dog and leash laws

[hypsie]

What is the name of your state? Louisiana

I was alone at night at my house. six big guys came on my porch and I wanted to know what the heck they wanted. My dog came outside and barked at one of the guys so he kicked her in the head several times. Hours later, the police came and said the guy had been bitten, and I was being written up for the following charge:

Statute: [14:204(B)] OWNER RESPONSABILITY
in that he/she did fail, as the owner or custodian of any animal to keep his/her dog, at all times, free from running at large.


This man was on my property, plus he probably won't be there in court, thug that he is. There is no documentation that the dog was off the leash at all. My court date is March 28. Should I deny that the dog was off the leash or would that make it worse for me? Does it matter that this man was on my porch????


HELP!!!

 

[BB_Wolfe]

Is this the whole story? Why were the 6 guys there? What the "heck" did they want. Why did he kick the dog several times?

Somethings missing on this radar..

 

[hmmbrdzz]

I'm curious, too, as to the "rest of the story". But to the dog -- have you ever been given a warning ticket for allowing your dog to roam at large? And, what kind of dog is it. Did the dog attack? Does the dog have rabies vaccine?


hmmbrdzz

 

[hypsie]

The rest of the story

I am a 21-year-old female college student.
I live a block away from housing projects and strange people come in my yard all the time, sometimes they ask me if I want crack. I'm assuming these guys were coming home from a party (it was late saturday night) and felt like messing with the "white girl" on the block. I still don't know what they wanted. The guy kicked the dog because he was afraid of it. I stress again, this happened ON MY PORCH. The dog is a mixed breed but it does look a little like a pitbull. I did not see the dog bite the man, in fact I had put myself between him and the dog to stop him from kicking it (during which time he reached his leg around me to kick the dog more). Also, the stray dogs who live under the house surrounded this guy and barked at him. It was a mess! My dog was on the ground crying while some huge guy kicked her repeatedly in the head, five other guys are shouting curses and jumping up and down, and three other dogs are surrounding us barking. For all I know, any one of those dogs could have bitten him. What is even more likely is that this guy didn't get bitten at all, because when he finally gave up on kicking the dog after I pushed him away, he didn't have a scratch on him, and walked off shouting racial slurs at me.

The dog was current on all rabies shots, but they still took her for a ten-day "observation" period.

The fact is, I am not being charged for the bite at all. It's the leash law. I feel like I am being f*cked by this whole situation. I didn't shoot the guy for coming on my property, I didn't sic my dog on him, I just wanted to say "Hey, guys, get off my porch!"
and go to sleep. Now I am facing a $500 fine for having my dog out on the porch. I live in the hood because I'm poor. I got the dog because I live in the hood and I don't carry a gun. Now I have to go to court for defending myself.

Is there any hope for me getting out of this? Do they have to prove that I'm guilty of having the dog off the leash? Should I tell my story or keep my mouth shut?

Sorry for writing a novel.

 

[hypsie]

ALSO

I have NEVER taken my dog outside of my house without the leash, mainly because there is a lot of dogfighting around here. She has never shown any aggression towards anyone, and neither have I. I have never had any problem with my neighbors or the police besides this.

 

[hmmbrdzz]

My advice is this. Tell the police your story now if you didn't before. I'm reluctant to advise you to engage this further by taking this matter to town officials and complaining about it and seeking charges against the thugs for animal cruelty, but that is an option. But it might backfire on you, too, and make things more dangerous for you.

Because you are female and live in a dangerous area, I would strongly advise you to do whatever you have to do to get out of that area. If you can't move, I would advise you to never sit on your porch again; secure your home very safely; and strongly consider getting a gun. Get a permit for it. If you do sit on the porch and you see these thugs approaching, go inside and call the police.

If you care about your dog (it sounds like you do), protect her, too. Keep her inside, and if you have a holding pen that you put her in, get a padlock for it. Put up no trespassing signs.

Who's the owner of the strays? You will technically be if you feed them and water them. This could become problematic for you, too, if there are town ordinances that have leash laws and/or that limit the numbers of dogs / cats owners can have. You may want to call animal control on this issue, as well (and about the thugs kicking your dog). Did a dog bite someone that night?

As far as court, I would explain my story thoroughly to the judge.

Why did these thugs not get pursued that night by the police? What did you tell the police?

hmmbrdzz

 

[nhunsb1]

You need to have the stray dogs picked up as soon as possible. They seem to have claimed you as an owner, so you could be potentially liable for their actions. You can contact local rescue foundations or the aspca to arrange for a pick up.

www.petfinder.org

This sight is geared toward placing animals in local shelters, however you can get the number for local rescue foundations by doing a search.