The latest couple to move into James' house has two dogs. The dogs are in the house most of the time but occasionally they would be tethered on the south side of the house. There is a fence but it had some gaps so the dogs needed to be tied.
One Sunday afternoon in mid-April, I was walking up my driveway with my little dog, Mario.
Somebody next door untied the two dogs. Both then attacked me and my dog, in my own yard. I got two bites on my legs while Mario had a puncture wound on his shoulder.
I called Animal Control. It turned out that neither dog had been given a rabies shot so I spent eleven of the longest days ever while they were quarantined in James' house. Just to enhance the wait, the tetanus shot cost me a $25 copay and left me feeling crummy for a few days. After what seemed like forever, the public health officer, the feckless Erika Frotman (yes, the same one who can't find shit), cleared the dogs as being rabies free.
James repaired the fence to the south of the house and also around the front yard, so I thought the dog problem was solved. Then, three weeks ago a friend walked out of my house to his car on the street and here came both dogs. I told him to either get in the car or on it. He jumped on the hood while James and Jessica collared the dogs, Jessica saying all the time that they do not bite. Pants on fire.
It is set for court in August on what appears to be a civil complaint. Perhaps we'll learn then whether Animal Control is as useless as Code Enforcement and the Health Department.
Note added on Aug 20: I (at last) figured out how to access the Tampa court records. It seems that Judge Nazarettian talks a better case than he judges: The fine was only $25 (the same as the copay on Carolyn's tetanus shot) plus $110 in costs. Sigh.
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