Very upset - my dog accused of biting an elderly man

[emily_in_nc]

P.S. Catrin, it's so ironic the way a situation like mine can get blown out of proportion, and your recent situation, where an actual vicious dog attacked and bit you multiple times, can't even be dealt with properly b/c the dog can't be found. [And I've kinda been on both sides of dog issues now since my fractured pelvis resulted from two dogs running right at me on the road. In this case, the home owner's insurance of the dog owners did end up paying all my non-covered expenses -- I filed an insurance claim but did not sue].

I sure hope you heal up fast -- being attacked by a dog or dogs while riding is one of my biggest fears, and was even before my accident. I love dogs, obviously, but they shouldn't be running loose on the road, ever.

[jessmarimba]

A similar situation happened with my sister's dog. We were having her wedding "reception" (party?) at her house, the food was inside so her dog was outside. My 3 year old cousin was playing with the dog, dog and child bump heads, child has small scratch, aunt & uncle throw a stink and report it, whole nine yards. The kid didn't even need a band-aid, and we're talking about a 90-pound Akita - if the dog had attacked the child, it would definitely have done some damage! Anyway, we proved shots, etc, and essentially haven't spoken to my aunt and uncle in the last few years. She didn't have to do anything special with the dog, but I believe there is a report with animal control somewhere.

Anyway, not much advice, but I sympathize - it's a terribly unecessarily stressful situation. I wish you guys the best.

[ny biker]

I guess I'm the only one who feels bad for the old man. He was just walking in his home, not bothering anyone, and suddenly he's bleeding. He probably feels pretty vulnerable anytime he goes out, because of the way he walks. And if that scratch becomes infected, it could be a serious problem for an elderly person.

Since there was a delay in his calling animal control, it's quite possible that it was someone else's idea, like maybe an adult child or other caretaker. Maybe they were trying to document what happened through official channels, in case it becomes more serious.

You tried to control your dog. But a person was injured. That doesn't mean he deserves to be called names by people who don't know him or his situation.

[Crankin]

It doesn't sound like he was "bleeding," you know, profusely or anything, if all he had was a scratch, not a bite. It's unfortunate this happened, but in the end, this situation is causing Emily more trouble than the man.
I know nothing about dogs or animal behavior and generally don't care that much for any animals. But, I know that Emily is a responsible owner and must be really upset.

[Dogmama]

Couple of things -

Does your dog have a CGC (Canine Good Citizen)? If not, look it up & see about getting one. A dog that passed the CGC is more likely to be looked upon kindly. I know that pit bull owners often get CGC's to protect their dogs against the county.

I would be concerned about a "dog bite" being on record. The animal control officer said, verbally, that it appeared to be a scratch but did he write that is was a bite? I'd get in touch with him/her immediately and ask him to make a statement to that effect. You said you have a one-bite forgiveness in Boston. Then what?

Obviously, being a dogmama, I do react strongly to anything that threatens my dogs - including the county laws. If there was even a remote chance that another incident could mean that my dog was quarantined at the pound or even put to death, I'd have a lawyer involved & have the animal control officer deposed. I'd also get pictures of the "bite" and have it examined by a medical professional.

My DH is a private investigator & routinely sees incidents that get blow out of proportion & end up in courts. For that reason, I would take absolutely no chances, even if people thought you were going overboard. I think erring on the side of caution is better than saying later, "If only..." I'd do it quickly - before the animal control officer forgets what he said and before the scratch heals up.

Just my $.02.

[Irulan]

I guess I'm the only one who feels bad for the old man. He was just walking in his home, not bothering anyone, and suddenly he's bleeding. He probably feels pretty vulnerable anytime he goes out, because of the way he walks. And if that scratch becomes infected, it could be a serious problem for an elderly person.

um yes, I hope th is doesn't have to me a "me too" thread. First of all I am a dog person, and I've gone through my malemute "attacking" someone and having to go to court about it. Maybe it was just a scratch, maybe the guy got terrified, maybe he was coached, maybe not....I've also had the skin broken by dogs and dog lover or not, it's scary as hell. There is some good advice here on how to follow the system and see what happens.

Jumping up is the one bad habit she has because she's so little and friendly, and most people don't mind a bit, though I try VERY hard not to let her do it, and she's always on leash, but she can move fast.

This is my issue: jumping up is a horrible scary thing, and it's a terrible habit for a dog owner to permit. I certainly mind it ... and I am dog person. I don't know where you'd get the idea that "most people don't mind a bit". They are probably embarrassed to tell you that the minimum it's annoying, at the maximum it's terrifying. Certainly if the dog has a beeper collar ( what is that anyway? a shock collar??) you can break this.

[Brandi]

I would lay low as well and not ruffle feather's. Just have all documentation in case but I am sure it will be fine. Just steer clear of this guy from now on. Some people are just looking for things to complain about too. I know when a dog is being mean and it sounds to me like your dog was just happy to see him and wanted to give him a little love. Not your fault he didn't get it. I would get that one statement in writing if you could about how it did not look like a dog bite. Good luck. This too will pass.

[Irulan]

Brandi, some people don't want a little love from any dog, no matter how cute it's owner thinks it is.

