Well, my worst fear materialized yesterday. I was riding my road bicycle in a semi-rural neighborhood when I saw a group of shepherd-mix dogs in the front yard of a mobile home. The pack had already seen me coming and started heading my way.
Being on an uphill grade, I assessed the situation and realized that I would not be able to outrun the dogs, so I dismounted to take a stand against the pack.
The dogs trotted aggressively toward me, hackles up, heads lowered, and teeth bared. As I placed my bike in between them and me, I shouted repeatedly, as loudly and aggressively as I could, "Get out of here!" Growling, the dogs attempted to encircle me.
Keep in mind, I am in cycling attire, including Shimano cycling shoes that have cleats mounted on the soles in order to clip into the bike's pedals. If you've ever worn a pair of these shoes, you know that they are difficult even to walk in, let alone adopt a fighting stance on rough, off-camber pavement against a pack of junkyard dogs!
Thankfully, as I yelled at the dogs and swung my bicycle around at them forcefully, they backed down and eventually retreated. I think it helped that I'm not a small guy (6'2" 180 lbs) and I can yell pretty mean when I need to.
This could have been pretty bad. I have no doubt that the dogs would have attacked, had I not seen them and been able to dismount and face them. Or, if a kid or older person, or a woman, would have ridden by, I feel sure that these dogs would have attacked. Actually, it is only by the grace of God that I wasn't bitten.
I came back in my truck later to verify the address so I could file a complaint, and took some photos. The dogs charged my truck when I stopped at the base of the driveway:
Some of you may recall my other thread a few weeks ago, in which I described another attack by a lone dog which actually did bite me. In a way I'm glad that happened before this incident, because, this time, I knew I had to stand my ground. If I jadnt, I would have been attacked.
An officer came out and took my report. He didn't write it down, but said he had notified animal control. He said he was going to have a word with the owner. I said I would like to see the owner cited. The officer said he would likely issue a warning for the first complaint.
I'm going to call tomorrow and make sure a complaint is on file with animal control. If something is not done, someone is going to be attacked.
Being on an uphill grade, I assessed the situation and realized that I would not be able to outrun the dogs, so I dismounted to take a stand against the pack.
The dogs trotted aggressively toward me, hackles up, heads lowered, and teeth bared. As I placed my bike in between them and me, I shouted repeatedly, as loudly and aggressively as I could, "Get out of here!" Growling, the dogs attempted to encircle me.
Keep in mind, I am in cycling attire, including Shimano cycling shoes that have cleats mounted on the soles in order to clip into the bike's pedals. If you've ever worn a pair of these shoes, you know that they are difficult even to walk in, let alone adopt a fighting stance on rough, off-camber pavement against a pack of junkyard dogs!
Thankfully, as I yelled at the dogs and swung my bicycle around at them forcefully, they backed down and eventually retreated. I think it helped that I'm not a small guy (6'2" 180 lbs) and I can yell pretty mean when I need to.
This could have been pretty bad. I have no doubt that the dogs would have attacked, had I not seen them and been able to dismount and face them. Or, if a kid or older person, or a woman, would have ridden by, I feel sure that these dogs would have attacked. Actually, it is only by the grace of God that I wasn't bitten.
I came back in my truck later to verify the address so I could file a complaint, and took some photos. The dogs charged my truck when I stopped at the base of the driveway:
Some of you may recall my other thread a few weeks ago, in which I described another attack by a lone dog which actually did bite me. In a way I'm glad that happened before this incident, because, this time, I knew I had to stand my ground. If I jadnt, I would have been attacked.
An officer came out and took my report. He didn't write it down, but said he had notified animal control. He said he was going to have a word with the owner. I said I would like to see the owner cited. The officer said he would likely issue a warning for the first complaint.
I'm going to call tomorrow and make sure a complaint is on file with animal control. If something is not done, someone is going to be attacked.