So my girls and I were walking home from the dog park today and along the walk there is this house that has three bull terriers. The owner doesn't seem to feel the need to use leashes, or collars, for his dogs. Anytime we walk past the house and his dogs are outside they run up to us and I have to stop so he can come get his dogs. It is right along a busy street.


Today the little one and the big one ran up, the little one came after Journey to play but Journey didn't want to, then the big one just ran up to her and clamped down on her jaw and wouldn't let go. The next few minutes were a bit fuzzy because I was a complete wreck but the owner pulled his dog off of her and blood just started pouring out of her mouth. Blood was everywhere, honestly, and we couldn't tell where exactly the blood was coming from. He went inside and came out with gauze and peroxide so we could clean it up a bit and then I saw that the corner of her mouth has been torn. He gave me his info and said he would pay for all resulting bills, and apologized, said his dogs have been fighting a lot.... Reallly????...

She is acting fine, and it is still bleeding lightly, but I am just a huge mess. I got home and was shaking so hard I had to sit on the porch and cry.


I just don't understand why people can't respect leash laws, expecially when it is clear their dog has terrible recall. We were just walking along the street like we do everyday.....

I feel I need to call animal control and make a report about this.... maybe so he can understand that the leash is not only for his dogs safety, but also others.... clearly something needs to be done.



Her torn mouth

The other side, normal, for comparison


I was just covered in blood. This was my arm. I was wearing black pants but they were soaked too.

Oh no this is horrible! And that's a lot of blood too.
So sorry this happened to you. Have you taken Journey to a vet yet?
People really need to leash their dogs, especially when they have any type of aggression. At least he said he apologized and was willing to pay for the bills.

A friend who is a paramedic came over to look her over and I called the vet (it is after hours). They said to bring her in in the morning but most likely it is something that can't be stitched because of the location, just good to bring her in to get checked out. The worst part is that I have to leave tomorrow for a weekend orientation at my PhD program and they were to spend the next couple days at doggie day care. Normally I have a good friend watch them but she is out of state.....

This is terrible. I wish more people would take the leash laws seriously. Maybe this will be a wake up call for him that he needs to leash his dogs. It should have come to one of his dogs attacking another dog but maybe it does. Since he gave you his number i would also call and just talk about the situation with him nicely. Ask him nicely if he could start leashing his dogs, cause you dont fill safe walking now. It was nice to see also that he knew he was at fault. But before calling warden i would have a nice talk with him. But keep a record of vet bills and pictures and stuff of what happened.

Oh my God! I would be livid!!! I don't want to tell you what to do, but if I were in your situation, once he pays you, I would tell the guy that if I ever saw his dogs off leash ever again, I would call the police and report the entire incident with pictures, vet bills/statements, and documentation that he paid the bills and is admitting responsibility. Eric is probably right, you should ask nicely but I would threaten his ass. What a effing moron!

So awful. Some people are too proud to admit that their dogs aren't well behaved little angels and therefore don't need collars or leashes. At least this guy had the balls to admit fault and offer to pay for Journey's recovery. I think a lot of people wouldn't be as responsible.

I do agree that maybe when you call him have a polite discussion about the leash laws and that he needs to have his dogs tethered when outside, if not for their safety than for others' -- maybe if you frame it like you're looking out for him, "Wouldn't want to see you get in trouble if someone reports you to police or if police see you violating leash laws." Then if you see his dogs untethered again, call the police and report him.

Such a horrible situation. Hope Journey makes a quick and safe recovery!

Aww poor baby. That's a lot of blood! I would be absolutely furious. But at least the owner took a little responsibility and offered to pay, that's more than some people would do. I would try and change your route from now on if you can to avoid that house.

Speedy recovery Journey!

OMG that is terrible! Brought me to tears just imagining what this poor girl went through. I would for sure call animal control, especially since it could have been much worse! I hope she heals quickly and something is done about that dangerous dog.

UPDATE: Journey's swelling went up quite a bit so I took her back in to the vet. They found a large hole in the roof of her mouth, pretty deep. They are going to have to put her under to get a better look at it and possibly stitch it up. She will be spending the weekend at the vet so they can make sure her stitches heal up nicely They decided while they are in there they will go ahead and try to mend her torn lip even though chances are her licking her mouth won't keep stitches in long enough to heal up like normal. Hopefully with her staying in a kennel and under vet supervision she can do better.


