And then I was attacked

The day after my sweet llama friend, Jagger, was attacked and killed, I was attacked by the same dogs as I walked to the mailbox in the morning before leaving for work.  By chance, I had my camera with me because I had been in my garden taking a few photos.  I caught the dogs red-handed on my property and coming towards me as I stood stock-still in my driveway.

This is what appeared from the property to the left in this photo which belongs
to the absent owners of these two dogs.  They seemed to appear out of nowhere
as I started down my driveway to the mailbox.  Can you hear the background
music from some old western??!  (Sorry I tend to make stupid jokes when I am
upset, angry, or scared.)

Close up of the dogs in my driveway.

Close up of the male dog.

I noticed the first time I looked at these photos that the female, on the right at this point, is nursing puppies!  Great, even more of them next door, and small enough to get under the fence Really Easily! You can tell that I have not moved one step in their direction.  I stood stock still.  It seems to me in this photo that they are communicating to each other that they will attack.  

They then switched positions, female on left, male on right.

This was taken seconds before the male, on the right, attacked.  You cannot imagine how quickly he
went from this position to biting my forearm.

My wounds before my visit to the urgent care center where

I received stitches and antibiotics for puncture wounds. You

can see bruises and swelling already happening in the 30 mins.

since the attack.

The animal control unit picked up the male for observation yesterday, but ONLY because he did not have a rabies tag.  In ten days he will be returned to the owner if he doesn't show signs of rabies.  If they had found the dog had an up-to-date rabies tag, he would not have been impounded, but left in the yard.  Unbelievable, right?!  How ludicrous is that?

The owners of the dogs are out of town and the dogs are on their own, except that once a day a relative of the owners comes by to check on them.  He happened to be there when the animal control came to get the male.  According to animal control, this relative's concern was if this would go to court or not.  

I confirmed this morning with my real estate attorney boss that it is not that I don't have rights, I just don't like the rights that the law gives me.  I have two choices: 1) Take care of the problem when they get on my property again, ie: poison or shooting.  (This is if I see them and hopefully before they do any more attacking.) or 2) Take the neighbors to civil court. (This could take months and expense for me. Meanwhile the dogs are still there and could attack again.)  Law Enforcement can only warn the owners because this is not considered a criminal act. They have not warned them yet, however.  My boss' gut reaction yesterday when I came to work with my injuries was that I need to shoot the dogs as soon as possible!.  When I said I didn't have a gun, he replied, Well, get one!  (Like what is wrong with you, for heaven's sake!)

Either way, I would run the risk of retaliation by the neighbors. I have no rights other than those two.  I would not take pleasure in killing the dogs.  Sorry, I just can't do that.  

In the local newspaper today, the incident report was printed:

"Animal problem. 200 block of Katy Drive.  Deputies told a woman that she has the right to defend herself and her animals after she felt threatened by a neighbor's loose dogs."

Yep, that was the incident report in its entirety. And my house is on Hwy 7.  So is the dog owners. Katy Drive is a little road that runs on one side of the owners house.  And I was not told I had the right to defend myself by this deputy constable.  Sorry, not true!  I was told that 12 years ago when I called the constable about a previous neighbor whose pit bulls were chasing my llamas in their pastures. But this deputy did not inform me of this. 

I didn't make the headline of the police report for today, however, but this did:

"MAN BLAMES HOUSE DAMAGE ON GOAT."

There was no mention of my llama being killed.  I guess my expectations are just too much, and if I am going to continue to live here, I need to continue to lower them in order to remain sane.  My attorney boss is getting noticeably frustrated with me for not accepting the reality of my situation.  It is a good thing that it is Friday, and the weekend is coming up.  I feel like I might explode!

I plan to put my photos of the incidents on a flashdrive, take them to CVS and get them printed this weekend. Then I plan to take the photos and a flyer and go door to door down Katy Drive and talk to my neighbors.  I will leave a flyer if they do not answer the door.  I feel obligated to warn them of the potential danger to their children this summer since the Authorities to do not seem to be concerned.  I will take a golf club with me.  I am told they make really good weapons.  Just ask Tiger Wood's ex-wife!  (Sorry, inappropriate humor again.)

Here at HeartSong Farm, I am once more wondering why we can't just all get along and do the right thing?