Miss-demeanor

[Cholbert]

Siren, my 10 month old fawn female, got herself out of the backyard (jumped a 5 ft wooden vertical slat fence going after a kitty on the other side) and barked at some people, who called animal control. Animal control couldn't get close enough to her because she wouldn't stop barking at them to see her tag, so they used that long pole and "caught" her.

They impounded her (she sort of deserved that) but they also deemed her vicious because she was growling at them. Now....she's only 10 months old, she hurt herself going over the fence (which is about 8 feet tall now - against city ordinance but I don't care), she was out by herself (normally she's always with our other dog but he can't get out and he's the boss of the two of them) and there were strangers in her yard (front yard isn't gated and that's where she was). If she is deemed vicious by a court, we have to have $300,000 vicious animal policy added to our homeowners policy, she has to be left on a 3 foot chain whenever she's not supervised, we have to have signage, etc....and if she gets caught at large again - the city will destroy her.

She's spayed, she's current on all her shots, she's licensed, etc....it's not like we're not responsible dog owners....what else could we have done except hire a dog-sitter for when we're at work? Sheesh....

What I'm looking for is any advice for court (01-06-05) on Boxer behavior, especially in relation to being scared and injured, and being a child still (in human terms she's a 6 year old for pete's sake!) and anything else anyone has experienced that might help us out.

She's an awesome dog....so pretty and so smart and 200% big love bug. Everyone that knows her is astounded by this whole thing...she's never barked at anyone, never been mean or aggressive, even to strangers, but of course that's always been with us right there. She's best friends with everyone. We've had people (even neighbors) volunteer to come be character witnesses!

Poor girl is still recovering from her harrowing ordeal - she's starting to come back out of her shell but when my husband yells at all, she absolutely cowers - which is uncharacteristic of her. Apparently the pound is a scary place!

Cyndi & her furbabies Siren & Kevlar!

 

[Evie&Adam]

poor baby!! This is just an unfortunate situation :( I would suggest that you take a couple of neighbors to court with you to testify on her normal behavior and maybe even your vet that can testify that she was injured and scared. Don't forget to mention that you made your fence higher - but not mention that its over the height limit

I hope all goes well.

 

[Cholbert]

Siren

One of the things that attracted me to this breed is how friendly every boxer I've ever met has been. Even ones confronted with loud and rowdy kids are gentle and loving and goofy....as is this dog. More kids love her than they do my miniature pinscher. It's sad to think of her being vicious...I know her and I know she was just scared, and looking for help more than anything else - sad that a person such as an animal control officer doesn't understand that about a dog. Court will be fun....it's my first ever misdemeanor ticket....I spent 8 years in law enforcement - so I know how the system works!

 

[Cami]

I would first contact the neighbors that turned her in. Was she in her own yard, just not in a fenced in location? I don't see how they can come and take your dog if it is in your yard, but then again they might not have known that it was in it's own yard???

All of my neighbors know Cami and we know all of the other neighbors dogs. We all look out for each others pets. That would be a good starting point. Let them know that she is not vicious and that you would prefer that they contact you if they see your dog out VS calling animal control.

As far as court goes. How does one deem an animal vicious? Are you to bring her with you so that the judge can see her in person? I might video tape her with your kids and let that show that she can play with them without hurting them. Hire a lawyer, it might be expensive short term but in the long run think of how much this additional insurance coverage will cost you.

Maybe you will get lucky and the judge has boxers of their own. One can wish right?

Good-Luck and keep us posted.

 

[Cholbert]

Neighbors

You're right - animal control did not know that she was in her own yard, but they chased her further into our yard to catch her. She has tags that say where she lives. So they were on our property trying to use a catch pole on her - of course she growled and barked at them. That's not hard to figure out! Our front yard is fenced all the way to the walkway, which we haven't figured out how to gate yet. We fenced the front yard because the neighbor to our left would constantly let her old irish setter out to poop in our yard. The dog never pooped in her own yard...and the dogs owner would sit out there and watch the dog do it. We asked a couple of times for her to stop letting her dog poop in our front yard, but it never stopped, so we fenced it. Our backyard is fenced all the way around with a gate. But according to the report we don't have a fence with a gate. Had the animal control officer thought about it - she would have looked at the back, which shows easily. That is why she impounded her, according to the animal control officers report....because we don't have a gate on our fence. Crazy.

