Snout Girl Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 Last night I was walking Sally along a creek path that is near my house. We were loose lead walking training (going very slowly, but another story). The creek area is an onleash area and Sally was on her leash. We came to a blind corner and suddenly an older lady (around 50-60 I guess) came round with her two off leash small dogs (a chi and a jack russell x I think). I have been trying to train Sally to sit when other people/dogs are walking past as she tends to get a bit over excited. so far this walk we had done this 3 or 4 times and she had been doing pretty well for an over excited 10 month old border collie! anyway i move off the path and get her to sit (which she did). then the chi started moving towards her and barking and then jumped at her. of course sally went skitz, not in an aggressive way just jumping around and whining and getting worked up. I immediately pulled her away further off the path and told her no! And to sit. She calmed down a little but then the chi got in her face and started barking with teeth shown. Sally didn’t move towards the dog (i had her on a VERY short leash at this stage) but barked back. The woman, who had been half heartedly calling her dog back, suddenly flipped her lid. She started screaming at me in a foreign language with some broken English thrown in, I didn’t understand a lot of what she was saying but I did manage to catch ‘Your dog vicious!’ How she came to this conclusion is beyond me, the only thing I can think of is that Sally is a bigger dog that both of hers and has a deeper bark. Sally certainly didn’t act aggressively, just barked back at the little shi@ in her face. I hadn’t noticed before, as i had been focusing on my dog and keeping her under control, but this woman was carrying a large plank of wood. Whilst screaming, she stepped towards us brandishing the plank of wood. By this stage I am almost in the creek I have moved back that far, Sally is losing the plot with all the yelling and ‘excitement’. I quickly step around her to run away and as I move past she swings the wood at Sally! I was terrified! I didn’t stop to yell back or argue with her, I just wanted to get my dog out of there before she seriously hurt her. The woman was that worked up I truly feared for my dog’s safety. Luckily I had age on my side and could run faster than her so I took off up the path with her screams echoing behind. One of her dogs followed us for a bit barking at our heels before finally giving up and heading back to its owner. I ran for a fair distance before stopping as I was terrified she was behind us. When I did stop I immediately checked sally to make sure she was ok and discovered she had peed all over herself. Other than that, thankfully she was uninjured. I was shaking pretty bad but got the mobile out and called my partner, who didn’t answer. I then called the local police, who were very nice and took note of the incident but said without an address it would be difficult to proceed, but someone would come out “soon” and do a drive around the area to see if there was anyone matching her description. I didn’t get my hopes up, thought she would be long gone. Decided the safest thing to do would be head home, so off we went. Poor sally looked like her best friend had died, she had lost her eager ‘i’m out walking’ swagger and i was still shaking. We were almost home when lo and behold, who should i see around the corner about 200m away? Psycho wood lady with her 2 dogs. I started running hoping she wouldn’t see us, but she did. Immediately she started screaming at me again and raised the wood above her head. I couldn’t help it i burst into tears but managed to keep running until we got home. OH wanted to go out driving to find her but i just wanted a good cry and to calm sally down. It was the most frightening experience i have ever had walking either of my dogs, has really opened my eyes to the sorts of people we might encounter and has made me fearful to venture out again. If the lady had of hit sally in the head with that wood, it would of knocked her unconscious. That thought kept playing back in my mind, what could I have done differently etc. It all happened so quickly (all over in a matter of 10-15 seconds). Will be calling council when they open. Feel better after talking about it, but will not be out walking in out area for a while, will take the dogs next suburb over. What horrible, irrational, violent people reside around us. It makes me feel sick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gretel Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 OMG that is awful What a nasty piece of work that woman is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pavlova Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 I just want to cry with you, my god i can't believe there are ppl out there willing to hurt another persons dog when they own dogs of their own. I'm sorry to say this but ppl like that don't deserve to own dogs. I hope you and sally feel better soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfgirl Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 OMG what a horrible and scary thing to go through. Poor you and poor Sally Definitely report this lunatic woman to the council and hopefully they have her details and her dogs are registered Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bisart Dobes Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 I wouldn't be worrying about the council - she obviously lives near you - get some help (big and male preferably) and door knock your area until you find her address. Then I would call the police - you were threatened and attacked with a weapon ! How dangerous what would have happened if she hit you in the head and knocked you out - do you think that she would have called an ambulance and got you help - I don't think so. I don't care how old she is - do the police think she can do no damage with a plank of wood - she has no damn right to treat anyone like that - she is dangerous. As for your baby - once you have calmed down you need to get her out where there are nice people for her to talk to - at 10 months she is right in the middle of a major fear period - the worst time for something like this to happen to her - poor baby. We are in Vic and I have a beautiful big boy who loves every puppy he sees - happy to have a play date if we are close enough. PM me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawprints Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 Seriously if that were me, that lady would be wearing that effing plank around her neck. No one swings at my dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rysup Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 I think I would have stood between my dog