What had I gotten myself into?
It was my first night as an animal control officer for the city of Fall River, Mass. It was 1:30AM and the Fall River P.D. had called because two of the residents of an apartment house could not get in or out.
The lady I described above came home drunk and was about to let her dog out. As she made it into the hallway she decided to sit down for a moment to rest. She passed out and her dog never made it outside but was now guarding her and the hallway.
Two of the residents that lived there could not get into their apartment because of the large, angry dog patrolling the hallway. My job was to catch the the big rotti mix so the police and EMTs could check on the drunk lady.
I knew she was okay because as I entered the hallway I could hear talking in her sleep. "Do you want some french fries?" she kept saying over and over in a drunken, slurred tone of voice.
Her dog was none too happy with me in the hallway and charged me. With catlike reflexes I jumped to my left and positioned myself on the small landing that was there but I wasnt quick enough and the dog managed to get part of my jacket.
I used the control pole to push the dog away from me and cornered him. I was lucky and got the pole around his neck. I brought him to the van and put him inside.
The EMTs revived the lady and brought her inside her apartment.
I was thinking about this little episode this morning because last night I got to do something that I dont usually get to do.
I was able to sit down and watch a full half hour of one of my favorite TV shows, Judge Judy.
As it turns out, the case being tried was about a guy that owned an Akita that had attacked a Jack Russell Terrier.
I couldnt believe the Akita owner. He said things like: "I never meant for my dog to break loose and hurt his dog," and "I never meant for my dog to attack his dog."
Of course he never meant for his dog to do any of those things but the dog did and he is responsible for his dogs actions, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Having a dog is a big responsibility and this guy didnt think that he had to pay the vet bills of the injured Jack Russell.
His dog didnt do this once, his dog attacked the Jack Russell twice!
It all made me think of my animal control officer days. I was always going to the same houses. In a city of 90,000 people I was going to the same seven or eight houses week after week.
The drunk lady that I described above told me that she was not paying for my jacket. She told me that she cant be responsible for what her dog does while she was passed out in the hallway, that her dog was protecting her.
No amount of arguing on my part was going to convince her that she is responsible for everything her dog does.
Anyway, as I stated earlier, dog ownership is a huge responsibility. We have to always know where our dogs are and what they are doing. We also have to make sure that they are not aggressive. One of the best ways to give your dog a good life is to train him and to start from an early age.
If more people took training their dogs and the responsibility or ownership more seriously than they do, we would not have all the dog problems that we see today.
Well thanks for reading my rant. Please feel free to leave a comment.
Your friend,
Eric
P.S. If youd like to learn more about dog training also see: http://amazingdogtrainingman.com/homestudy1.htm
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