dogs

Bill Taylor said:

Got bit today. Don't remember the last time. The dog's owner watched
the whole thing from her driveway. Country road in New Jersey. Should
I have called the cops? Not much of a bite, but I can imagine this
little dog taking a chunk out of some dumb kid. As it was, I stopped,
bellowed " Your dog bit me" , paused for effect, and then rode on.
I used to carry pepper spray, but I usually forget it, and I really
don't want to hurt the dog, 'cause I believe, as a dog owner myself,
that it's the owners fault. The dog was just being a dog.
Comments? Aplologies if this subject has beeen visited lately.
BT

Where did this happen? (I ride country roads in NJ)

My bear deterrent (capsacin) is on order.
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/journal/?o=lt&doc_id=194&v=a&term=pepper%20spray&context=all#4034

-bdbafh

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Got bit today. Don't remember the last time. The dog's owner watched
the whole thing from her driveway. Country road in New Jersey. Should
I have called the cops?

Either the cops, or local animal control, or both. Out in the country,
you're probably dealing with the county on both counts, rather than a
town or municipality. This dog may have a history of biting, and may
need to be dealt with.

Quoted message said:

I used to carry pepper spray, but I usually forget it, and I really
don't want to hurt the dog, 'cause I believe, as a dog owner myself,
that it's the owners fault. The dog was just being a dog.
Comments? Aplologies if this subject has beeen visited lately.

Pepper spray doesn't hurt for long, just long enough for you to get
away. This owner sounds negligent, if they truly made no attempt to stop
the dog, and deserves a visit from the local constabulary.

--

__o Kristian Zoerhoff
_'\(,_ [email hidden]
(_)/ (_)

You should have reported it. After all, the next time the dog might do worse
to a kid. And, the owner will be able to say, "My dog has no history of
biting at all!" And, let's hope you don't come down with rabies. You don't
know if that dog was vaccinated....

Pat in TX

Bill Taylor said:

Got bit today. Don't remember the last time. The dog's owner watched
the whole thing from her driveway. Country road in New Jersey. Should
I have called the cops? ..Snip..
BT

Yes you should have AND you still should even if it's a day or 2
latter. From what you wrote it appears that this woman made
absolutely no effort to restrain her animal. If there is no report,
then as far as the law is concerned it never happened. I doubt if
this woman will make any greater effort the next time the dog attacks
someone unless she receives at least a warning from the police now.
Additionally, what makes you think that you are the 1st person this
dog attacked?

On Tue, 13 Jun 2006 19:46:58 -0400 in rec.bicycles.rides, Bill

Taylor said:

Got bit today. Don't remember the last time. The dog's owner watched
the whole thing from her driveway. Country road in New Jersey. Should
I have called the cops?

yes.

when you do, ask that the dog be impounded and tested for rabies.
if the test is positive, the owner should pay for your series of
rabies shots as well as your pain and suffering. a rabies series
is no fun.

In article <[email hidden]>,

(Dennis P. Harris) said:

Bill Taylor said:

Got bit today. Don't remember the last time. The dog's owner
watched the whole thing from her driveway. Country road in New
Jersey. Should I have called the cops?

yes.

when you do, ask that the dog be impounded and tested for rabies. if
the test is positive, the owner should pay for your series of rabies
shots as well as your pain and suffering. a rabies series is no fun.

That and the animal is a public nuisance, and potentially a danger.
Your leg could be some little kid's face next time! There are laws
about this stuff, and idiot dog owners should either know those laws and
act responsibly, or learn them the hard way.

Bill Taylor said:

Got bit today. Don't remember the last time. The dog's owner watched
the whole thing from her driveway. Country road in New Jersey. Should
I have called the cops? Not much of a bite, but I can imagine this
little dog taking a chunk out of some dumb kid. As it was, I stopped,
bellowed " Your dog bit me" , paused for effect, and then rode on.
I used to carry pepper spray, but I usually forget it, and I really
don't want to hurt the dog, 'cause I believe, as a dog owner myself,
that it's the owners fault. The dog was just being a dog.
Comments? Aplologies if this subject has beeen visited lately.
BT

Report it, ASAP! Others have given good reasons. Your biggest
responsibility is helping to establish a history if the dog is already a
nuisance.

Chances are there's a loose dog law in effect, with a fine, etc. If the
owner is cited, they may think twice about letting their dog run loose
again.

