[mthomas58]

We have a neighbor with dogs that have been a problem for 20 years. I started with two Australian Shepards that would get loose and chase people down and crap in our yards. They chased down/ charged my in-laws and my grandkids. One neighbor has taken them to court once and another neighbor twice. We have a leash law so this is a code violation issue enforced by the County's Animal Control Office. They denied my neighbors claim that it was their dog that was off leash and crapped in his yard. He produced a photo of the dog in the act in his yard. The judge fined them $300 and they claimed they did not have the money to pay the fine (think there are divorce issues in play). The Shepards have long since replaced by a Great Dane and a mixed breed dog that is larger than the dane. Both dogs have gotten out numerous time roaming the neighborhood. The problem is with the mixed breed dog. He is aggressive towards small dogs. He attacked and nearly killed a neighbors dog while she was walking it. Spine and leg damage with $2,000+ in vet bills that I don't think she ever recovered from the owner. And she would not support efforts to have the dog put down - she is a dog lover and volunteers for the humane society.

To make a long story longer. Yesterday was my turn. While I usually avoid walking our Shih Tzu down her street I had heard that she may be selling and leaving the neighborhood so I started down her street to see if there was a for sale sign in the yard. As I turned the corner, I noticed that the mixed breed dog was in the driveway without a leash. Before I could turnaround, as soon as he saw me walking Lucy (13 years old and blind) he took off running towards me in the middle of the street. I picked up Lucy and made a bee line for house cutting through two neighbors yards with the horrific fear that I would be attacked from behind before making it inside the house, but somehow I made it. After the adrenaline and fear subsided, the pissed off kicked in. I called the police to file and incident report and Animal Control to file a code violation report and will be taking her to court as I feel an obligation the the neighbors to deal with this unsafe situation. My objective will be to have the dog removed from the neighborhood.