and I welcome any leagal advice/recommendations for when I go to court.
On 9/29/06, my mom and I went for a walk with the babies in the TD and we took my big dogs with us. My dogs are really well behaved on walks, so I was just exicted to get out of the house and to get them out of the house.
As we approached a house in our neighborhood, I could see a baby on the porch in a stroller and the mom bending down looking towards her house doing something with the stroller. Then all of a sudden, this yappy little dog comes flying off the porch, dragging his leash and running around like... well, like a dog. It appeared the woman never had the leash in her hand, but rather did what I'm guity of doing and just took him out there and was going to hold onto the leash when she started to walk.
So my dogs (one rottweiler-HARMLESS dog, and one Rottweiler german shepard mix) think it's playtime and they take off. I planted my feet, but was still really week from the pregnancy and delivery (I had the babies on 9/5/06, this occured 24 days later) and they yanked me harder than I could handle. Plus, I was right on the edge of the sidewalk where her grass met it, and I got yanked by them and tripped over the ledge and into her yard.
In the split second I had to make a decision, I INTENTIONALLY let go of the leash knowing full well my dogs just wanted to play with this dog (we have 2 cats they love to play with, NOT harm!).
It was either let go, or get drug across her yard with a 24 day old c-section healing scar. And that would create a whole different set of problems.
The dogs ran around her yard chasing eachother, onto the sidewalk, back into her yard, onto her driveway, onto the sidewalk... And then, to make it all worse...this lady went running around screaming like a freaking psychotic person after her dog, which just excited all 3 dogs even more. She finally grabbed her dog and ran inside the house with him, CLOSING THE DOOR BEHIND HER!!!! And YES, leaving her 9 month or so son on the front porch. These dogs she was so clearly deathly afraid of and she leaves her freaking kid on the porch....
So I compose myself, and have already run after my dogs and get them both by the leash and drag them out of her yard and turn to my mom and say, "are you freaking kidding me, she's freaking out over the dogs and then leaves her poor kid outside???". She came outside yelling at me, "what do you expect me to do. Your dogs were out of control" And I told her, "yours wasn't on a leash either and in reality, started this whole thing". She said she was calling the cops and asked where I lived. I told her to figure it out (she was being nasty and I was walking with a triplet stroller, we had 3 huge baby announcement storks in our yard, it would take an idiot to NOT find us) and as we were walking away, my mom and I heard her call the cops and say, "yes, I've just been attacked by dogs". (WTF??? Attacked).
Low and behold, an officer showed up at my door and had my mom and I write a statement. We went into different rooms, but gave the same writen statement. The officer also told me that her concern was that her dog had been attacked before by other neighborhood dogs and she was concerned. I'm sorry, but clearly that shows HER lack of control over her SMALL dog.
I'm accountable for letting go of the leash, I MADE that CHOICE. But it also could have been really ugly involving a ripped C section scar, and ambulance and some fault on her part (not wholly, but if we are going to "go there" she has some accountability!). So I did what I thought was right.
Months go by and I forget about it, then I get a ticket...
ANIMALS AT LARGE AMC 8.09.050 (arlington Municipal Code- Arlington WAshington). I've done a search on this code and come to find out they don't have it "publically published" yet.
So I called the officer to talk to him about it. He said, "It's a really strange situation and I didn't know what to do so I referred it to the county prosecutor and they recommended this charge". And I then asked if the other party also got a ticket. I mean, I don't think EITHER of us deserved one, crap happens, nobody was hurt by the dogs... but if they are going to give me one, shouldn't she also have one since her dog really started the whole thing, by not being on the leash (my dogs pass other dogs on leashes all the time, but it was the fact that he was "free" and running towards my dogs that my dogs ran off). He said no. I had to politely hang up to refrain from saying something I regretted.
I made a request for discovery and got only my written statement. The officer makes some pretty poinant parts in his case narrative. One being
Summary: OFFICERS TOOK A REPORT OF AGGRESSIVE DOGS THAT CHARGED AT A LADY AND HER DOG. CHARGES WERE REFERRED FOR NUISANCE DOG. (Her dog came running out at my dogs and my dogs took off after her dog playing).
ARRORDING TO ALL PARTIES INVOLVED AND NO TIME DID THE TWO LARGER DOGS MAKE CONTACT WITH THE SMALLER DOG, NOR DID THEY MAKE CONTACT WITH ANYONE ELSE. DURING MY CONTACT WITH MS. XXXXXX SHE WAS VERY UPSET AND CRYING.
Now I'm in payback mode and have half a mind to call CPS on this woman. I mean, leaving your 9 month on the front porch to "fend for himsel" against huge dogs (145lbs and 95lbs) when you are so scared of them you are running around like a lunatic and run inside the house away from them... what a nut job.
What do you guys think, I'm fighting it in court, I think it's rediculious. Any advice? Anyone in law who can make some recommendations of how I approach this in court. I'm furious at this woman, if she had just had her dog on a Leash! And I've learned my lesson and can't handle my dogs right now, so I dont' walk them. Before I was preggo. I had much more muscle but don't now. However, I dont' think I deserve this ticket, nor can I afford it.
