Restrain Your Dogs!
All of us dog owners have a responsibility to not only train our dogs but to teach them not to attack people. My son was bitten on the hand by my neighbor's dog and today is his 2nd birthday. I went to bed in a forgiving mood but I am far from pleased with the conduct of my neighbor. The details Yesterday morning my son and I took the 30-second walk to the beach. One of our expat friends had been cremated and we went to the small memorial where his caretaker scattered his ashes in the West China Sea.
As we walked, an unleashed husky bit my son on the hand. It took me 20 minutes to soothe him, and my fiancee was beyond furious. I had to beg him not to go over and take matters into his own hands. While he is very even-tempered, when it comes to protecting my son and me, he's like a Tasmanian devil all hopped up on a quart of Mountain Dew. The neighbors We have two neighbors who think they are all that and a bag of diamonds. One is a foreigner who is trying to buy up all the beachfront (Mr. Arrogant) and uses his Filipina gal as a front. The other is a Pinoy who is a nurse and believes he is smarter than Einstein. Other than these two, who are difficult to love, the neighborhood is friendly and serene. Well, after my fiancee calmed down a little, he demanded I go ask the Pinoy if the dog had its rabies vaccination. And so I went and asked. The conversation went something very close to this: Me: "Sir, is your dog vaccinated against rabies?" Him: "I don't know, my wife handles all of that." Me: "Well, I noticed that when your dog attacked my son you didn't say a word or offer an 'I'm sorry.'" Him: "I'm a nurse, just be sure to wash his hand with soap and water." I felt my blood begin to boil. Was I an idiot? Was I some irresponsible mother? Did he take me as a fool? Me: "Well, sir, I'll be back to ask your wife, and I hope to have an answer and see some papers. If not, my fiancee will be down and I assure you that you do not want that to happen." The neighbor nodded nonchalantly and headed back into his gate and I went home. When I told my man, he went to the closet and I knew what he was going to grab. "No, baby - don't go down there with that." (it wasn't a gun, by the way).
He sulked into his chair in front of his computer mumbling under his breath. He's not as forgiving as I am. But I understand his demeanor. And he doesn't need anything since he is six foot tall and 95 kilos - a big guy and a sportsman. The plan I cleaned the wound and applied some bacitracin. The wife never came home. My man still wants to go down there since he's calm, but I don't want him to do so because the Pinoy is a wise guy and my fiancee doesn't like that kind of sassiness. So now it is hours away from the birthday party and 20 guests or more are arriving. My son's hand is still a little swollen, but he's acting like his normal self. He does say "Mama, ow!" a few times, but he's a big joker, so I sense he is just saying things. Nevertheless, I am keeping an eye on his hand. If I cannot get any evidence from the neighbor couple, there's only two things I can do to ensure my son's safety: 1. call the police and force the neighbor to prove the dog is vaccinated; and 2. take him to the hospital for a check up or to our family physician. I don't want to be mean, but when people refuse to cooperate and act snobbish, sometimes you have to take other measures. We keep our pets away from our neighbors, even though they are as harmless as gerbils. It's just a matter of doing what is right. What would you do in the same situation?
45 comments
I'll report the insensitive neighbor to the police, they'll take care of it. Before you go to your neighbor, your neighbor should contact you, apologize and bear all the necessary health and similar expenses. To put you at ease, he should have shown his certificate if he had the vaccine. Since he did not do these things, acting in a way that he can understand is a solution, even if it is a last resort.
He brought 2 gifts for my son's birthday party but never apologized. I'll be talking to his wife this morning. My son is okay so far but I am watching him like Mother hen. Thanks for your advice.
If I remember correctly, your fiancé is a Texan, right? They don't play! So it's a good thing you held him back. Let us know what happens. I know rabies shots are very painful (in the stomach) and they cost over $300!
Yes, he is a Texan. I'll post an update when I get time. Thanks, Razor.
What a mess! I hope everything is ok now. Don't they have any card of vaccination?
She's not home again. Grr. His hand looks fine and there is no swelling. He's a happy little guy but I am checking his little hand every hour. I've done some research on it and it informed me that it is rare to get rabies but I'm not going to take any chances. Thanks for always stopping by.
Your neighbor is such an arrogant, it's shameless that a Filipino had no manners, its better if you'll report that to police, it's their fault that the dog freely roam around the neighborhood. I hope your son is okay now and hoping that the dog had no rabies.
