Dogs, Cats, and Other People by Matthew Margolis

Complaints about dog owners who allow their dogs to run loose are as widespread as promises from politicians. They're also as empty. As the following letter from a reader shows, it takes perseverance to bring an uncooperative neighbor and their unruly dog to justice. Perseverance and a video camera.

"I have two dogs that I walk daily on a paved, public county road. It's great exercise for the dogs and me, and it prevents many potential behavior problems, especially with our young, high-energy dog.

"One property owner allows his dogs to run loose. Years ago, 'Dog A' would run to the fence, slip under the bottom wire and bark at passersby without entering the roadway. After a few years, 'Dogs B and C' came along and joined Dog A in her territorial displays, which became more vocal and aggressive with three dogs participating.

"Over the past couple of years, Dog B escalated her aggressive behaviors, darting into the road, lunging and snapping at pedestrians, frothing at the mouth and following pedestrians for distances of 100 yards and more. On several occasions, I've gone home scraped, bloodied and bruised from falling while trying to escape harm's way.

"I attempted to talk to the dog's owner. His response: 'My dog won't hurt you. She knows to get out of the road.'

"Recently, I got fed up and contacted Animal Services. Turns out, Dog B's owners were the subjects of many complaints, but no one was willing to follow up on their complaints. Doing so would require one to submit a form that served as a citizen's arrest and required the complainant to appear in court if summoned in the matter.

"The animal services officer gave me some options, one of which was to submit the complaint form for a specific incident regarding the dog in question. If a recording of the incident was provided, a stronger case might be built to declare the dog potentially dangerous.

"Less than a week later I walked my dog, video camera in hand, past Dog B's territory.

Right on cue, the harassment began. As I was recording, the dog's owner pulled into the driveway and saw me recording the incident. I continued walking, with the necessary evidence in hand. Dog B's owner then followed me in her car and stopped me on the road to ask, 'Do you have a problem with my dog?'

"She repeatedly assured me that her dog wouldn't hurt me, told me that Animal Services had spoken to her recently about her dog, and that I shouldn't be afraid of her dog. I told her that the only judgment I could make about her dog was based on the very aggressive behavior I saw every day. I then went home, filled out the necessary paper work, burned a DVD of the recorded incident and submitted it to Animal Services.

"Over the next six weeks, Dog B remained loose and harassed me three times. The third time, I submitted a complaint, which began legal proceedings to declare Dog B potentially dangerous or vicious. We ended up in court several months later, and the dog was declared potentially dangerous.

"Dog B's owners now have a long list of requirements to meet in order to keep the dog on their property. They are subject to annual inspections by Animal Services, increased homeowner's insurance premiums and very restrictive rules on where they can take their dog."

It's hard to imagine why anyone would ignore the obvious dangers inherent in this scenario and risk costly litigation and an avalanche of financial headaches. But some people have a tendency to do what they can get away with. For the rest of us, there are video cameras.

Woof!

Dog trainer Matthew "Uncle Matty" Margolis is co-author of 18 books about dogs, a behaviorist, a popular radio and television guest, and host of the PBS series "WOOF! It's a Dog's Life!" Read all of Uncle Matty's columns at the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com, and visit him at www.unclematty.com. Send your questions to dearuncle.gazette@unclematty.com or by mail to Uncle Matty at P.O. Box 3300, Diamond Springs, CA 95619.

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