Champlaincycler

Well, it finally happened.

Going down a road I'm on 4-5 times a month. Passing a house that seems to have people in it sometimes, and then vacant for a few months and then someone new. Its at the bottom of a big hill so I usually blast by it just in case there's a dog or 2. I've outrun them there before. This time, I came the other way on a gradual climb and was about to hit the big hill when they appeared. First came 2 Burmese Mountain Dogs, which got my attention. They're pretty goofy though so I wasn't thinking that I was about to get bit, even though they were barking and chasing. Then came the 3rd dog which had that distinctive Pit Bull head and , as they say "that's when I knew I was in trouble" Long story short, I got off my bike and tried to fend them off but the 3rd dog grabbed my hand and gave me some pretty good puncture wounds. I consider myself lucky as you always hear about some dogs latching on and not letting go. This dog seemed to sense he had done something bad and backed off a bit, but he wasn't leaving and threatened some more. I think it was the pack mentality thing that made him temporarily bad.

So, the hapless owner comes running out from her garden and I tell her, you're dog just bit me (blood streaming down my hand as proof). She chases the culprit down and puts him inside. The other 2 continue to roam and bark but are getting friendlier. She comes back out and helps me to bandage my wounds enough to ride back home. Of course, I ask if the dogs are up to date on vaccines etc.
I ride home, wife takes me to the ER and I get a tetanus shot, a few stitches, some antibiotics and told that the incident will be forwarded to the Dept. of Public Health who follows up on all of this stuff to ensure all the dogs are vaccinated. Here is where it gets interesting. The lady disappears. Local Dog Warden goes by and she's not home, State Police go by the next day Ditto. Her cell phone that had been receiving messages is suddenly disconnected. I'd driven by her place on the way to the ER and took down the address and lisence plate number of her vehicle. Police run the number and seems the plate doesn't match or something. 3 days of calling and nothing. My wife played the sleuth on the internet and found some potential contacts (don't count on the police to do this). After 4 days of not finding a dog, you've got to make the choice to have rabies shots or not, so I'm a little concerned.

I called a few of the numbers that my wife found (no answers,just machines) and pretty much said that I'm ok with what happened, I'll heal and get by. But if you don't call back by tomorrow than I've no choice but to Lawyer up and sue the...... out of you because you will be found and this will cost you a lot; Lady calls the Public Health Dept. and comes clean and all is well.

So, my lesson learned is to stay right there and call 911 and have it handled on the spot. Thought I'd pass this on.

cplager

Well, that sucks. How every thing turned out well for you.

Thanks for posting.

freedomrider1

Thanks for the info. was just thinking of getting mace. Glad your ok.

BlazingPedals

It's too bad it happened in the first place, but it's also too bad that you gave her an out. That house has an owner, who is also responsible; you WOULD have found her anyway. Then you could at least save the next cyclists by making sure the dogs were destroyed. The owner may be negligent, but the animal is a weapon and needs to be neutralized.

Barrettscv 

Probable criminal dog owner, using guard dogs as protection while producing and selling, or to intentionally inflict injury. Glad your injuries were manageable.

OldsCOOL

If a dog bites someone as in an agressive attack, it needs to be put down. Bet this isnt the first bite. I'd be mad enough to bite the dog owner. She is to blame entirely.

Wogster

NEVER stop, unless you have a suitable weapon and are willing to use it, a face full of water bottle while your dropping down a couple of gears to rev up the motor, until you can outrun the dogs, is a better solution. Yeah you want to contact the police immediately, so they can take possession of the dog. The other issue is that if you decide you want to sue for medical expenses, time off work, etc. you want a police report.

BTW the proper term is bitten, making the title phrase The next time I'm bitten.....

climberguy

Sorry to hear about the bite and all your aggravation. Glad the dog owner came clean.

I'm not a dog owner, so I may be missing something, but I don't understand the mentally that it's OK to let dogs run free, even though they may bite someone. There are a couple of routes in my area that I just don't feel safe riding because of potential dog problems.

OldTryGuy

Good to read that shots are not in your future at this time.

I believe that many dog owners simply have a, my dog has NEVER bitten anyone and is very FRIENDLY so a method of restraining is not needed, mentality.

Zinger

Exactly !

No one should ever let dogs run loose in pairs anyway (or alone for that matter). They will do things in pairs or more that they would never think to do alone. This turned out lucky for the OP in that the other dogs didn't jump in on it.