and the lady, and told her to hit me, so then I would have cause to defend myself. There are a lot of crazy people in this world. Glad you were both ok though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 anyway i move off the path and get her to sit (which she did). I never do this. You just make your dog a stationary target for the others. Keep moving.. if nothing else it makes every encounter shorter.. .and gives you a head start! Geeze what a nut job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snout Girl Posted January 12, 2010 Author Share Posted January 12, 2010 thanks everyone, sally is none the worse for wear i think i'm the one most affected by it. pf, i thought i was doing the right thing by making her sit when others went by, teaching her manners and to stay calm etc. of course i know differently now! pawprints: i was in an area with no one else around to help and was a woman alone. there was no way i was taking this lady on. my thoughts were only for the safety of sally, not for how much i wanted to smack her in the face with her plank of wood. of course i wanted to smack her, its instinct, but the need to protect sally by getting her out of the situation was higher thanks for everyones support, will let you know how i go with council when i call in my break Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 thanks everyone, sally is none the worse for wear i think i'm the one most affected by it.pf, i thought i was doing the right thing by making her sit when others went by, teaching her manners and to stay calm etc. of course i know differently now! pawprints: i was in an area with no one else around to help and was a woman alone. there was no way i was taking this lady on. my thoughts were only for the safety of sally, not for how much i wanted to smack her in the face with her plank of wood. of course i wanted to smack her, its instinct, but the need to protect sally by getting her out of the situation was higher thanks for everyones support, will let you know how i go with council when i call in my break A nice focus on you while she quietly walks by your side is good! I've seen so many people sit their dogs only to have them jumped on or worse!! Keep moving I say.. the other dogs to tend to lose interest faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpette Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 Are you in the Northern suburbs near the Hume Hwy? If so I have a 9 month old Rotty pup who loves all other dogs, especially his own age, who would love to go for a walk with you and Sally along the creek path. Just let me know. It is so important for Sally and yourself to go for walks along the creek path again to show the BOTH of you that the majority of the time nothing bad happens. This will improve your confidence and Sally's and ensure that Sally remains calm and unstressed when walking in similar environments. The encounter affected Sally as indicated by her urination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawprints Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 thanks everyone, sally is none the worse for wear i think i'm the one most affected by it.pf, i thought i was doing the right thing by making her sit when others went by, teaching her manners and to stay calm etc. of course i know differently now! pawprints: i was in an area with no one else around to help and was a woman alone. there was no way i was taking this lady on. my thoughts were only for the safety of sally, not for how much i wanted to smack her in the face with her plank of wood. of course i wanted to smack her, its instinct, but the need to protect sally by getting her out of the situation was higher thanks for everyones support, will let you know how i go with council when i call in my break I know that would be my first instinct too, get my dog out of harm first. But the really bad PMS side of me at the moment feels like smacking her one. lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harley Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 You poor things! What a nasty lady she is. I hope you can feel comfortable enough to continue your walking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PooMother Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 What a bitch and she was the ones with dogs off lead!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aidan Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 Definitely a police matter (being threatened with a weapon, doesn't matter if she's elderly) and a council matter (an out of control aggressive dog). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra777 Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 Definitely a police matter (being threatened with a weapon, doesn't matter if she's elderly) and a council matter (an out of control aggressive dog). X2 Call the police, you have been threatened with a weapon. Personally I would have drop kicked the mad woman and her dogs into the creek, but that of course would have made it worse (assault) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arrow Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 From personal experience it seems that small, offlead dogs are allowed to do anything they like but if the larger, onlead, heeling dog reacts by barking louder and deeper, then the big dog is described as "Gee she's aggressive!" I suspect that plankwoman has had difficulty walking her dogs before and has no idea that her dogs are the cause of the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lappiemum Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 Report her to council for having two dogs off leash and uncontrolled in an onleash area. Unfortunately, they will not be interested in the fact that the woman is obviously a nutcase. However, you should request regular patrols of the area by council, to enforce their local regs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 I'd also call the police - I think they'll care more than the council. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlet Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 Definitely a police matter (being threatened with a weapon, doesn't matter if she's elderly) and a council matter (an out of control aggressive dog). X2 Call the police, you have been threatened with a weapon. Personally I would have drop kicked the mad woman and her dogs into the creek, but that of course would have made it worse (assault) I'd report her to the police and take the police report to the council. This woman attempted to assult you and your dog as well as threatened you. She may already be known to authorities and your report may make a difference to reports already made about her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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