has animal control been called on you???

[cfuh]

i had the most upsetting evening ...

i was out walking my two doggies when we came upon a man with his dog. my dogs, of course, wanted to play and started pulling on the leashes...i held them back as best as i could (and even leaned on an explorer) but i had to let them go. before i did, i yelled out that i was going to let them go to the man to warn him. my doggies ran towards him barking and he immediately yanked his dog by the leash to pop him into his arms (his dog was smaller) and pulled out his gun and pointed it at my dogs!!! i went over to collect my dogs and i told him he was crazy...he said he didn't know what my dogs were going to do, if they were going to attack, etc. i totally agree with him that he felt he had to protect himself but to pull out a gun?!?!?!

so we went our separate directions and he said he was going to call on me. i was more pissed than upset at this point...i even called the cops to see if i had a valid complaint. 1.5 hours later, animal control comes knocking on the door. the lady gets my info and recommends that i get full control of my dogs and/or walk them separately. she also says i'll be receiving a summons soon.

then i called the cops again and file a complaint...this time the lady says she'll send an officer out to check it cause i told her the lady didn't give her business card when dispatcher asked me about it. at this point, i didn't know if the cop was coming over to my house, etc...then i get a phone call and it was the animal control lady...i felt she was very rude...she eventually tells me that the guy w/ the dog is a George Mason cop and i need to file a complaint with them.

all i can say is that THIS REALLY REALLY SUCKS!!!!!


i just wanna walk my dogs in peace....

thanks for listening.

[Logan]

I agree with you in one sense, that it was a gross overreaction for him to even be carrying a gun, let alone pull it and point it at your dogs. I guess it was legal for him to have the gun since you mentioned he is a police officer.

But I have to agree that if you can't hold on to your two dogs when they become agitated or excited, then it might be better for you to walk one at a time (not nearly as much fun for any of you, I'm sure).

I'm sorry this happened to you. I can imagine that it was very upsetting. I'm just relieved that it didn't have a worse outcome (he could have pulled the trigger).

Logan

[tatsxxx11]

A GUN??????? OMG! How terrifying!! I can understand the fear someone has when dogs come "charging" at "you." You don't know if the dog is just wanting to play or is vicious and ready to attack. That happens a lot here on our beaches, with lots of dogs running around, some on leash, some not. Most owners try and get control quickly and will yell out that the dog is friendly. But this was an overeaction to put it mildly! It sounds like he had his own dog safely in his arms and I have to think that by the time he pulled out his gun he knew the dogs were not going to attack. It was unfortunate that the dogs got away from you, but you did have them on leashes; they got away from you; it was an "accident." Here, a first "offense" such as that would have warranted a warning by Animal Control with a bit of helpful education on how to better keep the dogs under control while on a leash, perhaps (as she did) suggesting you might need to walk them separately, etc.

I suppose as a police officer he is permitted to "carry" a gun. But I don't think pulling it out was warranted in this circumstance. What if any of OUR dogs had escaped our yards and was running around the neighborhood, getting excited? The dog sees someone walking with their dog and wants to play, running up to them. Would he have shot him/her?? This is the type of potentilly dangerous scenario that sends chills down my spine. Except in situations where someone has a legitimate reason to believe they have an immediate need to protect themselves, I am very much opposed to civilians being permitted to "carry" a handgun on their person or in their car. People perceive a threat, get into arguments, tempers get hot and the next thing you know, someone pulls out a gun and someone's dead. Yesterday, the news reported that some young guy was throwing tomatoes and paint balls at passing cars on a rural country road. One of the cars that was hit stopped and the driver said if he didn't stop, he was going to kill him. The car got hit with another tomatoe. The driver took off but returned almost an hour later...with a gun...and shot the guy dead. They haven't found him yet! Of course the tomatoe thrower was causing a danger and needed to be stopped. But by the police, not by an enraged vigilante.

I'm so sorry you were given such a scare. For your own sake and the dogs' safety, I definitely would try to keep them leashed. This guy must live in your neighborhood and I fear what he would do if it happened again.

[pitc9]

Wow...I don't know what I would have done...... seeing someone pulling out a gun, I would have thought about running infront of my pups, wow!!

I walk both my pups together everynight, and I'm thankful how good they are, Sierra will tug a little when she sees another dog, but all I do is give her a little pop, and she gets right back in step with us. Buddy.... as long as he feels I am not being threatened...he'll just keep on walking! Once in a while a dog will run down a driveway at us, and Buddy will stand directly in front of me, protecting me!!

I feel so bad for what happened to you, I hope everything works out!!!