THanks for listening to the LONG vent!!!
On 9/29/06, my mom and I went for a walk with the babies in the TD and we took my big dogs with us. My dogs are really well behaved on walks, so I was just exicted to get out of the house and to get them out of the house.
As we approached a house in our neighborhood, I could see a baby on the porch in a stroller and the mom bending down looking towards her house doing something with the stroller. Then all of a sudden, this yappy little dog comes flying off the porch, dragging his leash and running around like... well, like a dog. It appeared the woman never had the leash in her hand, but rather did what I'm guity of doing and just took him out there and was going to hold onto the leash when she started to walk.
So my dogs (one rottweiler-HARMLESS dog, and one Rottweiler german shepard mix) think it's playtime and they take off. I planted my feet, but was still really week from the pregnancy and delivery (I had the babies on 9/5/06, this occured 24 days later) and they yanked me harder than I could handle. Plus, I was right on the edge of the sidewalk where her grass met it, and I got yanked by them and tripped over the ledge and into her yard.
In the split second I had to make a decision, I INTENTIONALLY let go of the leash knowing full well my dogs just wanted to play with this dog (we have 2 cats they love to play with, NOT harm!).
It was either let go, or get drug across her yard with a 24 day old c-section healing scar. And that would create a whole different set of problems.
The dogs ran around her yard chasing eachother, onto the sidewalk, back into her yard, onto her driveway, onto the sidewalk... And then, to make it all worse...this lady went running around screaming like a freaking psychotic person after her dog, which just excited all 3 dogs even more. She finally grabbed her dog and ran inside the house with him, CLOSING THE DOOR BEHIND HER!!!! And YES, leaving her 9 month or so son on the front porch. These dogs she was so clearly deathly afraid of and she leaves her freaking kid on the porch....
So I compose myself, and have already run after my dogs and get them both by the leash and drag them out of her yard and turn to my mom and say, "are you freaking kidding me, she's freaking out over the dogs and then leaves her poor kid outside???". She came outside yelling at me, "what do you expect me to do. Your dogs were out of control" And I told her, "yours wasn't on a leash either and in reality, started this whole thing". She said she was calling the cops and asked where I lived. I told her to figure it out (she was being nasty and I was walking with a triplet stroller, we had 3 huge baby announcement storks in our yard, it would take an idiot to NOT find us) and as we were walking away, my mom and I heard her call the cops and say, "yes, I've just been attacked by dogs". (WTF??? Attacked).
Low and behold, an officer showed up at my door and had my mom and I write a statement. We went into different rooms, but gave the same writen statement. The officer also told me that her concern was that her dog had been attacked before by other neighborhood dogs and she was concerned. I'm sorry, but clearly that shows HER lack of control over her SMALL dog.
I'm accountable for letting go of the leash, I MADE that CHOICE. But it also could have been really ugly involving a ripped C section scar, and ambulance and some fault on her part (not wholly, but if we are going to "go there" she has some accountability!). So I did what I thought was right.
Months go by and I forget about it, then I get a ticket...
ANIMALS AT LARGE AMC 8.09.050 (arlington Municipal Code- Arlington WAshington). I've done a search on this code and come to find out they don't have it "publically published" yet.
So I called the officer to talk to him about it. He said, "It's a really strange situation and I didn't know what to do so I referred it to the county prosecutor and they recommended this charge". And I then asked if the other party also got a ticket. I mean, I don't think EITHER of us deserved one, crap happens, nobody was hurt by the dogs... but if they are going to give me one, shouldn't she also have one since her dog really started the whole thing, by not being on the leash (my dogs pass other dogs on leashes all the time, but it was the fact that he was "free" and running towards my dogs that my dogs ran off). He said no. I had to politely hang up to refrain from saying something I regretted.
I made a request for discovery and got only my written statement. The officer makes some pretty poinant parts in his case narrative. One being
Summary: OFFICERS TOOK A REPORT OF AGGRESSIVE DOGS THAT CHARGED AT A LADY AND HER DOG. CHARGES WERE REFERRED FOR NUISANCE DOG. (Her dog came running out at my dogs and my dogs took off after her dog playing).
ARRORDING TO ALL PARTIES INVOLVED AND NO TIME DID THE TWO LARGER DOGS MAKE CONTACT WITH THE SMALLER DOG, NOR DID THEY MAKE CONTACT WITH ANYONE ELSE. DURING MY CONTACT WITH MS. XXXXXX SHE WAS VERY UPSET AND CRYING.
Now I'm in payback mode and have half a mind to call CPS on this woman. I mean, leaving your 9 month on the front porch to "fend for himsel" against huge dogs (145lbs and 95lbs) when you are so scared of them you are running around like a lunatic and run inside the house away from them... what a nut job.
What do you guys think, I'm fighting it in court, I think it's rediculious. Any advice? Anyone in law who can make some recommendations of how I approach this in court. I'm furious at this woman, if she had just had her dog on a Leash! And I've learned my lesson and can't handle my dogs right now, so I dont' walk them. Before I was preggo. I had much more muscle but don't now. However, I dont' think I deserve this ticket, nor can I afford it.
THanks for listening to the LONG vent!!!