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It was a mistake for your daughter to run, it exacerbates the aggression. BUT that doesn’t mean she has ANY blame in the situation at all. It is a good idea to teach safer behavior such as not making direct eye contact and moving slowly.
I completely understand where you’re coming from regarding the police, but the squeaky wheel gets the grease. In my daughter’s case, I hit the same wall and every single law enforcement person in the entire county knew her since birth. Each and every one traveled the three hours to the hospital she was in to check on her and bring gifts and cards. No one wanted to take responsibility however. Ultimately it WAS the pet owner’s fault, but as I said, this was a problem dog at some point law enforcement had to step in to protect the rest of the community.
At the very least, I would approach the police department to see what their procedure is for a vicious pack of dogs roaming residential neighborhoods. If you don’t get a satisfactory answer (and an apology) I would approach one of your elected officials and let them know the situation.
I made an absolute pain of myself. After this attack, my daughter was trapped in a grocery store because there was a dog running around the parking lot. I called the police and they said they didn’t have a car in the area, which was a bold face lie because I could see one in the McDonald’s drive thru which happened to be adjacent to this store. I went to town and county board meetings (make sure you’re placed on the agenda or they can limit your time to five minutes) with the pictures they took in the hospital of my daughter before her surgery and said “this is what happens when you decide that a dog, sight unseen, is not a threat to the community and put it on the bottom of the priority list. I wrote letters to all elected officials.
The judge that presided over the criminal case for my daughter was on the county board and changes were made, but there is always ways around them. For example the town that my daughter was injured in pointed out that they pay 80% of the county taxes and no one had seen the animal control officer in town for several years. The Sheriff then made the D.A.R.E officer drive the animal control truck to the school when he put on his programs so “those complaining &@%$ can’t say they haven’t seen the animal control truck in town.”
I am so sorry that you’re all going through this. Who knows how great of an impact on your child’s life this will have. No child should have their sense of security shattered like that. Don't let them make you feel uncomfortable, they're here to protect and serve... it's their job!
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I've been married for 24 years and have four wonderful children.
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