AAAHHH!!! I am soooo mad....

[THCdanes]

We have a 2 year old Harlequin Female named Aly. We had fostered her from a Dane rescue and ended up adopting her when she was 5 months old. She came to us with her right back leg broken in 3 different places and was pinned. We also battled Demodex for a while but she hasn't had a flare up since she has been spayed. She has always been timid and afraid of males and takes a while to warm up to other dogs. She has been doing great with socialization and has really come a long way....

Anyway, to get to the point...
Yesterday we had Aly at our Vets office to be seen for her routine yearly exam. They have a huge lobby and we were waiting to be taken back to an exam room (she is already nervous of the vets from all her previous appointments) but in walks this man with a Lab/Chow Mix (?) that is not leashed. The dog has no collar or anything but he happily followed his owner in and started walking around the lobby urinating on everything and going around and sniffing everything while the man is "checking" them in. Well Aly had immediately tried to hide under my legs when the man and his dog walked in. I asked the man if he wouldn't mind putting his dog on a leash while they were in the lobby and I went to the front desk and asked if we could be taken to an exam room as soon as possible while one of the vet techs was walking around the corner bringing a leash to the man to place on his dog. Before I knew it (I was trying to watch his dog the best I could) but his dog started attacking Aly. I immediately got in and got Aly out as quickly as possible while the man just sat there!!!!! The tech finally got ahold of his dog, leashed and muzzled him and took him to the back. Our vet came out and Aly's ear had been ripped open and she had 4 puncture wounds down her left front leg!!!
So off to the back we go to get her sedated and sutured up...
I was furious and scared for Aly all at the same time. She is now home with us and has her antibiotics and pain meds, etc. But I feel so bad for her. She was making such great progress and I know this just set everything back to ground zero.
I talked with the man and he is refusing to pay for the bill. I told him I would have get my lawyer involved (which I already contacted) and our Vet was so great that she didn't have us pay for the bill and has the bill on hold until we get things settled. The dog is now in quarantine and the man had the nerve to start cursing at me about his dog having to stay cooped up. We got into a long yelling match about how his dog should have never come in unleashed, yada yada, but it just went in one ear and out the other with him....
I don't blame our vet's office for this as they were trying to get him leashed and they have a leash policy if they are going to be in their clinic, but it happened so fast!

Anyway, just needed to vent. I hate stupid people who don't listen. Hopefully the man gets what he deserves. I will do my best to see to it that he does.
Thanks for letting me vent.

[faust]

Laws are different in each state but in Florida that was enough to get a dangerous dog label on your dog especially if there were witnesses to attest to the situation. Had someone intervened and been bitten the dog would have been pts after a short investigation. Some people really do not understand that it is as much for the safety of their dog as it is for other dogs. Had a large intact male been in the waiting room instead he could have been there collecting the remains of his dog when he turned around.

[THCdanes]

I know...I just can't believe this happened.
Just infuriates me and makes me sad for Aly.
Thanks Faust for hearing me vent.

[DaneHauler]

What a jerk! I hope Aly is ok.

[LoMax]

Whenever I have to deal with anyone like that I always think about what they have waiting for them... how suprised and shocked they will be when they get their privileged butts to the holy gate and are told that they have to catch the elevator in which the only button is one going down. He should be paying for the vet and the behaviorist (which I would be making him pay for as well) that you are hiring to talk your dog back down off the ledge. What a jerk!

[THCdanes]

I agree that he needs to pay for not only the vet bill but anything else we have to do in order to get her back to where she used to be.

Aly seems to be doing fine, but she tucks her tail everytime my husband comes up to her but once he is there petting her she relaxes and will fall back asleep.

Poor girl has been through enough in her life! And its idiots like him that got her in a Dane rescue to begin with! Thank goodness she has a loving home with us and we will do anything for her. She is the sweetest Dane!

[faust]

I just do not understand what kind of people do not think about what is around the door. I know whenever I go to the vet my leash is a foot long and Faust does not leave my side. I do not know who is in the room or what their dog has or if they are aggressive. Why take any risks.

I have had two intact Dane males and one was very calm and would simply pin an aggressive dog on its back by the neck but would not fight. He never let it get that far. He would pin and when called off he would release and walk away. Never left so much as a scratch it was strange. There was even a guy I worked with that I was very uncomfortable with that was at my house. I had had people over and he simply just kept sticking around and I was trying not to be rude. I told him I was tired and needed to get some things done before bed and I started to walk upstairs and I sat down at my computer thinking that would be a good hint it was time for him to leave without being rude. I only had one dim light on and Duke my heart dog was up there laying behind me. He quietly came up the stairs, I never heard him, and was creeping up behind me for whatever reason. All of a sudden I hear an OH! and he said Duke just bit him. I heard no growling no anything just him sitting on his ass on the floor. Duke had never even growled at anyone in his life I could not believe he bit someone. After I asked him what the hell happened he told me duke got up and grabed him around the thigh and pulled him to a sitting position and just stood there. He never broke the skin or even left any marks just sat the guy down on his ass. The guy started laughing and saying he never saw a dog that could do that. I told him it probably was time to go hom. Nice time was over.

