Yes, YOU, with the green Dodge Neon and the vicious black dog.
Earlier today, we drove to Mervyn's to replace a sheet set that was all the wrong dimensions for our California King bed. Little did we know there would be a harrowing ordeal at the end of our destination.
We parked right in front of the store, and Lorenzo got out of the driver's seat to let Reanna out of her car seat. Lance and Troy had fallen asleep in the rear, so we decided that I would go in with Reanna while he waited in the van with our sleeping boys.
I was retrieving the sheet set when I heard Lorenzo give a surprised yell. "That dog bit me!"
"What dog?", I thought. I didn't remember hearing a bark, or even a growl. And then I saw it. A black dog, obviously agitated, sitting in the passenger side of the dark-green Dodge Neon sedan parked beside us, its windows rolled down by about six inches. My husband was staring at the beast with mixed anger and disbelief. His next words chilled me to the bone.
"That could've been Reanna..."
And I thought my knees, instantly reduced to jelly, couldn't weaken any more. I checked the bite area, relieved that there was no blood. And then I rushed into the store, breathing a prayer of thanks that my husband was carrying my daughter in his other arm. Mervyn's Guest Services quickly called the cops and paramedics, who got there in no time. They also paged the owner of the Dodge Neon, who came out of the store just when the paramedics were examining the bite mark.
She seemed more concerned for her dog that anything else. It wasn't until after one of the paramedics sarcastically pointed out that they were there to treat my husband, and not her dog, that she even remembered to ask if Lorenzo was okay.
"This dog is like my family, she has never done this before." I take that with a grain of salt. The dog was obviously troubled. You can see in these pictures that the dog chomped off a good-sized hole towards the back of Lorenzo's left sleeve. My husband didn't even know there was a dog in the next car, and he was obviously bitten after he had walked past it. This was clearly a case of an unprovoked attack, with no warning whatsoever.Now, Lorenzo and I happen to own a dog as well, and we sometimes take Spot the Pit Bull with us in our van too, but only when it's cool out so we can leave him, leashed securely to the front arm rest with the windows cracked open by a couple of inches, and he would still be comfortable. This person's car was completely parked in the shade. There was absolutely no reason for her to leave her windows wide open, especially since her dog was roaming around freely inside of it, unleashed. This was just courting trouble, pure and simple.
And then, as if to add insult to injury, she tried to downplay the whole incident. Lorenzo, a former bodybuilder, has firm, taut arm muscles, so the dog's teeth couldn't latch on to anything but his shirt. Lorenzo was fortunate, nay, blessed, that he was able to walk away from the ordeal with just a minor scratch and bruising. Even then, I don't wish to imagine what the outcome could've been had he shifted even an inch to his left.
"Oh, you can hardly see it," the dog's owner stated dismissively.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing! If it was I who had driven earlier today and I who had walked past that open window, I've no doubt my injury would've been a lot worse, given the flabby state of my arms. That dog could've bitten a chunk out of me.
Or worse, my daughter.
"It didn't even break the skin."
"Yes, but it could've been worse. A LOT worse."
"No, it couldn't!"
I could feel my anger boiling over, and I let her have it. How dare she talk that way when her irresponsible behavior could've resulted in my 20-month-old daughter being maimed for life, or even worse? I shudder to think of what could've been, had Lorenzo been carrying Reanna on the arm that was bitten.
Maybe if she was a bit more contrite and willing to admit her fault, we could've chosen not to file a case against her. But she was arrogant and haughty, and totally unapologetic. After we were assured that the dog wouldn't be put to sleep, we decided to press on with charges. Maybe after she's ordered to pay a fine for her infraction, she'll finally realize that she was at fault. As it is, it's hardly a slap in the wrist.
At least as far as I'm concerned!