Rabies may be rare, but loose dogs are still dangerous. Of course people
can be bitten. But for cyclists, the biggest danger is actually the dog
getting under your wheels and causing you to crash, perhaps seriously.
Consider yourself lucky to have escaped with a (minor, hopefully) bite.

Finally, letting a dog run loose where it could be hit by a car or befall
some other mishap is cruel to the dog.

Matt O.

I remember a few years ago when traveling via my hitch hiking thumb as I got
closer to edges of little villages or what they now called suburban
outskirts. Packs of dogs would be roaming the area. It was a lesson in
survival. You stay awake until the mid morning and if you couldn't you
needed to find a telephone booth that had a closable door. You placed your
pack on the floor of the phone booth and that covered the little open area
where the glass didn't meet the ground. Sit on top of that and sleep until
its safe to move on.
Then when riding through similar areas while on a bicycle 30 years later I
encountered the same problem with packs of dogs late at night and early in
the morning before dawn. One dog would scout while the others sit back and
watched. Then when all is favorable that one dog would race out and try to
snap at your calf. Well if you decided to pedal fast and try to out run him
the rest would join in. Of course the other method which I to this day
enjoy doing is getting off the bicycle and attacking the dog with my bicycle
and pullout my ulock and defend my ground.
Sometimes I forget myself and yell out load I dare you to get out of your
car!!....

Jean Andre Vallery
Sarasota Florida

"Matt O'Toole" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Bill Taylor said:

Got bit today. Don't remember the last time. The dog's owner watched
the whole thing from her driveway. Country road in New Jersey. Should
I have called the cops? Not much of a bite, but I can imagine this
little dog taking a chunk out of some dumb kid. As it was, I stopped,
bellowed " Your dog bit me" , paused for effect, and then rode on.
I used to carry pepper spray, but I usually forget it, and I really
don't want to hurt the dog, 'cause I believe, as a dog owner myself,
that it's the owners fault. The dog was just being a dog.
Comments? Aplologies if this subject has beeen visited lately.
BT

Report it, ASAP! Others have given good reasons. Your biggest
responsibility is helping to establish a history if the dog is already a
nuisance.

Chances are there's a loose dog law in effect, with a fine, etc. If the
owner is cited, they may think twice about letting their dog run loose
again.

Rabies may be rare, but loose dogs are still dangerous. Of course people
can be bitten. But for cyclists, the biggest danger is actually the dog
getting under your wheels and causing you to crash, perhaps seriously.
Consider yourself lucky to have escaped with a (minor, hopefully) bite.

Finally, letting a dog run loose where it could be hit by a car or befall
some other mishap is cruel to the dog.

Matt O.

I remember a few years ago when traveling via my hitch hiking thumb as I got
closer to edges of little villages or what they now called suburban
outskirts. Packs of dogs would be roaming the area. It was a lesson in
survival. You stay awake until the mid morning and if you couldn't you
needed to find a telephone booth that had a closable door. You placed your
pack on the floor of the phone booth and that covered the little open area
where the glass didn't meet the ground. Sit on top of that and sleep until
its safe to move on.
Then when riding through similar areas while on a bicycle 30 years later I
encountered the same problem with packs of dogs late at night and early in
the morning before dawn. One dog would scout while the others sit back and
watched. Then when all is favorable that one dog would race out and try to
snap at your calf. Well if you decided to pedal fast and try to out run
him
the rest would join in. Of course the other method which I to this day
enjoy doing is getting off the bicycle and attacking the dog with my bicycle
and pullout my ulock and defend my ground.
Sometimes I forget myself and yell out load I dare you to get out of your
car!!....

Jean Andre Vallery
Sarasota Florida
bicyclejournals.net

"Bill Taylor" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Got bit today. Don't remember the last time. The dog's owner watched the
whole thing from her driveway. Country road in New Jersey. Should I have
called the cops? Not much of a bite, but I can imagine this little dog
taking a chunk out of some dumb kid. As it was, I stopped, bellowed "
Your dog bit me" , paused for effect, and then rode on.
I used to carry pepper spray, but I usually forget it, and I really don't
want to hurt the dog, 'cause I believe, as a dog owner myself, that it's
the owners fault. The dog was just being a dog.
Comments? Aplologies if this subject has beeen visited lately.
BT