Then I had one I was fostering that if it felt a dog was too close to me and being aggressive it was in front of me and hair raised. He only every got in one fight with a pitbull that tried to attack... one of us. We were standing together so who knows who it was going for but the boy I had grabbed it and almost killed it. The owner left quietly apologizing as his dog lunged and attacked and he already knew it was aggressive. Had I not have grabbed my dog... the moment I touched him he released. He was new younger and not in tune to my voice calling him off but my touch was enough to stop him immediately. He would have killed the other dog. But this guy had a big strong pit with chains on it and a spiked collar. He apparently did not realize that Great Danes tend to not be dogs to threats to their owners safety lightly.

I was lucky my dogs were not shy nor dominant but both very aware of me and what was happening around me. Neither would instigate anything but they would step between me and danger. Problem was too many children owned dogs and thought it was cool for them to be aggressive. Never did they consider that their dog may pick a fight it could not win or that it could put their dog in jeopardy just for trying to start a fight.

I will say that one of the best commands to teach and has been a savior to shoes, untrampled children, and the safety of other dogs is "leave It".

[earlsmom]

These are some terrible stories of some really stupid people!

[13frajja]

I hope Aly will get over this fast.

I would think that the vet would put the bill in this jerk name and go after him. Did you files a police report?

[johnsondanes]

That's awful. Poor Aly. I sure hope she gets over this quickly. I work at a vets office and it just amazes me the ignorance of some people. Unfortunately, it happens all too often. Those signs hanging on the wall that say, "All pets must be leashed and/or in a carrier at all times", certainly couldn't mean them right? Geeesh...You can't fix stupid!
So sorry that Aly had to go through that.

One day, a client's dog pulled free from his collar and I saw the look in his eyes and he went right for another smaller dog on the other side of the room. I came flying out from around the front desk and I saw I wasn't going to get there in time, so instinctivly I just leaped, face first with my arms out, like I was sliding into home plate. I grabbed that dog by the back legs and tackled it down just as it reached the other dog. The clients in the waiting room all stood up clapping and laughing and I felt like an idiot. *L*

Thank God, that was it and the dog didn't turn on me. I didn't really care at the moment though, I just knew I had to save that little dog from the big meany. I walked that dog over to the owner and told him he could wait out in his car till he could be seen, and continue to do so each time he came, until he could get a collar that fit his dog and could not slip off. I gave him the choker and/or martingale speech that I always give. Of course he looks at me like I am the dumb ass. So frustrating!

[THCdanes]

Yes, we did file a police report. We will be following up on everything today.
And our Vet said we would not be paying for the bill either way. And that the man would be paying for it once everything has been taken care of legal wise or they would just eat the bill themselves. I love my vet but they shouldnt have to do that. I told them that, but they feel bad that they didn't get that dog leashed sooner.
And Aly seems to be doing okay. Her incisions look good and she is starting to come around more with my husband.

[johnsondanes]

So happy to hear that. Yeah Aly!

I'm so glad that your Vet is being so great about it. That is really how it should be though. It's not their fault that clients don't obey the rules, but if it did happen there, it does make them responsible for it unfortunately.

[johnsondanes]

Oh, and I LOVE your sig picture!! What a handsome crew you have.

[MistyLyn]

I give you sooooo much credit, I can't even put it into words. I know that given that situation I would have probably gone after that guy and ended up in more trouble than he was. Poor Aly!! You are a great dane mommy....PLEASE post an update on not only Aly, but the entire situation. Would LOVE to see that guy pay not only the vet bills, but a HEFTY fine. Another result, if he insists on seeing it go to litigation, is that he will then have a "predatory dog" which will impact his home owner's insurance. Someone else here said it best, "You can fix stupid." And that is a damn shame.

[melisa22jo]

Oh my gosh...I'm so sorry this happened. What an awful situation and what an awful man! I was so angry after I read your post. How could he sit there, not caring and then to get angry at you?! Seriously...what was going through this head? Poor Aly. I am glad to hear that she is doing okay. Give her a hug for me. It sounds like you have a wonderful vet. And, yes, please keep us posted on the jerk.