I just had a harrowing experience that I have to share...

I was out walking my dog today in my neighborhood when I heard the sound of 2 dogs fighting. I paused my walk and scanned the area from where the sound was coming from. I could not quite tell from which house it was coming from, but I continued to listen. The sound of the dog fight was extremely vicious. I was about to continue my walk when I heard the sound of a girl's voice screaming, "NO, STOP IT!!" That made me very alert and I continued to listen. Then, the girl started screaming and crying (over and over again), "HELP ME!! SOMEONE HELP ME!!" I thought, oh shit, this girl is getting mauled.

I ran toward the sounds and narrowed in on the house that it was coming from. The house was on the corner of the street that I live on (I have met the owner. He is a single father of 2 girls; maybe 13 and 14 years old). I peered over the fence to see the girl entangled with the 2 dogs. There was blood every where and the dogs were going at each other. The girl looked up at me and pleaded for me to help her. At that point, 2 other neighbors were running up to the house. One of the neighbors that came up was an older lady (75 years old?) who was walking her dog. She was too scared to go in so I asked her to hold my dog. At that point, me and the other neighbor charged into the house and ran through to the back door. The lady that came in with me was too afraid to go out in the backyard. So, she held the backdoor open so I could go through. (side note: When I walk my dog, I carry a taser with me because I have been attacked by dogs before.) So, I pulled out my taser, ran out into the backyard, and headed towards the dog fight. In the corner of the yard, the girl was on top of the dogs trying to hold them down. As I approached, the dogs let go of each other (so I did not have to tase them) and then I grabbed one dog by the collar and scruff and dragged it into the house. Once I got into the house, the girl left the other dog outside and then came into the house as well.

The girl was hysterical and there was blood all over the floor of their living room. Me and the other neighbor made sure that the girl was ok. Fortunately, she did not get bit (I don't know how she avoided it). We then turned our attention to the dog. The skin on its front leg was torn open (maybe a 1.5" gash?), all 4 of its paws had been bit and punctured, and there were other open wounds on its head. It had trouble walking and it finally flopped down on the floor. Me and the lady went into their laundry room and found some towels which we used to clean up all the blood from the floor and from the dog. We did the best we could, but the dog was still bleeding. Fortunately, the mess was contained as it just lay there.

The lady was trying to console the girl and asked her if she could call her dad (there was no one else home). She didn't know where her phone was so she dictated her dad's phone number as I dialed on my phone. He answered and I asked if this was Dave. As he answered, "yes", his daughter burst into tears again. I can only imagine what he felt in that split second of hearing his daughter crying and wondering what is going on. I said, "I am your neighbor and I am in your house with your daughter. She is ok. Your dogs got into a fight and your daughter cried for help." He asked about his daughter again and I reassured him that she is ok. He then said that he was on his way and hung up the phone.

Dave pulled up and came into the house to see me and a lady (that does not know) in his house, a bloody dog laying in his living room, and his daughter sobbing on the floor. I could see the gears turning in his head as he is piecing the scene together. He had this shocked look on his face, but he soon realized that everything was ok and that his daughter was not hurt. He thanked us over and over again and then me and the lady headed out.

It turns out that the dog that was left outside was a new dog and the 2 dogs had not been introduced yet. I think that Dave told his daughter not to open the backdoor to let their original dog out. While the girl was crying, she kept saying, "I thought that it would be ok if I let him out."

I always wonder what I would do in emergency situations. I paused a bit before I entered the house. There was that part of me that wondered if I should enter someone else's house. I also paused about using the taser. I questioned myself about using force. But then I remember seeing the girl's face as she pleaded for my help. That was enough to keep me going. I am glad that I was there to help.

Thanks for reading.

 

You are an awesome person. She/they are so lucky to have a great neighbor like you!

 

Good on you for helping out. It sounds like there were a million split-second justifications for not doing anything running through your brain, but you overcame them. I’d be thankful to have a neighbor like you.

 

Nice one.

I like the idea of the tazer for stopping an aggressive dog, I always figured that if I ever had to get in the middle of a dog fight that I'd need to find a branch or a length of 2x4, which isn't ideal when someone's getting shredded by a dog.

 

Not sure if want to taze an aggressive dog, that’s only 3” away from your hand……. A good walking stick like rafiki sounds like a better option

 

Carrying a small tazer on my belt would be a far more practical option than growing a(nother) beard and going full Moses.

 

I guess I’m 2/3 way to full Moses then, I just need a staff. But summer is coming and that is like a face blanket!!

