What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Kentucky (city is Ashland)
Hello all, and thanks for taking the time to view my post. I’ve found the forums here very helpful in the past and thought I would see if any of you could offer up some advice on a situation that I have encountered. (Sorry the post is so long, just wanted to include as much detail as possible)
Around midnight on 4/27 I was walking my dogs (2 shih tzus) on their normal route (we live in a set of townhomes, there is a huge backyard—but they prefer to walk on pavement, so I take them to this huge parking lot that is adjacent to the backyard) and both were leashed. I’m finishing up a Master’s degree, so their walks aren’t at any set time—they basically go out on my schedule. Anyway, when me and my fur babies got to the parking lot, a Pit Bull ran up to my male Shih Tzu and growled for a second. I immediately froze in fear. Approximately another second or so later, the Pit Bull literally picked up my dog by his neck, like he was a chew toy! I let go of the leash and it retracted, I then grabbed my dog away from the Pit Bull, in the process of doing this, the Pit Bull starts growling at me. (side note: We are under 24-hour surveillance, so this entire incident/attack is on film.)
The next thing I know a lady (the dog’s owner) comes out and starts screaming for him. I of course was very upset over the situation, and fearful for my dog’s safety. We ended up exchanging a few, not-so-kind words, and I told her that there is a leash law in the city limits of Ashland. Anyway, I get back in the house and notice that the Pit Bull actually broke my dogs collar and there were bite marks on his neck—blood came to the surface, but he wasn’t bleeding. My ex-husband is staying with me, and when I got back in the house he asked what all the commotion was about. I explained the situation to him and he went to her unit and told her that she needed to leash her dog and that our dog was going to need a trip to the vet because of the incident. They ended up getting into a heated argument, it was so loud, I came out and she literally starting “sic’ing” (spelling?) her dog on my ex-husband.
I immediately called 911. A cop promptly arrived, (prior to him arriving I did call my landlord to advise him of the situation). The officer filled out a report after speaking with both parties. He stated in the report that she was upset at the time the interaction occurred because myself and my ex-husband were both very livid, and didn’t use the best words when approaching her. But she would “foot the bill” for the vet visit.
I love my dogs, they are like kids for me; I couldn’t imagine going through a day without them—and I most certainly would not want anything to happen to anyone else’s dog, but I felt like I had no other choice than to call Animal Control. Animal Control said that they would not take the dog from her unless there were 2 documented incidents such as this one, which I found reasonable, even though I do not want to risk this happening again. So, the Dog Warden came out and filed a report. He is going to cite her for not having a leash and let her know that the incident has been reported and a record exists. He’s not been able to get a hold of her yet.
My landlord isn’t local, and travels out of the country often for work. As I stated, I did inform him of the situation prior to the cops arriving. For some reason, he felt the need to appoint a “mediator”, whom happens to be a 22-year-old kid whose extremely rude, and get this…he’s a tenant as well and is next door neighbors with the owners of the Pit Bull. So yesterday evening the “mediator” came and knocked on my door, and said that effective immediately that all dogs are to be leashed while outside. I told him that wasn’t an issue whatsoever for me, my dogs are always leashed, and were at the time of the incident. He then went on to mention the heated argument that I had with the lady when the incident occurred, and expressed that he didn’t appreciate my choice of words—I told him the landlord was aware of everything and that I really didn’t feel like any of this was his business and I was too busy to talk to him.
About an hour later the “mediator” comes back with the Pitt Bull’s owner and her husband. They requested to see copies of my dog’s medical records. I told them that I do not have copies of their medical records, because I don’t—just shots, vaccines, and what not. The husband said that he was willing to pay 50 percent of the vet bill. I told him that under no circumstances would I accept that offer, as his wife had stated the night before (and it’s on the police report), that she would cover the vet costs. He proceeded to get very ill tempered with me and said that as a pet owner it’s my responsibility to pay to have my dog taken to the vet. I told him as a pet owner it was his responsibility to ensure that his dog was leashed or this would have never happened in the first place. He gave me his number and said to call or message him with how much it’s going to cost.
I called my vet to see how much pricing would be—after speaking with my vet I contacted the Pit Bulls owners and relayed to them that the vet’s office would require that they contact them with a payment method prior to the exam, as they’re not able to determine cost over the phone without an exam/diagnosis. (They wouldn’t answer my calls, I sent this in text message, and I know that they received the message as I have an iPhone, as do they, and it clearly shows in the body of the conversation the message was read).
I’ve sent 2 other messages today and they’re still not responding. I was laid off from my job in March and don’t start my new job until May. I am receiving unemployment benefits, however, I cannot afford to take my dog to the vet currently. I don’t have the money. I do feel that he really needs to be seen soon, he’s having spasms in his back and keeps jerking.
Can anyone offer up some advice on what I can do? The neighbors’ aren’t being cooperative at all. I just want my dog taken care of, by no means am I seeking to get any money whatsoever out of this.
