I did not sleep much. (My PTSD brain thinks sleep is optional.) I got through work this morning. I am so used to having my dog at my side, it was weird and hard to go without her. A friend took care of my dog while I was at work because her foot kept bleeding. It has stopped, and she is being her normal bouncy self.
Animal Control came by this afternoon. There are all the normal dog attack concerns, and in my state, interfering with a service dog is an additional criminal act, even if no one is injured. So they appear to be taking it pretty seriously... maybe? I don't know. The Animal Control officer checked out my dog. She was so good with him. He even said so, but he probably says that about most dogs. He said it could have been so much worse. I agree. He told me they are going to do extra patrols to see if they can spot the dog and/or it's handler. That is surprising to me. He assured me no harm will come to the other dog if they find it. They will just seek to do quarantine for the 10 days, pay costs, and require training "so the owner and the dog can have a safe and successful future together." I like that! A bit of compassionate common sense.
A friend told me Animal Control will look really bad if another attack happens to a service dog that is more serious. That kind of stuff tends to make the papers, and if there is a record of attacks in the area, they will look extra bad.... so it could be possible they actually are taking it seriously and actually are going to do an extra patrol.
I asked the Animal Control Officer to read my letter to make sure it wasn't weird to leave it on neighbors doors, and he was totally ok with it. I'm going to wait another day before I do anything. My the current draft of the letter educates people about service dogs (stuff like - please don't pet the dog without asking) and explains why it's so important to always be able to have control over any dog, and gives resources to low cost training classes at the Humane Society in town. I didn't put anything in there about my specific disability or my name. It's just signed "your neighbor" with the number to Animal Control.
I'm trying to see this as a chance to educate people so life is easier for me and another neighbor in my building who also has a service dog, and for everyone else with dogs....
I wish my hands would stop shaking. I grew up on a farm, had to break up pig fights and various things from time to time. It wasn't fun, but it was just part of farm life. We doted on our livestock, but stuff can still happen now and then. This spooked me.
Everyone from the meeting I missed last night has been ok about it. Very understanding.
I'm headed off to a class, and I'm going to take my pup with me this time. Vet said it was ok.
We are going to walk down a different street.
