Dave_Thompson
prophet
Reged: 12/19/03
Posts: 717
Loc: Spokane, Washington
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At 11AM the temp was 56 and climbing so the wife and I get outfitted for a nice two hour ride. We have a whole bunch of century and two-day rides lined up this year (wife is very efficient and organized!) so we gotta train after a long and crappy winter here. The wife is slightly slower than I, so I'll ride ahead, then come back to her then take off again. About halfway through our ride, I'm climbing a hill a couple of hundred yards ahead when I hear barking and my wife yelling. I turn around back down the hill to see a Chocolate Lab and a large Spaniel emerge from a yard (we're in a rural area) and converge on my wife. The Lab (large) takes a run at her and she yells again, this time that the dog has bitten her. I tell her to keep going and insert myself between the dogs and the wife. I'm coasting towards the dogs when the Spaniel bites me in the calf. I stop and remove my full sized tire pump and prepare to do battle, when the dogs retreat into their yard. I'm pissed and the bite hurts, but the dogs stand at the perimeter of their yard, preventing me from trying to contact their owners.
It takes about 15 minutes to get home and inspect our wounds. My wifes long tights have a hole in them from a tooth snag but there's no further damage. Me, I have 7 small punctures from the Spaniel. So I call the emergency number of our county Animal Control. When I describe the dogs and the area they live, the Animal Control officer immediately tells me their names. Apparently they are quite familiar to Animal Control. There have been more than a few complaints about the dogs running loose and harassing runners/walkers and neighbors. Mine is the first report of them biting, which changes things considerably I'm told. Now the dogs are considered potentially dangerous and the citations for that are quite expensive, in the range of $400~$500. He asks if I would be willing to prosecute, to which I say, emphatically, yes!
I go to the emergency room and get the punctures cleaned and dressed. When I return home there is a message on my phone from Animal Control saying the dogs have current rabies shots. There's a relief! I'm supposed to be interviewed by Animal Control in the next couple of days to and sign an affidavit so the County can prosecute the owners for whatever the violations may be.
So all ends well, but it sure took the edge off an otherwise very good day!.
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Steel lover, but then I like Ti with carbon too.
Licensed bike geek.
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RDP
captain
Reged: 12/18/03
Posts: 243
Loc: Kansas
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Whew....quite an adventurous and dangerous ride. Are there a lot of organized rides in eastern WA? Or are your planned rides throughout the northwest? We have no idea where we will retire to so I'm starting to think of possible locales.
take care of those wounds.
R
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It is about the bike.....BikeFanClub Forums
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Dave_Thompson
prophet
Reged: 12/19/03
Posts: 717
Loc: Spokane, Washington
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Quote:
RDP wrote:
........ Are there a lot of organized rides in eastern WA? Or are your planned rides throughout the northwest? We have no idea where we will retire to so I'm starting to think of possible locales.
take care of those wounds.
R
Thanks, the punctures were relatively shallow so no harm done. I'm still pissed at the dog owners as they apparently have received citations for their dogs before. Depending on their attitude, I'm contemplating civil charges against them. My wife is now very afraid and won't ride alone.
More pleasantly, there are a ton of organized charity/shop/club rides during the season here, usually something every weekend. We also do organized rides in Idaho and Montana, both close by. The Spokane area (we are pretty much on the border of Idaho) is really a bikers paradise. Lots of rural, light traffic farm roads, a great bike trail system and riding conditions from flats to mountains. One trail, The Centennial Trail runs 50 some odd miles through Spokane, into Idaho and terminates on the east side of Coeur d'Alene. Another trail, the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes, runs 72 miles from the Montana border and along the eastern side of Lake Coeur d'Alene. The Rocky Mountains are only a 4 hour drive from here. Winter desert riding in south central Washington is two hours away. I think you get my drift, and I'm only talking road bikes. Mountain bikes are a whole 'nother story. And fishing (over 50 lakes within a one hour drive), hunting, skiing, hiking, the whole outdoor bit.
We moved here from the Seattle area 7 years ago, like it a lot, weather is very good and the cost of living here is dirt cheap. Good quality of life. Spokane has 200,000 people in the city with another 200,000 in the surrounding area.
If you want more info about this general area, drop me an e-mail.
Dave
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Steel lover, but then I like Ti with carbon too.
Licensed bike geek.
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easypedaler
contributor
Reged: 02/08/04
Posts: 149
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Dave,
Glad to hear that your wife and you came through rather unscathed. I am always being chased by dogs. Doesn't anyone secure the dogs from adventuring into the road anymore? This can be done many ways. I got into it one day a couple years ago as I was about to crunch some lunatic dog that was after me. The owner and I got into some verbal wars.