[kingrattus]

Sorry, I have a diffrent opinion (I'm not being mean or rude, just my point of view). I think the cop had every right to pull his gun on ur dogs. Cops unlike regular people, have good training on when to shoot & when to just point. Honestly I think ur very very lucky he didn't shoot ur dogs. I know all too well what its like to have to big dogs come running up to u & barking. I almost peed myself I was so scared, I also ended up picking Sandy (neighbours dog) right onto my shoulders, Sandy was a bout 60+ pounds (I can never remember), with just 1 hand. I got angry at the 2 dogs in fear of my life.

Ur feeling change even more when ur walking ur own dog & 2 larger dogs charge & the owner yells "don't worry their friendly!" & as soon as they reach us (I had Max tucked right up to me), they started to snap & bite Max. Max yelped twice & my anger & fear kicked in, I started to kick the dogs & yelled for the owner to call them off.

Just because ur dog is friendly with u & ur friends doesn't mean their friendly with all strangers.

I'm sorry, but I really don't think the cop is doing anything wrong at all. U should have had them under control.

[micki76]

Originally posted by cfuh
i was out walking my two doggies when we came upon a man with his dog. my dogs, of course, wanted to play and started pulling on the leashes...i held them back as best as i could (and even leaned on an explorer) but i had to let them go. before i did, i yelled out that i was going to let them go to the man to warn him.

Did you just yell out that you were going to let them go? Or did you yell out that they were friendly and just wanted to play? These are two very different things. For all he knew you were warning him against imminent danger, especially since you were obviously struggling to keep them under control.

I'm sure this won't be popular here, but if you only shouted that you were letting them go and not that they were harmless, I think his reaction was justified. Imagine how many times as an officer that he's been attacked or had criminals send their dogs to attack him.

As has been stated before, if you can't control them when they're both together, I'd strongly suggest you only walk one at a time. I personally get ULTRA pissed when I'm walking my dogs on a leash and someone else isn't, especially if the dog is larger than mine. There's always a nasty encounter and I feel that since my dogs are small and tethered, they're at a much greater risk than the larger dog that's not leashed.

[zippy-kat]

I guess what I don't understand is why you had to let them go. If they wiggled out of their collars, wiggled out of your arms, just wiggled out... yes I understand that. But to just release them? Perhaps the officer would have perceived it as an accident and reacted less severly had they had wiggled out of your grasp.

My dog is a larger dog and one that I can't easily pick up. And, for the most part, my dog doesn't like other dogs. I can almost garauntee that a fight would've broken out. If a fight ensued and my dog ended up needing major medical attention, well... I don't know what I'd do. I'm not saying I'd sue but I think that would be a legit case if I chose to...

I would, however, probably ask you to cover some of the bills. But that's all hypothetical-didnt' happen so you don't need to worry about it (but definitely something to think about in the future--we're a sue happy society).

I do agree with Micki on the phrasing of the "release statement."



On the flip side of the leash, I can't imagine how scary it would be to have a gun pointed at your furbabe. I do think it's said that a gun is the first thing we reach for when we feel we need to protect against "smaller" dangers and/or when we're angry.



I assume you had collars on them...have you thought about harnesses or halties?

[lv4dogs]

A gun is riduclus as there are stories out there when cops just shoot dogs that pose no threat so not ALL cops have common sense when to pull the trigger. But some do have have the proper knowledge so that subjest is 1/2 & 1/2, equal I guess. If it was a legal gun even for non-cops than I think it is completley allright that he did what he did.
I do not mean to be rude or cause chaos here but golly geese you just let your dogs (that you can not control obviously) loose on the poor guy & his little dog. I have seen & heard of many "friendly" dogs attacking other people & dogs. And vice versa, what if he had a large dog that was not friendly or his small dog was mean & your dogs just put up with all the little dogs biting then your dogs would have wounds. Dogs are never 100% predictable. What if the man had treats in pocket that your dog could smell that could cause a bad confitation.
I know I would be totally ticked off to no limit if someone just let there dogs loose & they ran up on me like that. I love dogs w/ my all & it would not matter if I was walking alone or w/ 1,2 or all 3 of my dogs I would still be very upset. It may be different if they wiggled out of their collars or some other accidental way they became loose but on purpose?
Most places have leash laws & they are there for a puprose!
I persoanlly think he had every right to call animal control.
I also strongly agree that you should walk the dogs seperatly until they & you are trained to handle eachother properly. Maybe obedience clasases.

