Friday, September 26, 2008
Dog Attacks III
Here's a funny turn of events. After reading post after post attacking me on my local blog the bloggers started turning on themselves! And to make it even more interesting several of them have identified themselves as police officers! One is a county deputy! I'm not sure I wanted to attract that kind of attention but I'm glad that they have lost interest in my post and they're enjoying a freeforall amongst themselves. What a nutty world we live in.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Dog Attacks II
Surprising but I was attacked by several people on this message board. Some even called me a liar. This is my response:
First of all, thanks to each of you who have responded to my post. I can understand why you feel the animal control officer's conversation with me might be a lie on my part. However,it is true. But to be fair I will be playing my recording back and see if I gave you any misinformation. Second, these attacks have occurred over a 16 year period during which I walked often, and still do. If I was so fearful that I was bringing these attacks on I wouldn't be walking. Third, my memory of the attack on my dog by the pit bull is accurate. You see, I have a witness. My granddaughter who was 8 at the time is now 14 and a freshman in high school . And this is what happened Yogibear:
THOSE WITH WEAK STOMACHS MAY WANT TO SKIP THIS SECTION
My granddaughter and I were walking East on Washington having turned off Wentz. D.my granddaughter had my toy poodle(Booder) on the leash and I had my shih tzu/chihuahua mix (Iyah Dogg) on the leash. BOTH DOGS HAD BEEN TAUGHT TO NOT BARK WHILE WALKING IN ORDER TO AVOID AGGRAVATING DOGS WE WALK BY. THEY WERE NOT BARKING AT ALL THEN.
Without any provocation whatsoever, the pitbull, Spike, climbed over the 4 ft. chain link fence and nailed Iyah Dogg.(Spike's sister, Suzie, who is named after our animal control officer, remained in the yard).My granddaughter is screaming, "don't let him kill me!, don't let him kill me!". I took Booder from her and told D. to get behind me. Iyah Dogg was dripping blood from his back which looked like it had been carved on and was flapping. He was also dripping much blood from his abdomen. He was shaking and stood between my legs for protection. Somehow by the grace of God I aimed for Spike's snout with my cane and it landed. Spike backed off and stared at us and then took off down the alley with me screaming at him.
We immediately went to a nearby house and contacted animal control (police department) and reported the attack. The teenage boy who owned the dog apparently corraled Spike sometime later and returned him to the yard. I took Iyah Dogg to Dr. Anna Coffin and was told it didn't look good because of the abdomen punctures. Iyah had surgery the next day and Anna said he would be okay, that the punctures didn't invade his intestines. I live on a fixed income but Anna was kind enough to let me pay the bill out. I sent a copy of the bill to Spike's owner who said it was the first she had heard of the attack. She then came to my house and tried to give me her week's grocery money for she and her two boys, one of whom had serious medical problems. I thanked her but declined her offer. Keep in mind that I had lived across the street from this woman for 3 1/2 years and were friends. I have no reason to believe that she would lie to me.
The animal control officer then asked what I would like to have happen with Spike. I said I would like him to be neutured but I was told he was too old at 5 years and that wouldn't happen. I then asked that the fence be raised to 6 feet so he couldn't escape again. Nothing happened. To my knowledge there was nothing punitive done about Spike's attack.I personally think Spike should have been euthanized. He had killed a number of animals in the area but because his owner was a friend I tried to be lenient. (Just as an aside here, Iyah Dogg was neutered at 5 years of age by Anna. Maybe it's different for big dogs than for little ones).
3bostonterriers, I said stay tuned because I knew there would likely be hostility from my post, especially from you.
I hope this answers some of your objections
First of all, thanks to each of you who have responded to my post. I can understand why you feel the animal control officer's conversation with me might be a lie on my part. However,it is true. But to be fair I will be playing my recording back and see if I gave you any misinformation. Second, these attacks have occurred over a 16 year period during which I walked often, and still do. If I was so fearful that I was bringing these attacks on I wouldn't be walking. Third, my memory of the attack on my dog by the pit bull is accurate. You see, I have a witness. My granddaughter who was 8 at the time is now 14 and a freshman in high school . And this is what happened Yogibear:
THOSE WITH WEAK STOMACHS MAY WANT TO SKIP THIS SECTION
My granddaughter and I were walking East on Washington having turned off Wentz. D.my granddaughter had my toy poodle(Booder) on the leash and I had my shih tzu/chihuahua mix (Iyah Dogg) on the leash. BOTH DOGS HAD BEEN TAUGHT TO NOT BARK WHILE WALKING IN ORDER TO AVOID AGGRAVATING DOGS WE WALK BY. THEY WERE NOT BARKING AT ALL THEN.
Without any provocation whatsoever, the pitbull, Spike, climbed over the 4 ft. chain link fence and nailed Iyah Dogg.(Spike's sister, Suzie, who is named after our animal control officer, remained in the yard).My granddaughter is screaming, "don't let him kill me!, don't let him kill me!". I took Booder from her and told D. to get behind me. Iyah Dogg was dripping blood from his back which looked like it had been carved on and was flapping. He was also dripping much blood from his abdomen. He was shaking and stood between my legs for protection. Somehow by the grace of God I aimed for Spike's snout with my cane and it landed. Spike backed off and stared at us and then took off down the alley with me screaming at him.
