In the past few years, I have become terrified of dogs. Not the dogs of people I know, dogs that are well cared for and treated as pets, dogs that pay attention to their owners and are under their control. What incites an increased heart rate and trembling muscles is seeing dogs wandering the neighborhood at their own behest, and having no idea whether or not they will try to eat me.
I know. Dogs don't eat people, at least not usually. But they do bite, and this has happened to almost half the members of our fairly large household on 3 separate occasions. The first time was about 2 years ago. E14 (12) and B10 (8) were heading down a neighborhood street early in the morning on the way to run along the beach, and some neighbors had left their gate open. Their pet dog rushed out onto the sidewalk where my boys were innocently walking and sank its teeth unprovoked into E14's leg. He returned home bleeding. I was ready to take a stick and bludgeon the animal into a pulp, but fortunately (for our relationship with the neighbors if not for my Mama Bear complex), Ari was still home. He took the stick, went alone to the house with the loose dog, and repeatedly hit the ground next to the dog, yelling, "Bad dog! You bit my boy! Bad dog!" This had the desired effect of summoning the neighbors, who were sincerely apologetic and promised to keep their gate properly shut.Which they usually do - I've seen the dog loose twice since but have taken pains to avoid it and my children know to do the same.
A few weeks later, P15 (13) returned home shaking. A different dog on a different neighborhood street had rushed out of its inadequate gates and grabbed at her leg as she walked past on the sidewalk. It didn't break the skin, but she had a large bruised area. I drove over to the house she mentioned, where the dog was back in its enclosure. (A gap in the fence had been covered over with an oven rack, but this was far from equal to the task). I yelled to try to attract the owner's attention, but it was mid afternoon and he was still at work. However, another neighbor walked by and heard me. She told me, "Oh, that dog. He comes out all the time and barks at kids and chases them." Okay, back to Mama Bear mode. I wasn't sure exactly what to do, but I was not happy with living in a neighborhood where a dog routinely threatened children. I wound up calling the police, who got animal control to remove the dog, as the owner was not able to provide adequate security for it.
Later that summer, I was out for a run along the main road that runs along the beach. There are various homeless people living in tents and cars all along that part of the beach, and as I ran a dog rushed out at me and started chasing me. I ran faster, but it kept gaining on me. Eventually I tripped and fell headlong, hoping it wouldn't bite my face. But as soon as I fell, it lost interest and walked away. Later E14 told me he'd found that if you slowed to a walk, they would usually leave you alone. Good to know.
About a year ago, I was running again when I saw several fairly small dogs milling around ahead of me. I immediately slowed to a walk, but they surrounded me, barking. I hoped if I was as non-agressive as possible they would lose interest, but two of them bit me above the ankles. Then they decided they had had enough and crossed the street, disappearing into the brush at the base of the mountains. I suppose they may have belonged to homeless people living in that area. The bites weren't serious enough to need more than peroxide and band-aids, but it shook me.
This was when I started carrying pepper spray. A friend who knows a lot about dogs suggested I try a citronella spray that would annoy but not hurt them. However, such spray doesn't seem to be available on the island, and there are rules preventing shipping it here as well, so I was stuck actually walking into a gun store (way outside my comfort zone) and buying mace, not because I'm afraid of human attackers, but because I really don't want to be bit again.
This morning, I was running along, not too far from where I fell down running away from the first homeless dog. I saw a loose dog in the distance. It was wearing a collar. I slowed to a walk, then crossed the street, hoping to avoid a confrontation. The dog crossed after me, and I yelled threats at it. It crossed back and disappeared behind a car back on the beach side of the road. I thought it was the owners' car, and didn't expect to see the dog again. After I'd run my planned distance, I turned around and ran back the way I'd come. The same dog rushed across the street again as I approached. I yelled, but it kept coming at me. I know mace can really hurt dogs, so I sprayed below its face instead of in it, hoping the smell alone would drive it away. It backed off for a bit, then kept on after me. I backed away, yelling, until finally it crossed back to the other side of the road and I felt I was far enough that it wouldn't chase me. No sign of any owner.
I hate that I have to carry pepper spray. It makes me angry that people let their wild, potentially violent animals roam at will and threaten random passers by. I simply don't understand the mindset, the irresponsibility. I know responsible dog owners on my street who keep their dogs under control, but don't walk them in the neighborhood because of the real probability of being attacked. I feel like there should be something we could do to make the neighborhood safer for pedestrians and good dogs. I just don't know what it is.
