Scary scary encounter

[Becka]

Sadie and I were just on a walk when, about two blocks from our house, a big black bully dog of some kind came tearing across the street, dragging a rope behind it that was tied to one of those big metal screw-anchor things, and the dog just went after Sadie. I tried to pull it off of her and hang on to Sadie at the same time, screaming at the dog to stop it, and I finally just started yelling "Help!" at the top of my lungs. I don't know why I didn't think to kick it in the head. This all happened very fast. The owner came running across the street and grabbed the dog, and apologized, and wanted to make sure we were OK, and I checked Sadie all over for cuts or bites and said we were, and then I walked home, because I was so freaked out I could barely speak. I just checked her out again, all over, and she seems fine. I am clearly still traumatized and my throat is raw from screaming. Your thoughts on what I should do next, if anything, are most appreciated.

[Cyndi, The Boys & Callie]

I'm afraid that I don't have words of wisdom, I would have panicked.  I will say that we always walk, day or night, with pepper spray.  You can buy it at Bass Pro for about $10. It is designed up so it would be difficult to realize you're not going to spray it on yourself but we took it in the woods behind the house and tested to ensure we knew how to use it. It comes with a lanyard so we just keep it with everything else we use to walk (small flashlight and red flashing light for night).  Just grab, put around the neck and we're off.   We feel like the spray gives us a little advantage (and time to get away) over the bad guys, whether they have 4 legs or 2.  So far, we've never had to use it and hope we never do but would rather be prepared if there was no other choice. 

[Anna and Achilles]

The exact same thing happened to me and my first labradoodle Houdini. I was also traumatized. I took Houdini to the vet because there were bites and open wounds. It is terrible! Take a deep breath, have a glass of wine. I am glad you are both ok.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I'm so sorry....you must have been scared to death.  I'm not too sure what you can do at this point.  Thank heavens the owner showed up and was able to grab the dog quickly.  Poor Sadie...and you. 

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

How terrifying!!! Oh my goodness. Poor you and poor Sadie. I know that feeling of panic, there is nothing like it. I'm so sorry this happened. I would definitely report the incident to the authorities. Check and double check for injuries, not just her, but you. when Sophie got attacked once i was so concerned for her and taking care of her that I didn't notice for a good 20 minutes that I was the one who got bit.

I hope more than anything that this doesn't have a long term affect on Sadie and make her afraid of other dogs. I made sure Sophie didn't develop any long term fear issues from the incident, but it did take a while for her to get back to normal.

[April and Zeke]

Does anyone know if there is a website or maybe youtube video that shows you what to do in these situations? I had something similar happen last week while I was walking my adult golden (thank goodness puppy was at home) and a boxer charged at him out of nowhere. I was terrified. I didn't see any owner around, but I shouted at the top of my lungs "Could you please curb your dog?!" sure enough the owner came out of the garage. He just kept telling me how "friendly" his dog is.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

I would like to see something on youtube as well. I hope someone knows...

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

Right now if I were you I would pour myself a whiskey. How dreadfully scary.  (maybe a little honey and hot water with the whiskey might ease your throat too) When you are a bit calmer call the authorities and report this. 

[Traci -Bexter & Maggie]

What you just described is the worst of my fears.  I am always soo worried it will happen someday when I'm walking Bexter.  I agree with the mace.  Sometimes I walk without it though, and don't think about it.  I need to be better about having it with me at all times...for times like this.  I am so sorry you had to go through this.  How horrible.  I would buy the pepper spray.  I am so glad you guys are okay.  It is so scary.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Didn't I just read a post recently that the authorities don't do anything when it's a dog attack on another dog, only if a human is involved? Maybe that is state specific. Luckily there was no physical harm done, this time.....hopefully your states authorities will do something about it but probably only a warning unfortunately.
This is so frightening and I like the pepper spray idea.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

There was a recent discussion on this issue and there is a lot of good information in it:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/how-to-handle-a-dog-attack...

I think the laws vary from state to state and county to county. In my county the law is pretty much the same if an aggressive dog attacks a human or a companion animal. 

[Leslie and Halas]

About 18 years ago, this same thing happened to my husky and I. Two Rottweilers just charged us from across the street, but only one of them attacked. I started yelling for help, and I was kicking him to get him to go away, but he wasn't going anywhere. Someone ran from their house to try to help us, and he was hitting the Rottie on the back with a shovel, and he STILL wouldn't back down. Finally, someone in a truck stopped, threw open their passenger door, and told us to jump in. We jumped in, shut the door, and the Rottie was jumping on the side of the truck to try to get to us. That nice guy drove us the couple of blocks to our house. I don't know what would have happened if he hadn't stopped. When we got inside, I called the police or 9-1-1 (can't remember which), since this dog seemed very dangerous and the owners didn't seem to be around, and they said they had 2 or 3 calls from people who saw it happen. I had to go to the ER, because i ended up with a bite that went almost all the way around my leg at the ankle. When my dad and i were at the stop sign near our house, that stupid dog ran out into the street and was jumping at the side of my dad's truck.
The police came out and found the dog at the house behind us, trying to get through their fence to go at their dog. I think animal control got there at the same time, and they were able to get one of those noose-looking things on him. Once they did that, he calmed down, but the cop had his hand on his gun the whole time. Animal control knew the dog and the owner, because he escaped his yard often. He had to stay in quarantine, because the owner said the dog hadn't had his rabies shot. The owner said the 125 lb Rottweiller chewed through their chicken-wire fence all the time, and he hated other dogs and was probably trying to kill mine.
When I got home from the ER, I noticed that Shadow had a puncture wound on the back of his leg. So he had to go to doggy ER. Luckily, it was just a hole, not a tear, and it was his only injury. He loved other dogs, but after that, he would turn around and go the other way if he saw a Rottie.
Sorry, I didnt mean for this response to be so long. It just brought back a lot of memories. If I were you, I would report it to animal control or some equivalent. A dog strong enough to pull that thing out of the ground shouldn't be attached to it. It's possible that this isn't the first time that dog has done something like this, so maybe someone else has reported him before. If ther are enough complaints, maybe someone could do something about it. Carrying mace or pepper spray is a good idea, but remember that if there's a lot of moving around, it would be really easy for you or Sadie to accidentally get sprayed, so be careful with it. I hope you're both OK, and that this doesn't have a lasting effect on Sadie.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

BTW, I am so sorry this happened to you and Sadie. It happened once to me when a Rottweiler came running out of the dark and attacked my GR many years ago. No one came to help and I finally screeched this very high pitched and weird sound that I had never made before or since! It startled the dog enough to break off the attack. So I think that an air horn or some high pitched noise maker would work. I carry pepper spray when walking Tara but the dog has to be pretty close for this to be affective. A noise maker might have a better chance of scaring the dog off before it attacks. But it was something I will never forget and is always in the back of my mind when walking Tara. She is a mini and wouldn't have any defense against an attacking dog (except ME!) Give Sadie and yourself a hug from me and TaraBear!!