I would change my route but I can't. His house is near the dog park, there is no way around it really.

OMG! I hope it didn't puncture her sinus cavity!!! If you have to walk by there, I think you should absolutely file a report once you get the money. Try to have him either write a check or pay the vet directly, then there is no grey area about him taking responsibility and you can prove he is at fault.

Poor Journey! I hope she feels better soon!

I am so sorry for you and Journey. Wishing her a speedy recovery!

Hopefully the guy at least sticks to his word about paying the bill and has learned his lesson. If you get the sense he is not remorseful, then I would call animal control and the police especially living close to dog park. Otherwise, if he seems remorseful and pays for journey to get better, I think it is up to you on whether to involve the authorities.

Oh my gosh poor Journey! I agree, even if he pays the damages you never know if the next dog will be so lucky, I would definitely file a report.. and I wish Journey a speedy recovery

As long as the guy was serious about what he said, payed for the cost, Journey recovers with no permanent damage, and he makes a significant effort to keep this from ever happening again (like leashing up his dogs, contacting trainers, etc.) then I don't see any real reason to contact the authorities as all they would do is take away his dog instead of giving him a second chance. If you were going to contact them anyways, why not just get it over with right now instead of waiting for the money? Waiting until he pays would really in the end only be taking advantage of him and his willingness to help/take responsibility, which if I might add is more than what could be said for most people. Also if you wait to take some form of action then there's an opening for another dog to be attacked, assuming he doesn't start leashing them of course. Obviously if he doesn't seem to be sorry or hasn't learned his lesson like techigirl said, then by all means report him! I just think that with a calm mind you could probably resolve this tragedy peacefully without the authorities and help prevent this from happening to other people as well.

I would call him and update him on the situation (since he's the one paying for the cost) and then see if you can get him to start leashing up his dogs at all times, without threatening to contact authorities. If he doesn't listen and keeps doing the same things he's always done then contacting the authorities will be a natural consequence. There's no need to tell him that as a scare tactic. (Although I guess you can tell him that, I just wouldn't use it as a threat.)

Either way, it is horrible what happened and I hope that everything will be okay with Journey.

Waiting for him to pay for damage his dogs did and he is 100% fully responsible for is NOT IN ANY WAY taking advantage of him. The purpose of waiting for the money would be to protect herself so that she doesn't get stuck with a bill for something that never should have happened.

Requiring him to take responsibility for his animals financially and legally is not in any way taking advantage. She clearly stated that the guy was aware that his dogs have been 'fighting a lot lately.'

I don't know, I mean if I was in her situation and wanted to contact the authorities I would do it sooner rather than later to prevent a repeat situation with another dog. I could also make a legal case to still get him to pay for the damage (after all he did admit fault and there's plenty of evidence) so there isn't really any advantage in waiting... At least that's how I see it.

I understand, however, I've lived through situations like this, and quite frankly, in many cases if you contact the authorities immediately you will never see the money. Sure you could make a legal case, but the time, effort and cost often times will not be worth it from what you recoup. Also, if it is only a verbal agreement, there is no proof that his dogs were actually the cause of the bite. The main reason I suggested waiting for payment is because it is actual proof that he has accepted responsibility for the bites. Then, should he not leash his dogs, and change his behavior, she has real proof that he admits culpability. Finally it will give him a chance to keep his dogs under control, if this does not happen, she has the proof to file a report, and gave him a warning that she would file a report should he not control his dogs.

This was traumatic for both of you.
I am so sorry.

I don't know if your state has a "three strikes" law, but if it does, this attack should be documented.
I would write the account now, while you remember the details.
Take care of Journey and give the owner of the other dog the opportunity to pay.
I would tell him that you are going to file the report, and let him know the consequences of not having his dogs under control in the future.
Get some Halt and have it at the ready when you pass his house.
You will know if he is following the law very quickly.

My husky #2 Tasha was bitten on the face and nearly lost her eye when we were at the beach.
It was another female husky too.
She was on the other side of the street, leashed.
We crossed over and asked the couple if the dogs could say hello.
They said, "Sure."
The other husky lashed out at Tasha and bit her face.
The couple said, "She plays rough," and walked away.
I was too distracted by the blood and Tasha's yelping to go after them and get contact info.

It ended up being an expensive weekend, because we went home early, lost the second night's hotel expense and had to go to the vet for Tasha to be sown up.

