Thread: Neighbors From Heck : "But He's Had All His Shots..."

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I was on the phone with my father, who resides in a sparsely populated rural town in VA. His nearest neighbor is approximately 100 yards away. It's comprised of a married couple, the husband a long distance trucker, the wife stays at home, and takes care of hearth and home. Also part of her duties entail taking care of her husbands' 2 'hunting dogs'.

I didn't get a clear description as to the exact size or breed, just that the older and bigger of the two could be described as 'highly aggressive'. Rather than keep them indoors or in the 12' x 12' pen out in the backyard, they are frequently allowed to roam free. On more than one occasion, my father has chosen the better part of valor and stayed inside when these beasts are on the loose.

Earlier this week, he had finally had enough, and decided to visit his neighbors to impress upon them the importance of keeping their 'pets' under control. During his trip to his neighbors, he was bitten by the older of the two, and broke a couple layers of skin. He credits the fact that he had been wearing thick trousers to the fact that the injury wasn't as bad as it could have been.

At any rate, he finally reaches the neighbors house, and as to be expected, only the wife was there, the husband was apparently on the road. When he informed her of what had happened, she apologized profusely...

...but at the same time, her response also included the explanation, "But he's had all his shots"...



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The first thing that popped into my head was "Well I've had all MY shots, can I come over there and bite you on the leg?!'

My guess is that in rural VA, the enforcement of leash laws (if there are any), is pretty much non-exostant. Glad your dad is okay. If your dad hunts, I'd say he would be within his rights to shoot this dog if it were loose and on his property.

That really, really makes me angry.

Not completely sure about the laws in every state, but I believe a dog that bites even one time and is reported gets put down. The would not only have their dog taken away, but would he should sue them for everything they've got since they know they've got aggressive dogs and are allowing them to run loose. What if it was a kid or someone not wearing thick clothes or a family pet in its own yard that was attacked? It's bad enough that your dad was.

He could also inform her that as the dog has bitten him, that he'll be carrying a gun (if he has one handy) to defend himself on his property and will shoot the dog if it tries to attack him again, and that they could solve the problem completely by not letting the dogs out loose.

At the very least, he might want to call the county animal control and ask about what the laws are, including for dog bites and take pictures of the bite. I feel sorry for the dog, but it's really an owner issue since a dog can be trained to behave but these apparently have careless, negligent owners.

Feeling trapped in your own home can't be a very nice feeling.
I hope your dad uses the bite to take action to make sure the dogs are penned up.
If not for himself then for other possible victims in the future.
And of course I hope he heals quickly


MsM

First file a POLICE report.
Second Call Animal Control.
Take photos of injuries.
Go to hospital for treatment.
Document everything.
Contact Attorney.
DO NOT feel sorry for negligent owners.
You might be saving a child's life the next time these dogs are running loose!
DO NOT take the law into your own hands, you'll open yourself up to lawsuits.

Originally Posted by Wolfman

Rural Virginia or not, that response was just plain ignorant. Has your Dad considered using poison? It works best if you leave some untainted meat out for them, first, get them accustomed to eating. Then let 'em have it.

Yikes Wolfman! Having had a dog that was poisoned by some derelict while growing up as a kid, I can say that this is really a horrible thing to do to any animal, and I'm sure it's highly illegal. I know it's not much worse than my suggestion of shooting it, and I'll admit my response was more of a knee jerk reaction to the circumstance. Again, I'm not sure what the dog laws are in VA. We have pretty strict ones here and they are enforced. I'd more agree with those who say turn it over to the law and document everything. If this doesn't produce results and the dog continues to run loose, one probably wouldn't be held too liable if the dog was shot in self defense. It's an aggressive dog and the owners are ultmately responsible to make sure it is confined. Thom, I'd be interested in any follow=up.

According to this your dad should report the bite and if the dog has bitten before the owner is responsible for the injuries the dog causes. If you dad was the first one bitten then he can't do anything about it, but the next bite victim can.

http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/Virginia.htm