A story from work
A few days ago, the night sergeant came up to me as I walking out of the locker room just before the beginning of my shift. "Dave, I need to you head up to this park and assist an officer with a dog that's giving him some trouble. If you can, try to round up the dog and bring him over to animal control."
Being a dog person, I figured it wouldn't be too much trouble- I've given happy dogs rides before. When I arrived, the cop was sitting in his car, the dog was tied to a lamp post, and the cop refused to get out. I sauntered over the cop's car, and he said, "Dude, be careful around that dog. I tried once to get her in my car, and I'm not going to do it again." I said sure, confident that I figure it out. The dog woofed and wagged her tail while I walked over to her, so I got down on a knee and held out a fist for her to sniff.
That fucking dog almost took my hand off. Split second change- from woofing and tail-wagging to 4-inch-fangs and roaring snarling. She lunged straight for my face. I almost fell back on my ass. I'm pretty stupid sometimes- what else should I expect from a stray pit bull mix on the northside? Anyway, I was convinced that this dog was dangerous.
I went back to the cop and said, "You are absolutely right." Then I called Sarge, who called Animal Control. It would take 45 minutes for them to get there (on call), so I relieved the cop, since he was twenty minutes from the end of his shift.
While I was talking to the cop, this teen-aged kid came out of the park building. He never once looked at me- only at the dog. He said, "She's scared," and walked closer to the dog, with the same result, except that the kid wasn't phased. The dog kept snapping and snarling at him, and he just stood there for a moment or two. Then he went back in the building.
The cop left, and I was alone, warning away people who walked to close. Then the kid came back out again, holding half a Subway sandwich. He started to walk toward the dog. I let him do it- I figured he wasn't stupid enough to get within biting distance. The dog started going bananas again, and the kid stopped a few feet out of range. He then threw a medium-sized piece of the sandwich to the dog. The dog practically inhaled it, then went back to the ferocious act. The kid just looked at her, pointed his finger at her, and said, "No, you SIT."
And the damned dog sat. I was amazed, impressed, and ashamed all at once. The kid threw her another piece of sandwich, and she quit barking. The dog ate it, and then looked up at the kid. The kid lowered his hand to ground twice, and the dog laid down on the ground and started to wag her tail. The kid then stepped over to her and let her munch the sandwich from his hand. She happily ate the rest of the sandwich while he scratched her behind the ears. Then he sat down on the ground with the dog between his legs, like I sit with my dog when I'm hugging him. He scratched her belly and played with her ears, and she rolled around like a puppy.
I felt pretty bad watching that. This kid had done exactly the right thing for this poor dog, and the dog had proven that, somewhere inside her, she was still okay. And my purpose was to wait there to have her hauled off to her execution. (No one is going to adopt a pit bull from the north side.) Still, after the kid played with her for a few minutes, the dog went right back to how she was before he came out. I didn't approach her like I did the first time, but I went far enough to see that she still wanted to rip my throat out.
I felt bad, but the dog was still dangerous- just because one teen can do something great doesn't mean that the dog can frolic with toddlers in the park. Animal Control finally showed up. The guy took one look at the dog, grabbed his restraint pole, and said, "You got a sidearm, right?" Watching this officer work was really amazing: the dog almost exploded with rage when the officer came near, but he never lost his cool. He got the loop over her head, grabbed a rear leg, and tossed her into a cage in his truck in a few minutes. Impressive as hell- I was really, really glad when the dog was secured, and even more glad that I didn't have to deal with her anymore, or keep any more 3-year-olds away from her.
The teenager came out of the building again when Animal Control arrived, and watched the whole thing. By the time I looked for him after Animal Control had left, he was gone.
Being a dog person, I figured it wouldn't be too much trouble- I've given happy dogs rides before. When I arrived, the cop was sitting in his car, the dog was tied to a lamp post, and the cop refused to get out. I sauntered over the cop's car, and he said, "Dude, be careful around that dog. I tried once to get her in my car, and I'm not going to do it again." I said sure, confident that I figure it out. The dog woofed and wagged her tail while I walked over to her, so I got down on a knee and held out a fist for her to sniff.
That fucking dog almost took my hand off. Split second change- from woofing and tail-wagging to 4-inch-fangs and roaring snarling. She lunged straight for my face. I almost fell back on my ass. I'm pretty stupid sometimes- what else should I expect from a stray pit bull mix on the northside? Anyway, I was convinced that this dog was dangerous.
I went back to the cop and said, "You are absolutely right." Then I called Sarge, who called Animal Control. It would take 45 minutes for them to get there (on call), so I relieved the cop, since he was twenty minutes from the end of his shift.
While I was talking to the cop, this teen-aged kid came out of the park building. He never once looked at me- only at the dog. He said, "She's scared," and walked closer to the dog, with the same result, except that the kid wasn't phased. The dog kept snapping and snarling at him, and he just stood there for a moment or two. Then he went back in the building.
The cop left, and I was alone, warning away people who walked to close. Then the kid came back out again, holding half a Subway sandwich. He started to walk toward the dog. I let him do it- I figured he wasn't stupid enough to get within biting distance. The dog started going bananas again, and the kid stopped a few feet out of range. He then threw a medium-sized piece of the sandwich to the dog. The dog practically inhaled it, then went back to the ferocious act. The kid just looked at her, pointed his finger at her, and said, "No, you SIT."
And the damned dog sat. I was amazed, impressed, and ashamed all at once. The kid threw her another piece of sandwich, and she quit barking. The dog ate it, and then looked up at the kid. The kid lowered his hand to ground twice, and the dog laid down on the ground and started to wag her tail. The kid then stepped over to her and let her munch the sandwich from his hand. She happily ate the rest of the sandwich while he scratched her behind the ears. Then he sat down on the ground with the dog between his legs, like I sit with my dog when I'm hugging him. He scratched her belly and played with her ears, and she rolled around like a puppy.
I felt pretty bad watching that. This kid had done exactly the right thing for this poor dog, and the dog had proven that, somewhere inside her, she was still okay. And my purpose was to wait there to have her hauled off to her execution. (No one is going to adopt a pit bull from the north side.) Still, after the kid played with her for a few minutes, the dog went right back to how she was before he came out. I didn't approach her like I did the first time, but I went far enough to see that she still wanted to rip my throat out.
I felt bad, but the dog was still dangerous- just because one teen can do something great doesn't mean that the dog can frolic with toddlers in the park. Animal Control finally showed up. The guy took one look at the dog, grabbed his restraint pole, and said, "You got a sidearm, right?" Watching this officer work was really amazing: the dog almost exploded with rage when the officer came near, but he never lost his cool. He got the loop over her head, grabbed a rear leg, and tossed her into a cage in his truck in a few minutes. Impressive as hell- I was really, really glad when the dog was secured, and even more glad that I didn't have to deal with her anymore, or keep any more 3-year-olds away from her.
The teenager came out of the building again when Animal Control arrived, and watched the whole thing. By the time I looked for him after Animal Control had left, he was gone.