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?