Let me explain.
Our house backs up to another house, and neither of us have fences. This neighbor, who we've never met and rarely even seen, decided to get a gigantic freak of a dog. They like to put it in their backyard, chained up to some weak little stake in the ground that was probably only meant to contain dogs up to 50 lbs, not 200 lbs.
Elian came home early from work yesterday to meet a guy that may do some outdoor house repairs for us. When the man was walking around our house, assessing what needs to be done, Elian noticed Evil Dog roaming freely, dragging his chain and stake behind him. The dog was going in everyone's yards, sniffing at their garbage cans, eating their trees, nosing through whatever was on the back porches. Elian decided to go knock on the owner's door to let them know their dog was loose.
As Elian walked out of our backyard, Evil Dog came right up to him, barking and NOT wagging his tail. Bad sign? Elian approached Evil Dog's yard, and the dog started jumping/standing on his hind legs, which made him as tall as Elian.
At this point, I was pretty sure I was going to be a widow at 25. I was prepared to see this dog take a significant chunk out of my husband's thigh.
The dog wouldn't let Elian pass, so he came back home, quickly. The dog followed him just as quickly. Elian got inside the house and the back door closed just in time. We decided a call to Animal Control was in order. I saw the truck drive by the dog's house 3 times, but I don't know if they actually caught the dog or not.
I am pretty nervous about taking Lexi outside now. If this dog had gotten loose the day before, while Lexi and I were taking a walk around the neighborhood, I'm not sure how I would have protected her. I would have picked her up, but Evil Dog still could have easily reached her. Maybe I need to take a Self Defense From Large Dogs class.... Do they have those?