Salamat, Chika. He's fine thus far. I know, the nerve of the guy. Arrogant.
You have a Texan for a man and that hombre with the dog is lucky he isn't nursing his eye. Hope y'all get it squared away.
He's rough, I know, but gentle with me. That guy is scared of him.
That's a good Texan!
That was so terrible if him. At least he should have shown concerned about the matter. If it's me , since he didn't want to show any concern, I will get him arrested and please don't let your husband put law into his hand because we don't know what his reaction may be due to how angry he was on the matter
So far all is well. As a Christian I must be forgiving. At the same time I am responsible to my son so I will do what needs to be done. Thank you as always for your comments.
You welcome
Your situation is a tough one to resolve. On the one hand you want to be a good, loving neighbor. On the other hand, you and your fiancé are responsible to God for your son. I trust you will balance the two, giving priority to the latter.
It certainly is. I have invited them to the birthday party in a few hours so we shall see what transpires.
Let us all know. I hope all goes swimmingly.
I plan to make a post about the party and all of the other things going on.
It's all good. I know you have a lot on your plate.
Aigoo! His terrible Ma'am.. They should take the responsibility for what happened to your son. After all they are the owner, and if only not because of their negligence, your son will never got bitten by that dog. Actually, I had a dog too. My papa always talked and trained him, especially the thing of not to bite other people and when he plays with us, it can't be avoided that he gets mad or any worst, he bite. But my papa and mama, scolded him..Hehe
I will solve this once and for all today in a responsible and loving manner. Thank you for your comment.
Dapat lang yun Ma'am uie.. Hehe..
It will all be solved today. Salamat, sis.
Kaya mo yan po.. Hehe.. Sana maayos talaga..
You're welcome☺️
Give my love to the birthday boy. I am so sad some people are like this. They think they only know everything and whatever they do, they are right. I think you should follow the two ways you mentioned because it is obvious that they are not co-operative at all.
I plan on it. Also, thanks for the well wishes. He is excited!
I have a kitten. He showed up on my doorstep one day and we decided to adopt him. From the first day we took him to the vet and we were vaccinating him every 15 days, 6 sections. It is my responsibility now, so I fulfill everything, so that I am healthy, for the health of me and my family, in addition to that of the kitten himself.
Good on you. That is what we do with our pets. It's called responsibility. Thanks, Infinity.
It's their dog, therefore it is their responsibility. They should be the ones to take your son to the hospital and pay for all the expenses. They can be held accountable if they refuse to do so.
Yes, I am well aware of the law. My fiancé's attorney is a phone call away but hopefully it won't come to that.
Did they show you the papers?? I can't understand how people can be so irresponsible. I hope your son is okay now Anyway Happly birthday to you son. May his all wishes come true
Party is just ending. My son if fine, thank God. Thanks for the concern.
First of all, the neighbor is crazy; he didn't even show concern for your son; I thought he was a nurse, shouldn't he be more concerned. You are taking it easy with him; you should have allowed the fiancee to teach him a lesson.
Surprised me too. Nurses are supposed to be compassionate. Tsk.
I'm annoyed at the Nurse who didn't even apologize for what their dog did. And why is he even not knowledgeable about their dog's vaccination? I am a vet student Ma'am and I suggest you still get your son vaccinated.
Thank you for your advice.
It's so sad that your son got beaten by a dog,I hope he recovers quickly so he can enjoy his 2nd birthday,if I were in your situation,that very moment the exact thing happened I would have called the cops to arrest the owners cuz they didn't trained their dogs.
He is doing fine, Grace and we had a wonderful birthday celebration yesterday.
That's a good thing to hear from you,I hope you never come across such experience again
Thanks, Grace. Something even better happened. People who had not vaccinated their pets heard the story and did so. Yay!
Oh that's good,I just hope they do the needful always and don't wait until something happens before they make any movement to do what's right
I agree, it is the right thing to do.
I'm sorry for what happened to your son sis. I'm a fur mom and I'll make sure that all my kids are always at home. Though they are fully injected, still I want to make sure that they are all restrain.
Great. We like animals a lot too. We take them to the vet for their shots and medicines. Every once in a while we rescue a kitten. Thanks for reading.