We immediately went to a nearby house and contacted animal control (police department) and reported the attack. The teenage boy who owned the dog apparently corraled Spike sometime later and returned him to the yard. I took Iyah Dogg to Dr. Anna Coffin and was told it didn't look good because of the abdomen punctures. Iyah had surgery the next day and Anna said he would be okay, that the punctures didn't invade his intestines. I live on a fixed income but Anna was kind enough to let me pay the bill out. I sent a copy of the bill to Spike's owner who said it was the first she had heard of the attack. She then came to my house and tried to give me her week's grocery money for she and her two boys, one of whom had serious medical problems. I thanked her but declined her offer. Keep in mind that I had lived across the street from this woman for 3 1/2 years and were friends. I have no reason to believe that she would lie to me.
The animal control officer then asked what I would like to have happen with Spike. I said I would like him to be neutured but I was told he was too old at 5 years and that wouldn't happen. I then asked that the fence be raised to 6 feet so he couldn't escape again. Nothing happened. To my knowledge there was nothing punitive done about Spike's attack.I personally think Spike should have been euthanized. He had killed a number of animals in the area but because his owner was a friend I tried to be lenient. (Just as an aside here, Iyah Dogg was neutered at 5 years of age by Anna. Maybe it's different for big dogs than for little ones).
3bostonterriers, I said stay tuned because I knew there would likely be hostility from my post, especially from you.
I hope this answers some of your objections
Friday, September 19, 2008
Dog Attacks
This is a comment I posted today on a local message board. Dog attacks are a problem and the animal control person would rather take on a hostile person (me) than hostile dogs. My daughter made several suggestions which helped me in approaching this from a legal stantpoint.
Maybe I'm confused but I thought this was a Message Board and I was free to exercise my first Amendment rights to share my opinions/experiences.
Was this appropriate behavior?
Yesterday an animal control officer came to my home whose sole purpose was to object to my comments. She said I had dissed animal control and it was not appreciated. She said the tone of my comments left the impression that animal control wasn't doing their job. She then said she hadn't had lunch for 2 years because of job demands. I then offered her lunch which she blew off. I asked about putting signs up at the parks about leash laws and fines and she blew that off too.
She also rewrote my experience with the pitbull that attacked my little dog. Insisted that my perceptions of the whole thing was wrong. Then she said because I walked with a cane that I was a target for dogs and that I likely exuded fear which would attract them. I confess, I do walk with a cane and that cane has been my weapon against attack by these dogs. I fear a future attack but I'm not fearful when the attack is imminent because I'm too busy planning my defense. And now it gets interesting.
she said unless she witnesses the actual attack they cannot do anything about it! (hey wait a minute. don't police officers arrest suspects without having witnessed the crime???) She also said if the dog isn't hostile, just leave your name with the police department (282-3535), along with the dog & owner's description and they would try to locate them later. She was very upset that I had called the PD with recent hostile dog reports and didn't leave my name. She said she listened to the recording of my call and recognized my voice which is how she knew who wrote those wretched comments. which brings me to this: Always try to be in front of an animal control officer if you're in imminent danger of being attacked by a dog. The responsibility for protecting ourselves is up to us. Let me caution you though that guns are not acceptable within city limits. I think we should Plan Animal Control Officer Day so we can recognize her efforts in ridding the streets of hostile dogs and dogs off leashes. This should include a nice lunch seeing as how she has missed lunch for 2 years.
And speaking of rules, I don't understand why we even have a leash law if
there isn't strict enforcement of said law. it appears that all those dogs are running loose at Highland Park because their owners think it IS a dog park.
Example: This Morning I walked to Highland Park hiking trails and encountered a man with his brown and white rat terrier running free. (The animal control officer had told me to try and engage the dog owner in conversation and nicely point out that there were leash laws) so I tried to chat with the dog owner about the leash laws. He said 'Yuh' and walked away, his dog still running free. The second dog owner was in the process of teaching his dog to stay. When he saw me he immediately put his dog back on the leash. I changed my tactics with him and suggested there was a crackdown on unleashed dogs and the fines were stiff. He thanked me and continued his walk with dog on leash. Did I call either of them in to the PD? Nope! Both people had driven to the park and I couldn't run fast enough to get their license tags.
Stay tuned......
Maybe I'm confused but I thought this was a Message Board and I was free to exercise my first Amendment rights to share my opinions/experiences.
Was this appropriate behavior?
Yesterday an animal control officer came to my home whose sole purpose was to object to my comments. She said I had dissed animal control and it was not appreciated. She said the tone of my comments left the impression that animal control wasn't doing their job. She then said she hadn't had lunch for 2 years because of job demands. I then offered her lunch which she blew off. I asked about putting signs up at the parks about leash laws and fines and she blew that off too.
