Sorry so long. A shorter version towards the bottom. I guess I'm still upset about it.

Okay this afternoon, my dog was attacked by 2 other dogs right in front of me. Thankfully my 4 small kids were not around when it happened. I was on a dirt road in the country near our property. I had nothing to defend my dog with (stick,pipe, etc.). I was afraid that the dogs would have turned on me anyway if I would have struck one of them. I was screaming at the dogs owners to stop them. They were unable to get their dogs under control for quite some time. Afterwards I was pretty upset and I was screaming at them about how it could have been one of my kids. And how I did not want those dogs back loose in the area again.

The long version:
My kids play out there all the time. The lady tells me that I don't own the roads or all the land. Of course I don't. Clearly the road is for public use but they had no business there considering all the surrounding property is ours. When I asked what the hell they were doing there in the first place, the man said they were 'running the dogs'. What does that mean? Exercising them or teaching to track down prey and attack it? I told them I had gotten their license plate # and would report them to animal control if I saw their dogs loose again. She threatened me with the same b/c my dog was loose also. I tried to put my dog in the back of the truck but it was full. Our dog is also old so I figured she probably couldn't jump into the back to begin with. I pointed out to the lady that it was her dogs that viciously attacked mine. My dog was following my truck when her dogs darted out of nowhere and attacked. When I got home, my DH went to their house to talk to them. DH said he's encountered the man back there before shooting his gun at stop signs. The man told DH he had to get his dog before he fought ours. We mention the incident to DH's cousin who lives in the same neighborhood. Cousin said that the dogs were really bad and that ppl have trouble w/them in the neighborhood. The couple's kids go over to our cousin's house to play and the kids are pretty much neglected. Her hair is matted from not being brushed, "visitors" come and go at their house assumingly sleeping w/the woman when the man isn't there, and they're supposedly "crack heads". DH tells them that if our dog needs treatment, they're going to foot the bill. The man says it may have been his dogs that attacked but it was also his dog that came out with a bloody nose. I was like 'Duh, that was b/c he had to repeatedly hit it in the nose with his fist'. His dog would'nt let go of my dog. The woman was holding the collar while her dog had mine in his mouth thrashing my dog about on the ground. My dog is an overweight Australian Blue heeler. Not a small dog to be thrashed about like a rag doll. These dogs were out for the kill not just a warning 'mark my territory' type thing.
The man told my DH that they would stay out of the our area. But I feel that's not the point. If it would've been one of my small kids or my mini weiner dog, those dogs would've killed them. I feel for the safety of the couple's small kids. It doesn't exactly sound like they're the type to make supervision a top priority w/their kids or dogs for that matter.

The short version:
I think they should be reported to animal control. I'm going to assume the dogs are used for fighting. Don't drugs and dog fighting go together?? I'm just not sure of myself to actually report someone. WWYD? I feel like I'm just waiting around for some poor kid to get mulled by one of these animals or an elder be seriously injured. My MIL raises dogs so she has a soft spot in her heart for abused dogs. She said that particular type of breed(pit bull maybe?) is illegal anyway. She thinks I should report them regardless and let animal control make the decision.

For now, it would be better to keep your kids out of the area where the dogs were. I know that they should control their dogs, but if they're as bad as you've heard, you can't expect them to behave like responsible pet owners. When dogs attack children, the results can be really horrible...my sister was attacked by a golden retriever (not even an aggressive breed) when she was little, and she had to have 400 stitches to close her throat back up, reattach her nose and eyelid, and attach her cheek to her jawbone again. It was terrible and I couldn't stop it when it was happening. I'm still scared of dogs now and I carry mace whenver I take my kids out to play in case they get attacked by a dog.

If your cousin has seen that the people's children are being neglected, she should report them. It's fairly simple and they won't tell the people that it was your cousin who made the report.

You should call animal control and report the dogs attacking yours. Use google images to look up pit bulls and see if that's what the dogs were, so you can tell animal control if they were. And if you see the people out there again, you should tell them that if you see the dogs loose on your property, you'll shoot the dogs.