[OakLeaf]

I'd find out what constitutes the "one free bite" in your jurisdiction. If a report like this triggers your having to get special insurance, muzzle your dog at all times, put a roof on your yard, etc. - not to mention the spectre of him being taken from you and put to death if the man or someone else should decide to make a second accusation - then you need to fight it now.

If there has to be a judicially proved bite before your dog is tagged a vicious dog, then just collect documentation and sit tight, as others have said.

[withm]

If I was 80 yrs old and any dog starting jumping up on me I would be terrified. Even a small dog could cause an "elderly man," or anyone else, to lose his balance resulting in a fall and possibly a broken hip (or worse). Such a fall might cause him to hit his head on the pavement with extremely serious if not fatal consequences. Certainly the fear of breaking a hip is probably very high on any of us as we get older. Loss of mobility is the beginning of the last chapter of our lives.

As cyclists, many of us have suffered from the carelessness of other dog owners. And as cyclists we should all have a better understanding of the devestation a "little love" from an unwelcome dog can cause.

Please train your dogs not to jump on people. Ever.

[PamNY]

We need to keep in mind that this thread is about the false accusation of a dog bite and the legal ramifications thereof.

Emily made it clear that she regards jumping as undesirable behavior and she corrected it immediately.

Jumping up by a dog is indeed frightening for some people, but it is far, far, more common for people to regard jumping as cute and to interfere with the dog owner's attempts to train proper behavior.

[Irulan]

Well and so Pam, but I'm of the mind that if you post an item for discussion online, it's up for discussion, not discussion between a predetermined set of parameters. That's exactly what I meant when I made a comment about " is this a me-too" thread... comments are only allowed if they support the OP's ? The incident is certainly unfortunate but if it's posted for discussion it should be open for discussion.

I don't know ANYONE that thinks jumping is cute except for the owner of dogs who don't correct it. Why do people keep saying it's not so bad? Is is just me that thinks a jumping dog of any size is ill-mannered?

[Becky]

Jumping is ill-mannered. I don't like it when my dog or anyone else's participates in this behavior.

However, I certainly agree with Pam's statement that it's a hard thing to break when well-meaning but clueless people interact with a jumping dog. If my dog is jumping up, please don't touch him, talk to him, or even make eye contact. It reinforces the very behavior that I'm working to break.

[PamNY]

I don't know ANYONE that thinks jumping is cute except for the owner of dogs who don't correct it. Why do people keep saying it's not so bad? Is is just me that thinks a jumping dog of any size is ill-mannered?

You misread my post. I did not say that jumping up is "not so bad" and I did not say I think it is "cute." I did describe behavior that I have observed many times over a period of decades -- which is people tolerating and sometimes encouraging jumping up by a dog. This is a huge issue if you use positive reinforcement to train, as I do.

It is extremely well-documented that random reinforcement is powerful, and this is exactly what happens when people reward a dog for jumping up. Even a single instance can cause delay/failure in training the behavior you want.

The OP said: "He walked close enough to us that my dog, who is extremely friendly (overly so at times), jumped up on him. It happened so fast, but I pulled the leash and got her off him immediately, apologizing profusely." She goes on to describe using her training method of choice to immediately achieve heeling. It is not logical to deduce from these statements that the OP regards jumping up as desirable behavior.

Further, it is illogical to assume from my post that I think jumping up by a dog is desirable; if I thought that, would I be discussing in some detail training methods I use to extinguish the behavior? And would I be complaining about people who interfere with my training methods?

The main point of my post was that a bite is a serious legal issue; jumping up, while undesirable, is an entirely different matter. I did not state that discussion should not ensue; I did intend to encourage that the discussion include logic and careful attention to detail.

[emily_in_nc]

We need to keep in mind that this thread is about the false accusation of a dog bite and the legal ramifications thereof.

Emily made it clear that she regards jumping as undesirable behavior and she corrected it immediately.

Jumping up by a dog is indeed frightening for some people, but it is far, far, more common for people to regard jumping as cute and to interfere with the dog owner's attempts to train proper behavior.

Thank you Pam; this is so very true. I consider myself a responsible dog owner and of course I know that jumping up is undesirable behavior. However, whenever Paisley does this to our friends or family members (for instance, off leash in our apartment when they are visiting), and I apologize and call her off; they always say "oh, I don't mind", "oh, it's ok", "oh, she's so cute", and so forth. A lot of them encourage it by bending down to visit with her then. She just wants to see them and kiss their face. She's so little (16 lbs) that she wants to get close to people's faces. She has never even come close to knocking anyone over, and no one has ever shown any fear whatsoever of her.

In this particular case, she was on a leash (not a flexi), I had it wrapped around my hand to keep it tight, and pulled her off the man immediately. He had walked almost right into us, which is the only reason she was even close enough to him to be able to jump up. I was boxed in by a row of recycling bins and could not get out of his way in time. Whenever we are around children or any other vulnerable person, we keep her on a tight leash and never let her close enough to jump. He did not seem scared or even come close to stumbling or falling. He seemed annoyed, not frightened. And yes, it is annoying, and I take full blame for that. I felt bad, apologizing profusely at the time she jumped and later, when he showed me the scratch.

Thanks to those who have offered advice and support. And for those who feel for the man, I feel for him too. But I also think he knew he was not bitten at the time, and if he now thinks he was, he may have had this suggested to him by a relative or friend.