Be careful out there, ladies!

[Tater]

Earlier this afternoon I did my favorite fifteen mile route, had a blast, averaged over fifteen mph for the first time this year and was feeling pretty good about my ride as I turned off the frontage road onto the road on which I live. Suddenly out of nowhere, two dogs were upon me. One on each side, snapping and biting. The right one put a hole in my shorts, but luckily didn't break skin. In trying to avoid the teeth, I twitched the handlebars left and went down hard. This all happend so fast, I didn't have time to reach back in my jersey pocket and grab the pepper spray I carry for this specific reason. When I got home, I had my almost-step-daughter take pics of the damage. My right hand is bruised, my left elbow is chewed up, my left knee has a rightous case of road rash and is swollen pretty badly, hurts to walk. I called the sheriff, a deputy came out and took my statement, then went to talk to the owners. I am now waiting for Mr. Tater to get home so he can take me to the emergency room.

At least my bike is okay; a bit of dirt on the side of the left hand drop, a small scratch on the brake/shifter.

Be careful out there, ladies!

[songlady]

I am so sorry to hear about the dogs and the spill! Hope you feel better soon. Let us know what happens at the ER!

[tprevost]

How scary Tater! I am so glad you are (basically) okay; its smart of you to go to the ER to get checked out though. I also carry pepper spray but you can also hit them with stream of water from your water bottle or if you can get your pump (if you use one) off of your bike you could also whack them with that. I know this all happened too fast for those things but I often 'prethink' what ifs - usually prompted by it happening to someone else.

I hope all checks out okay tonight, please let us know you are truly okay. AND, make sure the owner of the dogs pays for any costs... ugh!

Tracy

[maillotpois]

Oh my gosh - that is terrible!!! How irresponsible of those dogs' owners to let them loose like that. I sure hope the police follow up with them. Keep us posted. I hope you are okay.

[Veronica]

Eww! Ick! I hope you're okay.

V.

[fatbottomedgurl]

Hey Tater;
I have brothers in Homedale, Nampa, and Eagle. I would love to ride up there, dogs or no...

[Lise]

That sounds terrifying. Looks like you took all the right actions. Let us know how you're doing. I'd be curious to hear how the dogs' owner responds, too.

[annie]

You might want to get your bike checked, even tho' it seems okay...... sometimes an experienced mechanic can spot trouble that isn't easily noticed.

Hope all turns out in your favor! And that you don't feel TOO sore and bruised in the morning.

annie

[Blueberry]

Ouch! That should never happen - the dogs should *never* have been allowed to roam loose and cause your accident. Glad your injuries weren't worse.

I agree with what others have said - make sure you follow up with the police, etc. The owners *should* be held responsible for the actions of their dogs, including the damage to your bike. It's worth checking into!

Sending healing vibes your way,

Carrie Anne

[wabisabi]

Definitely, keep track of expenses (including someone looking at your bike and your shorts) and send them a bill; they can claim on their homeowner's insurance, if they have it, and it will teach them a lesson to boot.

[doc]

Yikes.
Let us all know how things go in the ED and bike shop. Hopefully just bumps and bruises. Let us know how things go with the police and neighbors too. Do you know these dogs and their owners?

PS Does Mr. Tater know that's his new name

[Jo-n-NY]

I am so sorry to hear of this horrible ordeal. Dogs are one of my worst nightmares when cycling.

I hope you are ok and glad there was not too much damage to your bike. I agree with the others about keeping track of these expenses.

Pleast keep us posted on any updates about those dogs. I do not dislike dogs, I have one myself, but something needs to be done about what happened. Suppose a little kid was running up and down the sidewalk and the dogs attacked. Sorry I just get real angry when I hear about things like this.

~ JoAnn

[Blueberry]

I had my own "dog encounter" on foot - I was walking my dog (on a leash, of course) through an area near my home. I came around a corner and saw a child (maybe 5?) walking 2 large dogs (think 75 lbs each). The kid was significantly outweighed by dog, plus they had flexi leads which are harder to hold. I moved to the road from the sidewalk to give him an easier time. The dogs saw mine, pulled and off they came towards me. Luckily they were friendly, but they could just as easily not have been. Took quite a few minutes for me to get the dogs all untangled and get the leashes back to the kid. Plus a couple more minutes to calm my dog down (he was a bit overwhelmed when 2 large dogs came running towards him).

So...what do you do? Talking to the kid isn't going to do any good, since he's not the one that made the bad judgment. And the parents WEREN'T AROUND!!! And it's not my immediate neighborhood, so I don't know who they are. Didn't want to upset the kid worse by asking. Scary though - The dogs could just as easily have run into a cyclist or ???

[DrBee]

OMG! I know you must be unnerved by this adventure. I hope you're ok. I was pretty terrified after I was chased. I can only imagine having them take a bite out of your shorts. I hope you heal quickly and get back out there to ride as soon as you can. It took me a long time and I'm still really twitchy around dogs I don't know (I own 2 huge dogs myself).

Definitely try to get the owners to pay for the bills (hospital, bike and all). Good luck and we'll be thinking about you!

[Bad JuJu]

Oh, that's so scary--you could've easily been hurt much worse. I've been in a situation where I actually got off the bike and put it between the dog and me, and backed away like that until I obviously was out of what the dog thought was his territory. Never was able to identify the owner.

I'm a dog owner, too, but I try to be a responsible dog owner, which these folks clearly are not. Hope your wounds heal soon. And yes, I would go get my bike checked out if I were you.