What a horrible and unfortunate incident. Glad everyone is basically okay.

Pit Bulls are a much aligned and abused breed of dog.

Whether or not they are illegal in your area depends on your local ordinances.

Granted, all the dogs involved in the incident were "off leash" but your dog was set upon and didn't initiate the fight (so you have that in your favor).

Your dog was also outnumbered, possibly by a "pack" so that would also be another strike against them.

Being concerned for the safety of your children and property (sorry your dog is property) is understandable.

You should definitely call the police and animal control now to document what has happened so that WHEN those dogs run loose again a pattern of reckless behaviour has been established.... (The more they run loose, the more sanctions can be applied.)

And yes, drugs and dog fighting often do go hand-in-hand. (Does your city or county have an anonymous drug hotline.)

If everyone in your neighborhood were to call the police and complain each time an incident occurred the offending parties would soon grow weary of dealing with the police......

Whether or not you should contact child protective services is an entirely separate issue. (But usually this can be done anonymously.)

I would advise you to take photos of your dog's injuries and schedule a visit to the vet ASAP. You can't collect damages if there are no vet bills.

And you can always take the offending party to small claims court if they don't reimburse you for your dog's treatment.

HTH

Edited for typo...

. . . definitely report this incident . . . there needs to be documentation . . . could be nothing can be done this time . . . but at least the information is filed if any future issues arise (starts to build a case against what may be vicious/dangerous dogs) . . . you would never forgive yourself if a child or anyone else is harmed by these animals and you could have started the ball rolling before someone gets hurts . . .

I agree with the others, report it. Yes your dog should have been on a leash too, and you will probably get reprimanded for that, but IF that had been a child, and i mean any child not just yours, it would have been a much worse situation so do report it, if these dogs have been reported before there should be something done, if they haven't then a file will be started on them.

call the police ... report it .... get a file started.

Call immediately! And don't be too easy going, I made that mistake thinking the local dog warden would do his job and boy was I wrong! After 2 different attacks on my Mastiff/Great dane cross (dumb but sweet and loveable), the neighbors dog charged thru their electric fence and bit my 3 year old. Did not break skin, but she was upset. What do you think happened to the dog, they gave him a ticket!!!!!!!! $90! Call and raise a ruckus. The next time my neighbors dog comes over, I have taken precautions and he won't be running back to their yard.

In some areas, a dog has to have a history of bites or attacks before definitive action is taken. You should call and report the animals to get the file started, just in case your area has the same procedure.

Deanna

I agree with most everyone else here that you should report it. You need to start (or add to) a record for these dogs and their behavior and their owners' complete disregard for responsible pet control/ownership.

Yes, as peg818 said, you may be reprimanded for not having your own dog on a leash (I would just come clean with that part from the beginning and apologize) but considering the future harm these dogs could do to other dogs or other PEOPLE, I think that is worth properly reporting this incident.

I would report it, like the others said, but be very, very careful when you are in this area, and alone. Keep some mace or pepper spray with you, b/c if these people are into illegal things, you never know what will happen if you accidentally see something you're snot supposed to see. Plus, they will be pissed at you over the dog situation.

I'd make an anoymous report to the local humane society about the dogs. They investigate stuff like that.

Update:

DH says no that I can't file a report. He said these are the type of ppl that will burn our stuff down. And that we can't take the chance in ticking them off. I need to just leave them alone. So now I'm baffled. Should I file one w/o telling him? We don't have that type of relationship. I never hide or lie about things. We're a pretty honest couple w/ea. other. So I'd rather not do that. However I don't think I could live w/myself if a child was injured or killed by one of these dogs.

Is there any way you can "casually" mention it to local law enforcement? (How "small town" is your area? When I was growing up in small towns, it was pretty easy to run into the local law folks and just have a neighborly conversation.)

However, if you don't have a security system on your property to protect yoru children from mad roving dogs, I'd get one .... my recommendation is the one made by Smith & Wesson!

That's exactly what my husband said last night when I was telling him about the entire thing, that just because you and your husband are good people doesn't mean that these people are too and that you need to be careful so your family doesn't get hurt...and as much as I hate to admit it, my husband is pretty good at predicting those kinds of things.

