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I went to the courthouse this morning to find the owner of the rental property where the dogs and irresponsible owners live. Next, I called the man who, with his wife, owns the house, and several others in the neighborhood. A formal report also went out in the mail to Animal Protection and Control.

We had a nice conversation after getting past the “My wife handles that stuff” part. As a landlord myself, I assured him that I understood his problem. Most likely, the owners of the dogs haven’t taken out insurance on them. In any case, any damage done by at-large dogs comes down to the responsibility of the property owner. I want to be proactive. I don’t want my horses hurt. I don’t want to get hurt and have to sue.  I couldn’t  handle more trauma to my leg. These injuries take a long, long time to heal, if in fact they do heal. All I want him (or his wife) to do is have a chat with the renters about dog responsibilities. The violations they incurred were two: dog off leash and public nuisance. Dog off leash refers to any time a dog is not restrained by a leash or behind a fence. Dogs can’t even sit on the lawn without restraint. Public nuisance refers to a dog that approaches you, your dog, or in the case last week, the horses. Ordinances are readily available for the public to access.

Our dog is properly controlled, and she is kept safe from  harm. 

If, as happened with the incident the other day, parties involved in these dangerous violations insist on not changing their ways, laughing and leaving the scene, or refusing to conform to city ordinances; I guess all I can say is remain well-insured.

 After the dog pack in the corral incident the other day, I thought the neighbors would get wise. Nope.

Less than a week after their dogs were chasing our horses and their pals next door into frenzy, I took the Wonder Husky for a walk. Suddenly, from the other side of the street, came a mass of flying fur that clipped me on my rebuilt leg. The dogs crashed into Tipper, age 12, knocking her flat, snarling and trying to bite her. I screamed. One of the dogs was the brown mutt that was in the pack.

I shouted to the young woman and her boyfriend with some unrepeatable vocabulary words. She denied being the owner of the dogs from the other day. Did they offer help? No. Did they apologize? No. They got the dogs into her Lexus SUV that Daddy probably bought her so she be safe driving home after a party and drove off. The only thing that happened was the boyfriend laughed at me as I called animal control on my speed dial and gave them the license number of the car.

When dog incidents happen on our walk, if the owner is kind and apologizes, I am usually nice and don’t press charges. This time, these idiots are going down. I have reports to file, and am finding out who owns the student rental so I can complain. I’m sure vicious, at-large dogs are not covered by homeowner’s insurance.

I carry a phone when I’m out and about. Sometimes I carry spray, which, when used could backfire. I’ll revert to taking my nine iron, I guess. The unfortunate thing is that it’s not the dogs’ fault. But you can’t use a nine iron on a person.

The other day my neighbor called to say that a pack of dogs was chasing the horses (hers and ours.)  I went outside to see. The dogs were on the run between our fence and my neighbor’s fence. The horses were madly running around.

I saw the black and white dog Border Collie enter our corral. She immediately began trying to herd Scooter and Hannah, as is the nature of her breed. She dreadfully underestimated her intended livestock. Scooter whirled around and chased the dog. When he got close to her, he reversed, and tried to kick her brains out.

Animal Control was called from my cell and I was able to apprehend the wayward dog, Jenn. Her buddies ran off. Fortunately she had a tag. The number on the tag was a Denver number, so I had to make a long distance call to someone who actually lives down the street. I left a message about her dog and said Animal Control was going to take her away.

The officer was a very nice man. By the time he arrived, the owner of the dog was on the phone crying hysterically. The dogs had escaped while she was caring for a sick dog. The officer returned Jenn to her owner, and I assume all was well.

This incident could have had disastrous consequences. My classmate, Marybeth, lives in rural Wyoming near Jackson Hole. She has a Border collie, Lacey, who goes everywhere with Marybeth. Lacey was not as fortunate as Jenn. A horse kicked Lacey in the head resulting in loss of part of her upper jaw and several teeth.

Loose dogs also kill livestock. One dog in the ‘hood was a marauding wolf hybrid who had an irresponsible owner. He and his housemate got out and had a killing spree of goats, chickens and rabbits from the north side of town to the south.

In our college neighborhood, I dread walking my dog thinking that loose dogs might harm us. I carry my phone, and special spray just in case. I have called Animal Control on the trail before, to the nasty language of the dog owner. I never knew the request, “Please leash your dog,” could lead to such foul language.

Folks, “voice command” does not exist. When your well-mannered dog escapes your control, it reverts to the wild side, and does not obey your voice command. Please keep your dogs leashed, or within the yard of your home behind a fence, as is the city ordinance here.

We were impressed with Scooter after the herding incident. He really went after that dog. I always felt Scooter would protect me when I was riding him alone. Once before, a loose dog came running toward us while riding in an open space. I turned Scooter around to face the dog, a Husky. The owner was running fast to get his dog. Actually, Scooter caught it, and detained it until the owner could catch up.

Dogs and livestock can co-exist. It isn’t the fault of the dog when it chases other animals. It is incumbent on the owner of the dog to keep it from doing harm, and to keep it safe from cars and bullets.