Wogster

Let the local small animal control officer for your area know about any time you see a loose dog. Take a picture of the dog with your cell phone, GPS locator ON, then they know the breed and location. Loose dogs are not legal in most places and spending $300 to bail your dog out of jail, is not an experience people want to repeat. A well trained and well behaved dog will not be a problem anyway, but you never know.

In the OPs case, you know the dog owner would have been real happy to get a letter from The Law Offices of Shyster & Shyster, asking for $10,000 in medical expenses and $5 million in pain, suffering and anguish over that dog bite.... Would have served the dog owner right. The only place a dog should run free is the local dog park.

BobbyG

A year or two ago there was a house with a dog that stood at the fence and growled at me every time I rode by. He was medium size and was some sort of short-hair mix. The house was on a quiet residential side street with many modest homes. There was so much junk in this yard that it was only a matter of time before the dog figured out he could stand on a couch and jump the fence. Then one day I came around the corner and saw him in the street a block ahead, so I turned down a side street and he began to follow me. After the second block he was distracted by something else. When I rejoined my route a couple blocks on I looked back and saw (and heard) him threatening two kids standing next to their bikes. Some other adult was trying to distract the dog from the kids. I pulled out my phone and called 911 and then took a short video. I posted the video and the next morning left a note in the home-owner's mailbox with a link to the video. That was the last time I saw the dog.

Louis Le Tour

Almitie Gawd, in his/her/it's infinite wisdom, gave up PEPPER SPRAY!! Mine goes with me anytime I'm riding. It's best to get one that shoots a stream rather than a mist. Just shooting some on the street or sidewalk in front of the dog will normally make them stop and head off in another direction. If you DO spray a dog, be prepared to give a dose to the dog's owner who will surely accost you with angry words much to the effect that HIS dog would never harm anybody. Some dog owners don't want to stop with words and must be stopped themselves from attacking. Others may have a different take on this situation!

Wogster

Dogs are not the problem, it's dog owners who are the problem..... Keeping your dog tied in the yard is not only to keep harm from others, but to protect the dog as well. Yeah, the dog got out and accosted a person on a bicycle, that's one thing, suppose next time it's a Hummer being driven by someone who dislikes dogs. Suppose the person on the bicycle has a concealed carry permit, who is packing and not afraid to give your dog a case of lead poisoning, right between the eyes. The dog is probably happy tied in the yard, as long as they have a shady spot to lay down and plenty of water, the dog will be happy all day. If the owner can't be bothered to take the dog for a walk, and to the dog park to run once in a while, then the question becomes, do they deserve to have a dog?

Champlaincycler

There's not a lot of sense in arguing about the need to tie up dogs, we all get that. My lesson was about what to do when one gets loose (3 in my case) and does bite you. I was a little shaken and did not get all the information needed right then and there, or even better, called 911 and waited for the cops to show up. It was partly my fault that the whole thing dragged out for almost 4 days. The local EMT guys told me I should have called them, they'd have treated me on the scene, cops would have to have shown up and dog would have been taken away for quarantine immediately.

As for not stopping when they came out at me, I've wondered. They had already ran slightly ahead of me when I did stop, maybe I should have tried to blast through. I was at the bottom of a pretty good hill and don't think I could have done more then 10-12 mph, especially if I had to kick at them. One thing I would do is get off of the bike right away and us it as a shield. I spent too long straddling the bike and it was as I was getting off that the pit bull ran around the back side and got me. Its just that when surrounded by 3 dogs, its hard to decide which side to dismount from. At 61, dismounting is one of the hardest maneuvers for me when bicycling.

Thanks for all the replies and, again, I'm really pretty lucky that I was bitten by a pit bull and just have 4 punctures, none of which hit a tendon or major blood vessel.

Oh, one last thing. I forgot to wear my gloves that day. I'm pretty sure they would have mitigated the damage somewhat.

VegasTriker

If you are out there without a cell phone the best thing to do is to go to the nearest occupied house and have the owner call 911 for you. It happened to me a long time ago on a rural bike route. The owner was completely uncooperative so I had a neighbor call the county sheriff. When she was still uncooperative the sheriff told her he would kill the dog and submit the dog's head to the state hygiene lab for a rabies test. She complied by restraining the dog for the required 10 days but complained the dog was there to protect her family. I had the our bike club lawyer send a letter reminding her that she lived on a well-publicized bike route and that if the dog even chased any more bike club members she would be hauled into court. I never saw the dog again even though I used the route quite often.

modelmartin

I haven't encountered any dogs that posed a threat on my bike but back when I use to run I ran into a few. My approach was to turn and charge the dog yelling at it and preparing myself to kick it in the snout. They always backed off. Of course, I never ran into any really psychotic dogs.