As for the neighbor that reported her, we have another problem with that. He specifically came over the day that it happened when he saw my husband was home and told my husband that someone called animal control on the dog, but it wasn't them. Well, we got the report the other day, and guess who it shows called her in? Yeah...that neighbor. I sent them cookies after finding out it was them because I was devastated that she might have scared his wife or kids (wife is like 8 months pregnant), but I'm kind of mad at him for lying for whatever reason. He has our contact information, we have his...I don't know why he chose to go that route - in fact, my husband is a state trooper - so he's pretty easy to reach. For whatever reason, I am guessing that I can't count on his help if we need it.

We don't have kids, so I can't use that to prove she's not vicious. I get to just hope! It's the animal control officers word against ours. We'll see how it goes!!! Thanks for the suggestions though - all of them are giving me things to consider!

 

[Scrapper's Mom]

What about having your vet write a letter about your dog's temperament? Or having some expert, like an animal trainer or behaviorist come and testify that the dog is not dangerous. I'm so sorry that this happened to your baby. Hope everything works out okay for you and your girl. Isn't there some sort of appeal process that you can go through before the court's decision becomes final?

 

[lafsalot]

Scrapper's Mom had an excellent idea - that you get a letter from your vet certifying her sweet temperament. Our Thumper needed one before the nursing home would let her visit the residents. In addition, he could also explain that the way she reacted was reasonably normal in view of her age, and the fact that she was ceased on your property.
As for that neighbor, I would approach him and say that you "suspect" that he was the one that complained because all of the other neighbors have either written a supportive letter, and/or signed a petition in favor of your dog. If he (still) insists that it was not him, then tell him that he then should have no objections to signing a pre-written letter you have brought with you.
It is worth a try, and worked for us when one lone neighbor held up a variance for our home renovation.
Good luck, and do keep us posted ~ Cathy

 

[abradbury.5]

I think the idea to hire a lawyer is good. The tendency might be for you to get emotional (understandable), which will not serve you well in court.

I would make it clear that Siren was on her own property--which could explain her protective behavior when confronted by a stranger with a long pole. Plus, as you said, she was scared and injured.

I think a letter from your vet would be very helpful--perhaps he could even testify in court. Also letters from as many people that know Siren as possible. A trained animal behaviorist would also be beneficial because that person could conduct some personality tests on Siren to prove she isn't vicious and those results could perhaps be used to support the claim that Siren is wonderful. And perhaps having Siren there would make a difference too, if it is allowed.

Good luck! You're in a very difficult position.

 

[Cholbert]

Vet

Siren's vet is in love with her, offers everytime she's in to take her home. She's already offered to come in on Siren's behalf....thanks goodness. She's a very well-known and respected veternarian, so that will most likely work to our benefit. An animal behaviorist would be interesting, but our town is small - so I doubt we have anyone like that here. I'll do a little research to see though. Thanks for the suggestions - they really are helping. Siren's learning this week how to fetch. She's so smart she kills me. She's smart enough to not WANT to fetch! I'd love to post a pic or two of her on here, but I can't figure out how to! One of these days I'll have the time to sit down and go all through this site and do that!

 

[Cami]

Another thing I just thought of. Take pictures of your yard and gate. This will give you some leverage on the "facts" that the officers seemed to have gotten wrong.
I would also go to the neighbor that is listed as being the one who called and let him know that his name is indeed listed and if it is NOT correct that he needs to find out why is name is listed. Act like you just can't believe that they have his name down when he certainly was not the culprit!