I also had quite a good accident when a dog ran in front of me causing me to "T" him and breaking my clavicle and thumb. That one cost the owner.
I know your frustration.
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DGauthier
new member
Reged: 12/18/03
Posts: 21
Loc: Los Angeles, CA
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Sorry to hear about your trouble.
It's not the dog's fault - it's the irresponsible, careless owners. I say nail 'em to the wall, using every avenue at your disposal. It's the only way to get through to some people.
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Kahuna
Forum Admin
Reged: 12/11/03
Posts: 162
Loc: Maui, Hawaii
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Sigh.. nothing like a dog attack to ruin an otherwise pleasant day. Dave I feel for you and your wife. Been there done that I'm afraid. The last one was a couple of years ago when I got chomped on the heel by a loose poi mutt while riding through Haiku. Like you I also called animal control and when I started to describe the house, I got halfway through the first sentence when the animal control officer filled in the rest. A repeat offender it seemed. Anyway I never had another problem with that dog (i.e. owner). After that incident the dog was always chained up as per our local leash laws indicate.
While I don't carry anything with me for protection, you might want to look into something like this for your wife. I can't vouch for the effectiveness of the product, but it might be worth a try.
Take care,
-K
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Dave_Thompson
prophet
Reged: 12/19/03
Posts: 717
Loc: Spokane, Washington
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Just a quick follow-up to our canine adventures. The dog owner was issued several 'citations' by our County Animal Control, which have a collective value of about $500! His dogs have been officially labeled 'potentially dangerous'. In Washington, animal control citations are issued by the same courts that handle traffic citations, and if the animal control citations aren't paid, the person doesn't get his vehicle registration renewed when it comes due.
My wife is more afraid of dogs now than she was before, so when we see or hear dogs during our ride, I'll drop back at put myself in between the dog and her.
The bites to me were more superficial than I thought. So nothing to worry about there, though I have 7 little scabs where the teeth scraped the surface of my skin. Could make for great 'war' stories at the next ride.
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Steel lover, but then I like Ti with carbon too.
Licensed bike geek.
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RDP
captain
Reged: 12/18/03
Posts: 243
Loc: Kansas
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Thanks for the info...when we visit the Puget Sound area it seems more crowded and busier each time. I visited Spokane twenty years ago but do not remember much about the city but I do recollect Eastern Washington being beautiful, dry, and less hurried. Sounds like great biking country too.
take care,
R
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It is about the bike.....BikeFanClub Forums
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Dave_Thompson
prophet
Reged: 12/19/03
Posts: 717
Loc: Spokane, Washington
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To give you some reasons why we moved to Spokane from the Seattle area 7 years ago:
Population of Washington State approx. 6,000,000
population *eastern* Washington approx 500,000
Eastern Washington is generally considered east of the Cascade Mountains and is about 2/3 of the state.
Median cost for a single-family house in the Puget Sound region is approx $300,000, median price for house in the Spokane area is less than $140,000.
I used to be a firearm sales rep when I lived in Seattle and use to tell people "If I'm not off the road at 3:00pm, I'm on the road 'till 7:00pm". While that is a mild exaggeration, it's not far from the truth. Seattle is surrounded by water and limits where and how traffic can flow.
The air is clean here. It's quiet. The stars are bright (very little light pollution) and the weather is damn good! Many sunny days and little rain.
Shameless plug for our area: http://www.visitspokane.com/
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Steel lover, but then I like Ti with carbon too.
Licensed bike geek.
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Lon
sage
Reged: 12/20/03
Posts: 595
Loc: Pittsburgh, PA
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Well even with Dave’s story fresh in my mind I decided to help a dog running loose home. He was part retriever and other friendly type dog so I wasn’t worried. Well I got within about 2 houses of him and he charged teeth a flashing! I had nowhere to go but straight up a very steep Pittsburgh hill. Well to make a long story short I usually clump up it in my 30 x 27. I managed it in my 39 x 23 at about twice my average speed. Isn’t it amazing what fear/motivation and adrenaline will do for you?
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Dave_Thompson
prophet
Reged: 12/19/03
Posts: 717
Loc: Spokane, Washington
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Dogs and bicycles just don't seem to mix, do they?
Although last year I was doing a 200 mile three day ride, and climbing a mountain pass, when a large Golden Retriever came out of a farmhouse yard and put himself amongst us (about 30 riders) and paced us up the hill. When we crested the pass and started our descent, the dog cracked and fell off the back. The dog caught us at the bottom, and led us out to the food stop. It must have been with us a total of about three miles! At the food stop the dog, while tired, was schmoozing everyone and seemed to be having a good time. Damnedest thing I ever saw.
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Steel lover, but then I like Ti with carbon too.
Licensed bike geek.
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