Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Tiny Update

I needed to update, and I have a lot to say, but I don't feel like doing a full on update tonight, so I'm going to do a tiny update to give you an update to a post from a while back. About 1 month ago I wrote about leash laws (click here to read again) and how people are not putting their dogs on leashing in my complex and the dilemma I was facing in how to respond when peoples' dogs run up to Sprinkles and I.

I've started "fighting back" in a couple of ways. The first way is that I'm being a little more vocal when the event actually happens. Typically someone's dog runs up to Sprinkles and I, freaks us both out, I get flustered, so when they apologize, I say "it's ok!" Now I say, "it's ok, just please find a leash!" Take that you freaky unsafe dog owners! I also have gotten a lot quicker at grabbing Sprinkles up from the ground to save us from growls, snaps, and being tangled in leashes.

Second I've started calling the apartment complex and leaving messages -- specific messages with the apartment number if possible. I also kindly remind the complex that there is a leash law in Lewisville, and that I'd appreciate a reminder being placed on that person's door. Not sure if this does anything, but I've left two voicemails so far, each with a different person. The one tonight was the voicemail of the manager of the complex. Ah yes -- this brings me to tonight.

Tonight I am still shaking a little. I was walking Sprinkles, and I saw my neighbor who has two boxers walking her dogs. We were all walking (about 10 feet away from each other) towards going around this circle in the parking lots -- like a large cul-de-sac of apartment buildings with parking in the middle -- when a HUGE dog came running at us. The boxers were closer, so it ran up to them. By the time it got there, Sprinkles and I had turned a different direction, and I had snatched him up into my arms. However, this was like a train wreck you have to watch. The owner of the HUGE dog was running up repeatedly yelling, "he's ok, he's ok!" to which the owner of the boxers screamed, "but they're NOT!" First off, you go girl! I was proud of her for yelling back that what was happening was NOT ok. Second though, she was scared, I was scared, the dogs were freaking out... someone was going to get hurt. She was screaming and begging the other owner to please get his dog (oh yeah another HUGE dog not on a leash ran up with him to get the other dog and joined the melee). Finally all dogs were grabbed and under control, the boxers' owner started to walk up fuming, when I spoke up. Yeah, not my battle, but that could have been Sprinkles, and he would have been bloody after that. I yelled, "man, you can't have your dogs not on a leash in a complex full of people! It's just not safe!" He said, "they're not off the leash!" With that the boxers' owner turned around and said in a very sarcastic tone, "oh, they're not?!" He's like, "yeah they're just walking between apartments with me!" What?! How is between apartments somehow becoming across the complex attacking other dogs?! He wasn't really apologetic, so we all walked off (I later ran across her and her boxers, and everyone was ok... still a little shaken up though).

On the way back into my apartment though, I was more than happy to call and leave a message for the manager of the complex telling her the building number and which garage they were grilling out in front of. Too bad I didn't have the apartment number. I also explained to her in the voicemail that this is not the first time I called, that this is a huge problem around these building, that I don't feel safe (with or without my dog), and that something needs to be done, at the least a reminder notice. Argh. I'm just going to call everytime this happens. The heck with it... I know if this happens enough, they can be evicted. Hope I can get apartment numbers from this point on. :-)