In the community I live in the guy who owns the house right next to mine also owns a house up the street (about 10-12 houses away). When I first moved in he lived next door to me with his two dogs but after a few years he moved up the street to the other house and rented out the one next to me. His two dogs were always squirrelly. I kept my distance from them and he routinely walked them around our neighborhood without a leash.
One day I came out of my house and saw the dog sitting in the front yard of the house next door to me. The dog apparently remembered that this was his old house. When the dog saw me he just raised up his head and stared at me but I went back inside before it did anything.
I got in my car and was gonna drive up to his other house to tell him that his dog got loose. When I exited my garage I saw the dog in the same spot but this time he was looking up the street with its head raised at some young kids who live in my neighborhood. The kids were walking home from school. As I pulled out of the driveway the dog started bolting at the kids. He was barking at them and was headed right for them. As the dog was crossing the street to get at them I hit him with my car. The dog fell over and was dazed but as soon as he gathered himself he was looking for the kids. I told the kids to jump in my car which they gladly did. They got the back door shut just as the dog was trying to get at them to bite them. I’ll never forget the look of terror on these kids faces.
The dog is barking like crazy and jumping on my car. Other neighbors start coming out of their houses but quickly went back inside when they saw how out of control the dog was. Somebody recognized the dog who called the owner who comes rushing down the street. As soon as he called out to the dog it was like a switch went off and the dog calmed down and gently walked towards him.
Needless to say this caused quite a commotion in our neighborhood. Most people felt the same way I did about the dogs and had seen enough. They wanted the dog gone. The owner and few idiot neighbors said it was MY fault because I hit the dog with my car and that they were sure that the dog just wanted to play with the kids and my actions caused the whole thing.
The kids parents made complaints to the city and were trying to have animal control remove the dog. They wanted their kids to be able to walk home safely from school. Can’t say I blame them. Anyway, while the city was investigating the incident this same dog bit an Amazon driver who was delivering a package to my neighbor. Despite assuring everyone that the dog would be on a leash at all times this clown let the dog sit on his front porch area which he claimed was ok bc it had a low wall and gate around it. The Amazon driver approached the house and when he saw the dog he immediately turned back to his truck. According to the driver, the dog jumped that wall like it was nothing and bit him. Obviously, the dog was quickly removed after this second incident.
My neighbor who owned the dog still had another one and he had a difficult time getting homeowners insurance after that. When he did the rates were pretty high. The way to control this stuff is thru money. Wanna keep a certain breed of dog? No problem. Here’s your new homeowners insurance rate. We’ll see how many keep them after that.
