Neighbors and their crazy irresponsibility

[Rebekah H]

My neighbors down the street have a new puppy. It's adorable. I love, love, love dogs. What I don't love is the fact that five times today, the puppy charged at my bike, right at the place where I have to turn around, so I'm going slow. I yelled no at the dog each time, and each time, I asked for them to get the dog. The sixth time, I got off the bike, yelled NO at the dog, and said "you really have to put the dog on a leash or take him inside. One or both of us are going to get hurt."

Two grown, humongous men proceed to start yelling at me that it's my fault, that I should call the cops, and that they're not going to put the dog on a leash. They said they would beat the dog's a$#. (Horrible people. It's not the puppy's fault.) At some point I was called "princess."

Um, WTH?!?!?

We have a leash law in our neighborhood that is very loosely enforced and I don't have a bit of problem with this. There are a couple of pups that run alongside me on a pretty regular basis. They don't charge the bike so there is very little danger of either of us getting hurt. My neighborhood is very small with only one street and only about 20 houses. If I lap the street twice, it's one mile. It's perfect because I'm in the country where riding on the road is a bit of a hazard. I ride every day. It's no secret that I'm going to be out between 5:30 and 8. Every day. Please put your dog up and don't scream at me like it's my fault. I have never been yelled at like that before, especially by two men. How did they think it was okay? How did they, even in the most warped of brains, come to the conclusion that it was okay to blame me for them not being responsible pet owners?

I'm shaken and my feelings are super hurt.