As you may be aware, we've been volunteering as a foster family for dogs for our local shelter. Right now, we've got Lucien here with us, who's a size larger than what we usually have - still somewhere around small-medium, but at least this is clearly "dog sized". Anyway, he's young, he's enthusiastic, he's energetic, and probably a bit bored here - there's a reason we usually stick to small doggies. No yard and having to be quiet the whole day isn't great for big active dogs.
This one was just found wandering the streets, no chip and nobody claims to know him...but he's clearly had some basic training and he wasn't abused or especially neglected when we got him.
Only downside is that he's very much one of those dogs who likes to bite towards bikers, and he can get a bit aggressive with other young male dogs - he hasn't been neutered.
So yesterday I was walking him, on the sidewalk, with parked cars between us and the street. A biker comes past, Lucien barks a bit and jumps up but I have him on a short leash so he's yards away from the biker. I stop, crouch next to him, calm him, say he's a good boy for not jumping or pulling too hard, you know, as one does.
In the mean time, the biker turned 'round on a driveway a few meters further, and bikes down the sidewalk - coming within 5 inches or so of us. Now, I still have Lucien on a short leash, but the guy comes so close that Lucien nips his ankle.
To be clear, Lucien shouldn't have bitten him, and I should've noticed the bike turning and coming onto the sidewalk and done even more to avoid him.
Having said that, I saw the wound, it didn't even break the skin. I'm sure it'll be a nice big bruise and that it hurt, but it's not something major.
Anyway, the biker insisted on the police and an ambulance, 5 people melted out of the surroundings all of whom saw the dangerous attack by the ferocious dog on the poor man, and they ganged up on me and were shouting at me.
So I called the cops, asked people to calm down, since I didn't deny anything, and just wanted to wait for the police in calm. Which, well, we spectacularly failed, because I also raised my voice - if people start threatening and insulting me and lying I have a hard time staying calm. You know, "you'll be counting your teeth on the street when I'm through with you", "it's always the same with you filthy people",....
Anyway. Of course they've filmed me screaming back at them, and the people who made physical threats all magically disappeared when the police arrived.
Lucien luckily gave a good show of being a very scared and good boy, cuddling up to the police officer, and I got to give my side of the story in peace. Police refused to make a PV out of anything, since there was no serious injury it can only be a civil case etc etc which quite pissed the other guy off, but eh. When the ambulance arrived, they told him to his face "you want to come with us for this? Why? You don't need a hospital. Any first aid post or GP could've checked this for you, you don't even need a bandaid. Just clean it a bit." which, err, also did nothing to make the other guy any happier. Anyway, since he insisted he was eventually taken away in the ambulance. Good luck for him, I'm pretty sure he was the lowest possible priority they could give someone in the ER, I hope he spent a nice couple of hours waiting.
Ambulance and whatever other costs will be on my insurance, though I doubt it'll go about our waiver so I may be out of pocket a couple of hundred euros...That's not my biggest problem though. I still have to walk Lucien every day, and I pass this guy's house every day, since he's just a few doors down from where I live, in the same street. And now when i'm out, instead of a mostly-relaxed walk where I have to pay some attention to anticipate dogs/cats/bikes/birds, I'm in a constant state of anxiety, afraid I'll miss a bike, drawing him close even when there's a bike 5 meters away, constantly looking over my shoulder to see if there isn't someone doing an illegal maneuver and coming closer to me than they should,....I had five or six fear attacks on a one hour walk, that just isn't healthy.
And you know what, of course it's my responsibility and Lucien shouldn't have nipped? But he was biking on the sidewalk, came within a foot me without a mask on, he had seen my dog and still chose to suddenly make a u-turn and not take any precautions, he escalated things by insisting on the police, not accepting my apologies or wanting my insurance info (which I all volunteered right away!), his friends were the ones yelling racist shit at me,... I feel that while he's the initial victim, he's not without blame, and it's definitely on him to have let things escalate to where they were.
It was just a very stressful instance, and I honestly think this could and should have been handled better by everyone involved. This could've been just 'accepting apologies, exchanging phone numbers, sending me a bill for the doctor the day after", but instead it was so much more. Ugh.