 

Difficult decisions to make. Even harder, when under pressure. Good job and a fortunate thing you were there. The biggest concern I would have h, is what the dad’s reaction might be. People are unpredictable

 

Good work, all the way around.

 

Well done. That dad owes you a BBQ invite.

 

They were some sort of bull-like terriers (remember spuds mckenzie?). maybe 40 pounds a piece?
it is more of a taser. it does not shoot charges. yes, you have to be inches from the animal, but it is better than nothing. It is freaking loud though. just the sound of it scares the shit out of my dog.

 

First, you can be my neighbor any day. Thanks for doing what you did.

I've been where you are except it ended up being my dog and we both ended up at the emergency room. I was doing a friend a favor and was feeding her dog while she was away. My dog and her dog had never gotten into it until that night when we were leaving and he got too close to the food bowl (it was near the door for some reason). Her dog was a Chow mix and had very fluffy long hair. Magnus (my dog) is a short hair and had to get stitches inside his ear. Her dog's coat really saved its ass because at one point Magnus had it on the ground and was going for its throat. I pulled him off and that's when her dog lunged and bit the side of his face. As I was trying to pry them apart without punching or kicking them, Magnus bit into my hand. Hard. I thought he'd broken my thumb. He's part pit and lab and the boy can bite hard. I called his name out several times and, when he realized he had the wrong guy, he let go.

The fight lasted what seemed forever and there was blood everywhere. It really did look like a murder scene. I drove us both to the emergency room, mine first, then him. Somehow I didn't need stitches.

I'd never seen him so vicious but then again he's an animal and animals don't have reservations or decorum when they're fighting for their lives.

If I'd have had a taser I'd have definitely used it.

 

do you have a link to the stun gun you have?

 

LOL... ok.. yeah... that would do it.

 

Glad it all ended well. A guy I went to school with had a friend who’s finger was bitten off after she brought her dog over to his house unannounced. Their dogs got into a fight and she tried to break it up and lost a digit in the process! Hard lesson learned, especially for someone who’s in medical school!

 

Nicely done, it's a good thing you decided to help....

 

This is a scary situation to be in, but the sound of the girl pleading for help is all the motivation I would need to jump in.

we also own two dogs (corgis) and the female has an aggressive temperament and will attack the other one (male) if it gets too close to the doggie treats.

 

They are a heavier than you think, since they are low to the ground and solid muscle (and head). Males are 50 to 85 lbs, typically. Bred to kill... originally anyway.

I was attacked a few years ago by 2 bull terriers, a pitbull, and a rat terrier (who oddly was the pack leader). I was in a fighting rage for awhile but quickly realized I was screwed without weapons. I got in some good punches and kicks, but there was no way I could hurt them. Got bit 4 times, only 1 I still feel. Plenty of people just drove by. Luckily a guy came down the street yelling and throwing rocks and that was enough to make them disperse.

Good thing you acted! I know there is a risk, but it could have turned bad for the girl if you hadn't, and one dog probably would have been dead.

 

Good for you to help out your neighbor. I walk alone on pedestrian trails near my house and through my neighborhood with my little dog. I always carry pepper spray and a knife. On the trails it's mostly to be prepared with two legged animals and in the neighborhood we have coyotes that have been getting more agressive going after small dogs. Supposedly the pepper spray will work the same on dogs as on people. A lot of mail delivery people carry pepper spray for dogs. When I cycled I carried a spray called Halt that is formulated specifically for dogs. Usually a squirt of Gatorade in the face would get them to back off tho.

 

Great job OP. I’d be proud to call you my neighbor.

Thank you for sharing. Glad to see there are still good people in this world

 

Wow! Great job OP!

I have been in a similar situation where I had to protect my dog from another who was very aggressive. I credit Cesar Milan with teaching me how to stand up to the dog and back him down before it got physical. It would have been scary if it had gone any farther!

 

yeah, we have coyotes in our area too and I have been attacked by dogs twice while I was out walking my dog. On both occasions, I was able to fight them off, but I was lucky that I did not get hurt. On one of those occasions, an 80 pound
rottweiler was charging at me full speed. I squared off with the dog and performed a round house kick into the side of its chest. This knocked the dog to the ground and it did not get up. I was able to just walk away. Thats when I decided to get the taser. Now, I am always more alert when I walk my dog and I am prepared to defend myself.

 

LOL! Coffee just came out of my nose. It burns a little.