Hello all, and thanks for taking the time to view my post. I’ve found the forums here very helpful in the past and thought I would see if any of you could offer up some advice on a situation that I have encountered. (Sorry the post is so long, just wanted to include as much detail as possible)
Around midnight on 4/27 I was walking my dogs (2 shih tzus) on their normal route (we live in a set of townhomes, there is a huge backyard—but they prefer to walk on pavement, so I take them to this huge parking lot that is adjacent to the backyard) and both were leashed. I’m finishing up a Master’s degree, so their walks aren’t at any set time—they basically go out on my schedule. Anyway, when me and my fur babies got to the parking lot, a Pit Bull ran up to my male Shih Tzu and growled for a second. I immediately froze in fear. Approximately another second or so later, the Pit Bull literally picked up my dog by his neck, like he was a chew toy! I let go of the leash and it retracted, I then grabbed my dog away from the Pit Bull, in the process of doing this, the Pit Bull starts growling at me. (side note: We are under 24-hour surveillance, so this entire incident/attack is on film.)
The next thing I know a lady (the dog’s owner) comes out and starts screaming for him. I of course was very upset over the situation, and fearful for my dog’s safety. We ended up exchanging a few, not-so-kind words, and I told her that there is a leash law in the city limits of Ashland. Anyway, I get back in the house and notice that the Pit Bull actually broke my dogs collar and there were bite marks on his neck—blood came to the surface, but he wasn’t bleeding. My ex-husband is staying with me, and when I got back in the house he asked what all the commotion was about. I explained the situation to him and he went to her unit and told her that she needed to leash her dog and that our dog was going to need a trip to the vet because of the incident. They ended up getting into a heated argument, it was so loud, I came out and she literally starting “sic’ing” (spelling?) her dog on my ex-husband.
I immediately called 911. A cop promptly arrived, (prior to him arriving I did call my landlord to advise him of the situation). The officer filled out a report after speaking with both parties. He stated in the report that she was upset at the time the interaction occurred because myself and my ex-husband were both very livid, and didn’t use the best words when approaching her. But she would “foot the bill” for the vet visit.
I love my dogs, they are like kids for me; I couldn’t imagine going through a day without them—and I most certainly would not want anything to happen to anyone else’s dog, but I felt like I had no other choice than to call Animal Control. Animal Control said that they would not take the dog from her unless there were 2 documented incidents such as this one, which I found reasonable, even though I do not want to risk this happening again. So, the Dog Warden came out and filed a report. He is going to cite her for not having a leash and let her know that the incident has been reported and a record exists. He’s not been able to get a hold of her yet.
My landlord isn’t local, and travels out of the country often for work. As I stated, I did inform him of the situation prior to the cops arriving. For some reason, he felt the need to appoint a “mediator”, whom happens to be a 22-year-old kid whose extremely rude, and get this…he’s a tenant as well and is next door neighbors with the owners of the Pit Bull. So yesterday evening the “mediator” came and knocked on my door, and said that effective immediately that all dogs are to be leashed while outside. I told him that wasn’t an issue whatsoever for me, my dogs are always leashed, and were at the time of the incident. He then went on to mention the heated argument that I had with the lady when the incident occurred, and expressed that he didn’t appreciate my choice of words—I told him the landlord was aware of everything and that I really didn’t feel like any of this was his business and I was too busy to talk to him.
About an hour later the “mediator” comes back with the Pitt Bull’s owner and her husband. They requested to see copies of my dog’s medical records. I told them that I do not have copies of their medical records, because I don’t—just shots, vaccines, and what not. The husband said that he was willing to pay 50 percent of the vet bill. I told him that under no circumstances would I accept that offer, as his wife had stated the night before (and it’s on the police report), that she would cover the vet costs. He proceeded to get very ill tempered with me and said that as a pet owner it’s my responsibility to pay to have my dog taken to the vet. I told him as a pet owner it was his responsibility to ensure that his dog was leashed or this would have never happened in the first place. He gave me his number and said to call or message him with how much it’s going to cost.
I called my vet to see how much pricing would be—after speaking with my vet I contacted the Pit Bulls owners and relayed to them that the vet’s office would require that they contact them with a payment method prior to the exam, as they’re not able to determine cost over the phone without an exam/diagnosis. (They wouldn’t answer my calls, I sent this in text message, and I know that they received the message as I have an iPhone, as do they, and it clearly shows in the body of the conversation the message was read).
I’ve sent 2 other messages today and they’re still not responding. I was laid off from my job in March and don’t start my new job until May. I am receiving unemployment benefits, however, I cannot afford to take my dog to the vet currently. I don’t have the money. I do feel that he really needs to be seen soon, he’s having spasms in his back and keeps jerking.
Can anyone offer up some advice on what I can do? The neighbors’ aren’t being cooperative at all. I just want my dog taken care of, by no means am I seeking to get any money whatsoever out of this.