It's a tough choice...but your first priority has to be keeping your family safe.

I understand your husband's point of view in not wanting to have these people retaliate in some way, BUT for the sake of yours and other children it definitely needs to be reported. It also sounds like they need to be reported for child neglect. If it were me and I didn't report it, I would have a hard time dealing with the guilt if something happened to a child.

OK, your hubby is worried about retaliations. But, what if you don't report it, and a child gets injured or killed by these dogs?

It's easier to replace a possession than a life.

I'm just curious (and concerned about your children). What did you decide to do?

Dh and I haven't finished talking about it yet. He feels strongly that we should not report them to animal control/humane society. Like 'Texas' said, I have an obligation to protect my own family first. So I'm going to keep my mace w/me at all times. Which I find is going to be kind of unrealistic but I'm going to have to do it until I know we're safe out there. I am looking into purchasing a video survelliance system. First, I want to see how seriously they took us about staying out of the area. Secondly, we'd have proof on tape if they came back. It's something I don't know much about. Its taking me a while to figure out what exactly I need to get to set all that up.

DH said it would be fruitless to report it. The police probably wouldn't even file a report. Then it would be my say against the man and the woman's say. So there I am outnumbered. And again my dog was loose too. I've documented everything on my end and saved it for myself if I should need it in the future. Hopefully I won't. I've got their license plate #. I thought about purchasing one of those background checks off the internet to see if they'd have criminal charges already pressed. But I don't know if they're legit.

Sounds like you don't have one, but I would be carrying my gun. I used to take it with me in the backyard until the renters next door got rid of their lunging Rotty.

One way to "report" it would be if you took your dog to the vet for a check and had them document the reason for the visit in their paperwork/chart. At least it's documented somewhere and if you need to get a copy of it for a future incident (God forbid), then it will be there for you.

you say you don't control the road. does it go fully through your property or does it dead end on you property?

if it dead ends, it's not a road, it's a driveway. You can then put up a gate, do not enter signs and have them arrested the minute they step on foot past the line!

I suggest no trespassing signs all along your property/fence line. Don't have to have a fence tho' very advisable, put up signs on trees or poles every 30 ft or so. This visible warning is necessary for you to establish that they and the dogs were trespassing and had been warned it was private property. It confines them to the road. If the dogs or they go off the road onto your property and you see it, you can have them charged.

How to properly post No Trespassing Signs

several online sources for signs:
http://www.mysecuritysign.com/MSS/No_Trespassing_Signs.aspx
http://safety-signs.compliancesigns.com/search?p=Q&srid=S10-1&lbc=compliancesigns&ts=custom&w=trespassing&uid=96060198&method=and&isort=score&view=grid&srt=48
http://www.safetysign.com/browser.asp?Subcategory=C5Private+Property&Start=0&EDI=22-15-20-27-100-193-48-163-54-49-24-126-178-198-36-177-41 << does custom versions too.

You do need vet documentation. you'll need this to show you had just cause to fear for safety of self and dog. Further, it's not then just your word against theirs but also brings in a trained professional who can attest to the severity of the attack and the potential harm it could have caused if not stopped.

and investigate have a restraining order filed.

and yes, the police report, would be good too...even if all they do is file it away and not investigate it, it's documentation for just cause in the future.

Having properly displayed warnings to not trespass and with the vet documentation of the confrontation and it's results, then the minute one of their dogs is on your property unattended and running loose, it becomes fair game under concept of defense of property and life for a visit with Colt, Remington, Glock, or Smith & Wesson, et.al.

just be sure you are properly licensed/registered and trained (and gun(s) stored properly locked, etc so no danger to the children!!!!!)

fyi: a shot gun loaded w/ a cartridge that has had the shot replaced w/ rock salt makes a very effective way to teach an animal to stay away w/out permanently harming the animal (but boy will it be SORE for days!).

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oh yah, couldn't you just file a report and not press charges? it's still documented that way, but you aren't risking the neighbors doing anything to you for it.

Put an NRA sticker on your truck too.