to die. The result: A car stopped and a human came to my rescue. One doctor's visit later: A shot, blood tests, and I almost had to get a series of rabies shots. (I refused; luck was on my side. No "Old Yeller" ending.) But I still adore dogs. I am a dog person.

So no, I will not forego giving my fur kids their walks. I adore seeing that smile on their faces after exercise--just like when I walk and swim. No, I will not cower and be bullied by a wayward bully dog.  The bottom line: I'm in my pro-active warrior mode. I am going to continue to get a solid plan together and seek more authorities in my town and outside cities to get the right information to protect my rights so I can have peace of mind when I walk my on-leash boys. The fight has just begun. Bring it on.