Yeah you're right, it probably isn't worth it to get into a messy lawsuit. I'm just stating that it's another alternate route if you really cared about the money. One could also in theory just call him up and record the conversation if you needed physical proof, as the odds are he would still be apologetic and admitting to the damage on the phone. It's actually probably best to do something along those line anyways even if one does wait; because like you said it's just a verbal agreement and he could simply back out of paying at any time and pretend that it never happened. Which would throw a ton of legal evidence out the window.

I don't really want to argue, I just think that if you're going to contact the authorities then it should really be done sooner rather than later. This whole thing is a giant mess though, it could've been easily avoided with some common sense on the owner's part. :/

Just going to throw in my two cents. Some states or counties require to file a report in the incident of a dog bite/attack. I'm not too well read on Mississippi's "One Bite" law, but I would at least do some research if you plan on having him pay for the bills.

What happens if you don't report it, and they attack another dog, or a person?

Also, how do you know this hasn't happened before?

Nicole I would report it to the Police and/or animal control however the law dictates. I would then discuss the matter further with an attorney. This person is offering to pay your bills to avoid any further trouble. Someone who allows there dogs free run such as this has to be stopped before someone else's dog or child or person is injured, perhaps irreversibly. Doing the right thing is not always the easy or popular thing, but that's life. My dog has had "spats" with my DIL's dog, but never any blood, this was an attack, treat it as such. My best wishes for Journey, I do hope she comes out with out any permanent damage.

Journey Update:

She got out of surgery find and is doing well. She has to wear an ecollar to prevent her from scratching her face but the vet said she "took it like a champ". They sent me a pic message this morning and promised to update me throughout the weekend since I am up in Nashville. I pick her up Monday morning. The vet did say that the hole in her mouth was deeper than her thought so he was glad he put her under and investigated further. It missed anything vital and hopefully, as long as the stitches hold long enough, she can come out with minimal damage to her mouth/lip. It's a difficult place to keep stitches in.

Shaqua is at doggie daycare and she is doign well. Apparently she prefers to play with the little dogs. I'm glad I found places that take such good care of them and understand how much anxiety I am having not being there with them.

As for the evidence, he wrote all his information on a paper and the neighbor across the street was a witness, he has to help pull the little one away (there were actually 3 bull terriers, male, female and pup....the female didn't even run up but the male and pup did. He apparently just had a litter a few months ago- something I disagree with wholeheartedly.) One thing I found odd is that he offered to give me some pain meds for her since he had some left over from the dogs getting in other fights.....which struck me as odd since he apparently doesn't respect leash laws and lives RIGHT NEXT to the dog park where no doubt countless people are likely to walk past with dogs.


I'm still a bit of a mess, I can't get the image out of my head of the dog clamping down on her and then me holding her as blood started pouring out of her mouth. .... it's really unnerving and something I can't seem to get off my mind.

Nicole, I'm so sorry this happened to you guys. I hope Journey has a quick and easy recovery with no lasting effects!

To address you first, you're going to have a really hard time for a little while with this. Whenever you're in some sort of traumatic situation like this, it takes a little while for your brain to process and you'll get flashbacks for a while. That happened to me once after a particularly traumatizing experience that thankfully had a happy ending. Feel free to shoot me a PM or hit me up on Facebook if you want.

I've been following this since yesterday and kind of hanging back, but after your last post I have to chime in. I was going to say hold off and see if he makes good of the offer to pay bills and whatnot, and then see if he takes more responsibility for the dogs in the future. When he told you he had pain meds left over from other fights, it tells me he obviously knows his dogs are prone to fighting and that he absolutely doesn't care. This means you can take his money and tell him to leash/confine his dogs until you're blue in the face, but he's never going to listen or change his ways. You need to contact Animal Control and have your neighbor give a statement as well.

I once gave a neighbor a chance to do the right thing with a loose dog issue, and it blew up in my face. I was trying to be cool and not get them cited even though the dog was an absolute menace to the neighborhood and *everyone* knew it, and I wound up getting obscenities screamed at me and accused of trying to push my problems onto her. I called Animal Control and happily signed the ticket they got   

Good to hear Journey is doing well! It will just take time and maybe you will feel better walking with someone else too. Sorry this happened to you.

Shaqua and I are home but the house feels lonely without our little Journey pup. We pick her up tomorrow at 8am. The vet sent this pic of Journey to me this morning.