Very upset - my dog accused of biting an elderly man

[Dogmama]

hahahaha ... a perfect example of it IS the owner.

I guarantee you that you, I or anyone can reel a dog in on a retractable lead quicker and safer than they can with a non-retractable leather or woven lead. The fact that some people choose not to reel their dogs in has nothing to do with the equipment they're using.

Unless you think that people should permanently walk their dogs only on 18" show leads ... anyone can have that retractable from 10'+ down to 18" in less than two seconds.

Here, the law says the dog should be on a 6 foot leash. By definition, retractable leashes could be considered unlawful.

[Dogmama]

Are you saying that the dog's welfare is more important than the person he injured?

Oh fercryinoutloud - did I say that? Go back & read my posts.

[PamNY]

Here, the law says the dog should be on a 6 foot leash. By definition, retractable leashes could be considered unlawful.

That's true here too, though I've never heard of the law being enforced. Retractable leashes can be used responsibly, but often aren't.

[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.

[emily_in_nc]

Yesterday I wrote an email to our apartment community manager to explain my side of the situation as I knew the man had gotten my apartment number from the office, so had most likely told them his side of the story. Since I'd re-read our lease and realized that one offense could get Paisley kicked out of the complex, I really wanted to know if I should prepare for that.

I got a phone call from the manager today, and the first words out of her mouth were "We love Paisley." She went on to say that situations like these are considered tenant disputes, and she does not normally get involved. But she did say that as soon is Paisley is off quarantine, she hopes we'll bring her back to the clubhouse (we have a dog-friendly clubhouse here, which is very cool -- dog treats inside and water on the porch!) So, they obviously don't intend to give her the boot. My step-father had already said that he and my mom would take her until our move date if she did get "evicted", but that would have been a lot of work for them, so I am glad we won't have to take them up on that option. We've also had offers from a couple of friends here who know Paisley well to serve as "character witnesses", should the need arise. So, the support has been great.

We still don't know if the man intends to press charges, but from our reading of the NC laws, he would have a very weak case based on no past history, no viciousness, Paisley being on leash at the time of the interaction, and several other factors. So, we are feeling more optimistic that this will end up being just a wake-up call, and once we can walk Paisley again, we will redouble our training efforts.

I read the requirements for the canine good citizen test and feel that Paisley could pass most of them, with the most difficult ones for her being "walking through a crowd" (similar to this situation where she was, in the AKC's words "overexuberant") and "reaction to another dog" (she gets very interested/excited). We've actually been working on all of these behaviors informally since moving to the community, since Paisley spent the first 2 years of her life in a rural area on a large acreage, and although we made many attempts to socialize her (as a puppy, we even took her to the polls when we voted, to our marina, and many other places), there weren't nearly as many daily opportunities for encounters with others as there are here in an apartment community. That probably has a lot to do with how excited she can get when she meets a new person or dog. She's a very enthusiastic girl!

Thanks to everyone who PM'd me in addition to those who posted on this thread. Your comments have been educational and helpful. I haven't taken the advice of some who suggested a more proactive approach (getting documentation of the man's injury and so forth) as I felt that could make the situation worse. If it turns out that I am wrong about that, I'll certainly be humble enough to admit it.