Monday, June 25, 2007

Inevitability Pays a Visit

No humour, or what is intended to be humour, this time around.

This past Friday night, around ten or ten-thirty, we heard this screaming/yelping sound from across the street. We looked out the front window and saw three people holding a small dog, while Double Wide brought his own dog back in the house. Knowing that Double Wide's dog (DWD) wasn't on a leash, it was pretty obvious that it had attacked the smaller dog. There was some jawing back and forth, and then the group of three, a guy and two women, walked about halfway up our block. I thought about it for a few minutes and decided to go out and doublecheck with them as to what had happened. Indeed, they were walking their dog (on a leash) on the sidewalk and DWD came off the steps and attacked it. And drew blood. Not a lot, but their dog, a small poodle-cross, had blood on it's side.

I told the group about past experiences with DW and DWD, particularly that he'd been convicted when his dog went after a delivery kid. The guy told me he asked DW why DWD wasn't chained up. DW told him, "Doesn't need to be." Classic. So, the guy phoned the police (tho I told him they won't respond to that kind of complaint; they didn't) and then animal control. Nothing happened until this evening (Monday), when an animal control officer showed up. Of course, DWD was neither leashed nor wearing a collar. The front door, equally of course, was wide open, the officer had to yell to get his attention. And thus began the show.

Lots of gesticulating from both parties. I'd love to know what DW's defence was. His dog was unleashed. His dog attacked another dog that was leashed. It drew blood. There's likely a vet report and/or photos of the poodle. DW already has over a half dozen citations from various people on the block. He's been convicted on at least two of them. But, no, for well over fifteen minutes he and the officer back-and-forthed, with DW pointing at the ground, at the sky, all around. He was given a citation of some sort.

What does this mean, tho? Well, I don't know. At the very least, it'll be a $250 fine. However, given that this is the second time and it's evident that DW doesn't give a fuck about leash laws, the dog could be taken away (i.e., destroyed) or DW could be given strict conditions for keeping the dog, including leashing, muzzling, warning signs, and liability insurance. Who knows. Well, I know one thing—if the punishment is only a fine, it'll happen again.