[Pam]

Wow! I got such a mental image I felt like I was there! I have mixed emotions on this one. Years ago my childhood dog was attacked by an unleashed dog (his human was no where in sight, so it was a little different than your story). My dad was walking him and the ensuing fight was horrifying. My mom said my dad came home shaking and our dog was rushed to the vet to get patched up. My first thought was that I would have probably reacted in much the same way as this man, (scared to death! ! ) although I of course don't carry a gun! Thankfully he didn't totally overreact and use it! Do you remember several months ago there was a story in the news about a police officer who shot a family's dog on a car stop on the highway because it was running toward him!

My only suggestion is this. My Bella is a tugger and would prefer that she takes ME on walks instead of the other way around. I invested in a Halti and it has changed things 100%. Your other option would be to enroll your dogs in an obedience school and learn how to take control of them on walks. This is not an overnight cure and it will cost some money but is something you could consider. In the meantime I would certainly walk them separately and, at the least, check out the Haltis or Gentle Leaders at your local pet store. Good luck!

[magcpen]

My mom screens police officers here in California and all things considered, that man would not be on the force. When we had a police officer talk to us about drugs in Fifth Grade, he took some time to talk about his gun, and he told us that he is to NEVER take out his gun except during DIRE HUMAN CONFRONTATIONS. Police officers carry mace, I think they carry a club, there are tons of options. And a well trained police officer knows not to draw his gun unless the criminal, or in this case, your dogs, don't respond to other weapons. He should be fired from the force, and should have his gun taken away if he can't handle a confrontation with two happy dogs. I mean my mom, who has seen and heard worse than you can imagine gasped when I told her he poulled a gun on the dogs, though neither of us know what a George Mason cop is. At first I thought it was a fake cop...

At first when you said you "Let them go", you meant you loosened your hold, but you actually released them? I have to agree you shouldn't ahve done that, but he should not have pulled his gun on your dogs for that. That is ridiculous and as I've said, should get his suspended fromb the force. If I were scared becuase two dogs were running at me, I'd step away, not draw a gun! (Not that I'd have one).

[Uabassoon]

I have to admit that if I had a gun I might have pointed it as well. If two big dogs were running up to me I would be scared. If she didn't say that they were friendly how was the man supposed to know? All the man knew was the she couldn't control these two dogs and then she screamed that she was letting them go. And dogs are not like humans you can't reason with them. At least when you are dealing with a human criminal you can talk to them and get a better feel of what they are going to do. But something like this is sudden you don't have time to think. And the man was just looking after himself and his dog. Now don't think that I said I would shoot the dogs because that's not what I ment. But if I were in the situation I would have the gun ready just in case they started to bite or attack.

[magcpen]

Having the gun ready, and having the gunpointed are to completely different things, and having the gun ready, just in case, is much more appropriate.

[My Peanuts]

I think that that man's reaction was ridiculous! I looked at your profile and your dogs are not huge. Dogs get away from owners all the time. I do agree that maybe you should walk one at a time if they are hard to handle, but your offense is the lesser of the two. I think that SOME cops let the power of having a gun go to their heads. No one was hurt, he should have not pursed it any further, but then again if he didn't then he wouldn't get another chance to abuse his powers!

[kingrattus]

u do ealize that some pitt bulls aren't very large, but we all know thay can pack a powerfull punch. It doesn't just have to do about the size of the dog, some big dogs can't fight very well.

& if the cop was off duty, why would he have a baton or mace? Here in canada u can't carry either of those off duty (same with a gun). Mace is a big no no. No one can carry/buy that without a permit & the same with a baton (I think u can't carry those 2 things in the usa either, I've seen COPS cops take mace from ppl).

& the only reason this will get out of control is because hes a cop.
What if he was an older man? I'm sure ppl wouldn't be attacking him.

& I wish ppl would stop contradicting them selves.
oh he "pulled" a gun he should be suspened from the force.
then, its not that bad if he pulled it out just incase they attacked.

What the hell ppl. He only pointed "incase" the dogs attacked, he didn't shoot them!!! errrrrrrrrrr

[mugsy]

Yes. I have had animal control called on me before. Numerous times. Our neighbors hate our dogs. They quit coming out until one of the other neighbors called and that's how we ended up having to give up half of our dogs. I agree, AC officers tend to be very high on themselves and the power they have. A couple of ours are very nice, but the woman that I talked to the last time was rather nasty. I detest our AC director and she knows it. She is extremely cold hearted and mean.

As for controlling the dogs. I agree that if you don't have control you shouldn't walk them together. I have lost control of one of ours before, but, I knew it might happened so Mike was there and got them.

As for the gun....my opinion of guns is that they are just a way for a person to feel powerful. I have no use for them, so, my opinion is colored because of that. I don't think the guy should have pulled his gun.

Those are my opinions and are just that, so, I'm sorry if I came on a little strong.