My little sis, Whit, was in town last week. I love it when she is here. She's my BFF. I knew we couldn't get into the house since we have it under contract, but wanted to walk her around the outside of the house to look in the windows. Now, let me back track to the week before when we were there getting bids to repair the AC. It was dark, and the last company was outside examining the AC units. They came in quickly and said, "Umm...a dog just busted through your fence from your neighbor's backyard!" We were standing in the living room, and sure enough, there at the back door was a black dog. We really didn't think much about it, and I guess I just assumed he had gotten in by digging or something. We left that night, and I hadn't thought about it since. Now, fast forward to me walking around the house with Whit...
We had just walked through the rod-iron gate to the backyard, and were looking in the window to the mother-in-law suite, when Whit said, "Uh-oh!" Then I saw in the reflection in the window, what was obviously the dog who had busted through the fence standing about 20 feet behind us, on point (front paw raised, ears raised, and tail straight up in the air). We were really still, and tried to act like everything was okay. I was really wanting to see what the dog would do before we moved. He went over to a bush, went #1 (pee), then started crouching toward us. I told Whit, who was closer to the gate about 8 feet away, to GO! She went as quickly as she could and I was right behind her. But as we were moving, so was he...and QUICKLY! I BARELY made it through the gate before he lunged at the gate, barking viciously and biting. I had to hold the gate closed with all of my body weight just to keep him from us; then when he rared back to come at us again, I was able to reach down quickly and lock the gate. We were both so scared. He was inches from getting me before I got to the gate. Whit's phone was in the car, and there was NO WAY she could have gotten him off of me if he had attacked me. We also noticed that there were several places where he had, in fact, busted through the fence...taking out 2x4's and all. There was also a note on the front door where people who were there to do inspections and other work on the house could not complete their work because they couldn't get in the back yard. Here is a pic I found online of what the dog looks like. He is obviously a Pit Bull/Boxer mix, and I'm pretty sure his name is something like "Lucifer" or "Satan."
When we left that day, I called our WONDERFUL realtor, who said the listing agent had been over to the neighbor's about the dog three times and no one was home. Then I called animal control, who said all they could do is go out to the neighbor's house and talk to them. They couldn't go onto the property if he was contained. I talked to a friend whose kids were attacked by Boxers in their neighborhood when they were little, and she was telling me there isn't much you can do legally unless they actually attack and are willing to pay in a law suit. I was getting discouraged, and told Dan on Saturday that this might be a deal-breaker for me if we can't do anything about it. One of the things we loved most about this house was the backyard, and the fact that we could have our youth over to play all the time. As it stood, we couldn't even get three feet in our backyard with that dog. So, we called our realtor again and told her how concerned I was. She said the listing agent had gone over again, and they said it wasn't their dog. PERFECT! Now we have a rabid STRAY dog, and animal control could surely take him!I drove by again on Sunday, and there he was, coming from the neighbor's yard. This time I stood outside the gate, and he ran full speed at the gate and hit it head on trying to get to me, barking and biting the whole time. VICIOUS! I called animal control AGAIN, and they said they would send someone out to file a complaint, and call me before so I could meet them there. Then they could go on the property. They never called.
All the while, I felt like Dan might have thought I was exaggerating just a bit. He hadn't ever seen the dog himself, and I think he thought if he went over, there would be a chihuahua in the backyard. So Monday morning, I sent him over by himself and asked him to simply walk up to the gate and say, "Hello." I also gave him Animal Control's number. It didn't take him long to call them when he got there, as the dog was back and mean as ever. He called them with the dog right next to him going nuts so they could hear it. They said they would send someone out, but 2.5 hours later, nothing. He called them again, and finally they told us that we weren't a priority because no one had been bitten. So, we called the Police, telling them we had called Animal Control four times, and they wouldn't come out. We were supposed to close on this house, and a stray dog was preventing us from doing so.
The police came out and handled it immediately. He called Animal Control and told them to get their butt's over there and get this crazy dog. He went to the neighbor's where he was told they didn't have a Pit Bull/Boxer, but had a Lab/German Shepherd. The policeman made the owner walk him around back, and as soon as they walked into the yard, the dog charged at the policeman. The owner had to grab him by the collar and hold him the entire time. The policeman told him that was, in fact, a Pit Bull, and he had to keep him INSIDE the house at all times, and repair the fence immediately, or they were going to come back and take the dog. When the policeman came back over to our house to make sure the dog was in, he walked into the backyard with his gun drawn...THAT'S the caliber of dog we are dealing with. Animal Control finally showed up, and went over to give the neighbor a warning. If that dog so much as sticks his NOSE on our property, WE (Dan and I) will have the choice whether they take the dog and issue him a ticket starting at $7500 to get the dog back, or file Dangerous Dog charges against them, and if he is found guilty, the dog will have to be put down.
So, for now it's handled. I can't say I feel completely safe in the backyard just yet. The fence isn't repaired, and I'm anxious to see how long that dog is kept in the house. I do feel better knowing now that there is a record in Public Services, Animal Control has to respond IMMEDIATELY to any call we make about this dog, and we have the choice of what is done with him. The policeman told me that if that dog had gotten a hold of me last Thursday, he would have killed me. That's not cool. Not cool at all, dawg!! I feel safe to say, my hubby would probably take care of him first if it came to that!
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