From the Styx by Peggy Tibbetts

Early Wednesday morning, June 10, Tod opened the garage door and took out the garbage. Unbeknownst to him, Venus snuck out. Just before 7:00 am we heard her barking. When Tod went outside he saw Venus in the middle of the street barking at a young man dressed in a long black jacket and black cap as he walked by. She had scared him and he stopped, which caused her to bark louder because she sensed his fear. Tod called to her and she retreated. He apologized to the young man who grumbled en español and walked on.

Venus was about 15-20 feet away from the guy. She didn’t bite him. She didn’t touch him. She barked at him. I witnessed the whole thing from my bedroom window.

At 8:00 am we took Venus and Zeus to Dogland. Afterward I dropped Tod at the office and picked up my grandkids, Hailey and Bodi. When I arrived home with the 2 dogs and 2 kids just before 9:00 am, there was a police car parked in front.

“She didn’t …” I muttered to myself.

“What’d you say?” Hailey asked.

“Oh look. The policeman’s here. Wonder what that’s all aboot.” I laughed.

As I unloaded dogs and kids, Officer Befuddle came to the door. I greeted him cheerfully.

“Did your yellow Lab get out this morning by any chance?” he asked politely.

I laughed. “Yeah. She snuck out when Tod took out the garbage. She barked at a guy walking by. She scared him. Tod was on it right away and apologized to the guy.”

He grinned and let out a sigh. “Okay. I’m just following up on a complaint about a vicious dog attack. It wasn’t that guy who complained. It was someone who said they witnessed a vicious dog attack.”

Oh yes. She did.

“So she didn’t bite anyone or anything like that?” he asked.

“Oh no.” I laughed again. “She just barked. She scared him. That’s understandable. But nothing happened.”

Officer Befuddle thanked me and went on his merry way.

“She didn’t,” Tod said when I called him.

“It must have been Mrs. Bully cuz it happened right in front of their house. The Officer said it was a witness who complained,” I said.

“I think Mr. Bully had already left for work,” Tod added.

Looks like the Bullys are up to their old tricks again. School’s been out a couple weeks so Mrs. Bully and the boys are home all day. Like toxic fracking chemicals their negative energy seeps through the neighborhood. How can people live like that day in and day out? Maybe they’re just bored and have nothing better to do than pick on us old people across the street.

In some respects this comes as no surprise. It’s a pattern. They’re always waiting for us to screw up. Like dog poo we stepped in it. Seems they’ve graduated from barking dog complaints to – say what? Vicious dog attack? Oh please. Now where would they come up with the notion that Venus is a vicious dog?

I recalled an interesting phone conversation I had with the Town Attorney Gene Duran on March 2. I had called him to request that the Town revise the barking dog ordinance to include a warning provision, require at least 2 witnesses, and address the issue of provocation.

While we were discussing my recommendations Mr. Duran said, “You should also know that the vicious dog ordinance is out of date and needs to be addressed. I will be looking at that also, along with several other ordinances that need updating.”

Here’s what Silt Municipal Code says about vicious dogs:

6.04.200  Vicious dogs–Slaying of certain dogs.
A.   If any dog bites, attacks, snaps at, or tears the clothing in an attempt to bite any person or persons, on public or private property, without provocation, or kills or injures any domestic animal, and that fact is reported to the chief of police or a member of the police department and is proven in municipal court, that dog shall be deemed and declared by the municipal court to be a vicious animal.
B.   Such animal shall be confined to the premises of the owner, possessor, custodian, or supervisory controller of the dog, and if the dog is off of the property of the owner, possessor, custodian, or supervisory controller of the dog on a required leash, it shall also be muzzled with a muzzle of sufficient strength to prevent its biting any person or domestic animal.
C.   Any such vicious dog that is found un-muzzled and running at large may be seized and killed without notice to the owner, possessor, custodian, or supervisory controller.
D.   If any vicious, dangerous, fierce, or infected dog running at large cannot be safely caught and impounded, such dog may be slain by any police officer.
(Ord. 19-02 § 1 (part): Ord. 5, Series of 1989 (part); Ord. 14, Series of 1979 (part): Ord. 36 § 13, 1963)

The 2 ordinances Mr. Duran and I discussed have yet to be updated or revised but I understand too well how slowly the wheels of government turn. Moreover it was what he said and how he said it that hit me after I hung up. Why did Duran specifically mention the vicious dog ordinance? Why didn’t he just say several of the animal ordinances in general? Why did he say “you should know”? Was he trying to tell me something? Had someone brought the vicious dog ordinance to his attention for a reason?

The Bullys had made it clear during mediation last year that they wanted us to get rid of Venus. Have they been reading my Crazy Bitch series? Were they thinking of using my blog against me to go after someone I love? Wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened.  

Some of the incidents during Venus’s meltdown which I described in the Crazy Bitch series could be interpreted as falling into the category of 6.04.200.A. However before, during, and after her meltdown, Venus was undergoing veterinary care from Dr. Cheryl Pearce at Divide Creek Animal Hospital. None of those incidents were reported to the police. In addition we have documented evidence that Venus was harassed and provoked by the Bullys and by police officers. And all of that is in the past.

On the morning of June 10 nothing happened. At least nothing that remotely resembles what’s described in the vicious dog ordinance. Venus escaped. Venus barked at a guy. Venus retreated on verbal command. End of story. To call that a “vicious dog attack” is a joke. But we already know no one in that family has a sense of humor.

This is no joke.

I’ll go out on a limb here. Let’s say that Duran was giving me a warning – sort of a heads up – that Mr. Bully was poking around in the vicious dog ordinance looking for a bone to pick with us over Venus’s meltdown. Let’s say Bully was told that the ordinance would only apply to a current incident and would require a victim or witness complaint. Let’s say Bully’s been lying in the weeds waiting for any little thing so he can blow it up into a big thing, then use the police department to harass us – again. 

The only vicious attack that happened on Wednesday came from the Bullys.

Read the Crazy Bitch series. Or click on the handy links provided on the left.

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