She also rewrote my experience with the pitbull that attacked my little dog. Insisted that my perceptions of the whole thing was wrong. Then she said because I walked with a cane that I was a target for dogs and that I likely exuded fear which would attract them. I confess, I do walk with a cane and that cane has been my weapon against attack by these dogs. I fear a future attack but I'm not fearful when the attack is imminent because I'm too busy planning my defense. And now it gets interesting.
she said unless she witnesses the actual attack they cannot do anything about it! (hey wait a minute. don't police officers arrest suspects without having witnessed the crime???) She also said if the dog isn't hostile, just leave your name with the police department (282-3535), along with the dog & owner's description and they would try to locate them later. She was very upset that I had called the PD with recent hostile dog reports and didn't leave my name. She said she listened to the recording of my call and recognized my voice which is how she knew who wrote those wretched comments. which brings me to this: Always try to be in front of an animal control officer if you're in imminent danger of being attacked by a dog. The responsibility for protecting ourselves is up to us. Let me caution you though that guns are not acceptable within city limits. I think we should Plan Animal Control Officer Day so we can recognize her efforts in ridding the streets of hostile dogs and dogs off leashes. This should include a nice lunch seeing as how she has missed lunch for 2 years.
And speaking of rules, I don't understand why we even have a leash law if
there isn't strict enforcement of said law. it appears that all those dogs are running loose at Highland Park because their owners think it IS a dog park.
Example: This Morning I walked to Highland Park hiking trails and encountered a man with his brown and white rat terrier running free. (The animal control officer had told me to try and engage the dog owner in conversation and nicely point out that there were leash laws) so I tried to chat with the dog owner about the leash laws. He said 'Yuh' and walked away, his dog still running free. The second dog owner was in the process of teaching his dog to stay. When he saw me he immediately put his dog back on the leash. I changed my tactics with him and suggested there was a crackdown on unleashed dogs and the fines were stiff. He thanked me and continued his walk with dog on leash. Did I call either of them in to the PD? Nope! Both people had driven to the park and I couldn't run fast enough to get their license tags.
Stay tuned......
Monday, September 8, 2008
Bougainvillas
Not living in the deep South you just don't see bougainvillas growing around here. Still, I'd seen pictures and thought they were lovely. I was delighted on one Mother's Day when my son arrived on my door step and presented me with a pretty bougainvilla in a hanging basket. The blossoms fell but the leaves stayed and I planned to nurse it through the winter.
My house is comfortable to me in the winter at 59 degees. Don't know why. That's just me. My kids have long teased me that it's warmer outside than it is in my home. My daughter even suggested that I hand out quilts at the front door to visitors. When someone does come visiting I grudgingly turn the heat up to 70 degrees but hurriedly drop it back to 59 degrees when they leave (55 degrees at night). So in this cooler temperature my bouganvilla, relaxing in a window box with a southern exposure, loses all it's leaves and I think, ah well, I've killed it. Then a few days later I notice tiny pink blossoms emerging. What a lovely gift. This confused but pretty plant has bloomed! And continues to bloom all winter!
This strange plant has now been with me through 5 winters, blooming every time, and presenting showy leaves all summer.It has never grown any additional branches. I haven't given it any fresh dirt, no fertilizer, and water it once a day. I can't transplant it because it would never make it through an Oklahoma winter in the ground. Besides, it's become somewhat of a phenomonon and a pet plant. I don't know how long this funny plant will live. I'm just enjoying it while it's here.
My house is comfortable to me in the winter at 59 degees. Don't know why. That's just me. My kids have long teased me that it's warmer outside than it is in my home. My daughter even suggested that I hand out quilts at the front door to visitors. When someone does come visiting I grudgingly turn the heat up to 70 degrees but hurriedly drop it back to 59 degrees when they leave (55 degrees at night). So in this cooler temperature my bouganvilla, relaxing in a window box with a southern exposure, loses all it's leaves and I think, ah well, I've killed it. Then a few days later I notice tiny pink blossoms emerging. What a lovely gift. This confused but pretty plant has bloomed! And continues to bloom all winter!
This strange plant has now been with me through 5 winters, blooming every time, and presenting showy leaves all summer.It has never grown any additional branches. I haven't given it any fresh dirt, no fertilizer, and water it once a day. I can't transplant it because it would never make it through an Oklahoma winter in the ground. Besides, it's become somewhat of a phenomonon and a pet plant. I don't know how long this funny plant will live. I'm just enjoying it while it's here.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Be Careful What You Wish For
When I was a young girl entertaining fanciful thoughts I dreamt I would grow up to be a famous opera singer, maybe mezzo soprano, or a successful archeologist. Today I look back and cringe because I realize I've accomplished both, although not on the famous or successful levels I had in mind. I catch myself singing off key arias as I putter about the house looking for missing keys or a misplaced purse. And there you have it. The realization of my childhood dreams had indeed come true. And I'm just fine with that.
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