I have only been bitten by a dog twice in my life. Once when I was about ten years old, the other last month.
We were preparing to replace a deck that had been torn from a house by a falling tree in one of our windy winter storms. I usually go to the surrounding neighbors to let them know we’ll be in the area and to call me if they have any concerns about parking, debris or noise during construction. We pass out a marketing letter we call our Debris Letter. It’s actual purpose is to see if they want any work done while we are in their neighborhood.
I started up the next door neighbor’s driveway and heard a hound dog bark, followed by the hound dog charging down the driveway towards me. He stood in front of me barking and growling and I knew with certainty I would be bit. I didn’t want to be bit in the hands, so I held them up. And I didn’t want to be bit in the ass, so I didn’t turn around. The moment I took a small step backwards he lunged and got me in the left thigh. Did he break skin? Yep, a good deep puncture wound.
I left a card and note on the owner’s truck, parked on the street. He called me shortly thereafter. What an asshole! He was as aggressive as his hound dog. I told him to put up a Beware of Dog sign warning that his unleashed dog would bite. Obviously I never would have walked up the driveway had there been a warning sign. To which he informed me that he could probably “get me for trespassing”. Huh? Apparently he expected to get sued, so he was already on the attack. He went on to tell me that he had little kids that needed protection. Pity the small kids who come over there to play at face level!
I was sorely tempted to report his dog to the local SPCA who would have quarantined the dog, fined the owner and forced them to keep the dog leashed. I was never tempted to sue, that’s not my way.
Eventually, a Beware of Dog sign popped up on his driveway. He’d called several times to see if I was OK and mostly to make sure I really was not going to sue him.
Meanwhile I was trying to find a way to remove this gigantic tree and root ball which had fallen over and crushed the deck. The insurance company was only willing to pay $1,300 and I could not find anybody to remove it for that price. I hate losing money on even one item, so I was in a funk about how much it was going to cost out of my pocket above the $1300 from the insurance claim. Lo and Behold the neighbor with the biting dog called me one afternoon and told me he had a front loader and dump truck at his house that day and did I want to pay him to remove the tree and root ball?
“Well, sure, how much?” I asked “How about $600?” he asked. “Uh, well, I guess that would work” I told him. Quietly jumping up and down in my office on the other end of the phone line.
So a dog bite is worth $700.
We were preparing to replace a deck that had been torn from a house by a falling tree in one of our windy winter storms. I usually go to the surrounding neighbors to let them know we’ll be in the area and to call me if they have any concerns about parking, debris or noise during construction. We pass out a marketing letter we call our Debris Letter. It’s actual purpose is to see if they want any work done while we are in their neighborhood.
I started up the next door neighbor’s driveway and heard a hound dog bark, followed by the hound dog charging down the driveway towards me. He stood in front of me barking and growling and I knew with certainty I would be bit. I didn’t want to be bit in the hands, so I held them up. And I didn’t want to be bit in the ass, so I didn’t turn around. The moment I took a small step backwards he lunged and got me in the left thigh. Did he break skin? Yep, a good deep puncture wound.
I left a card and note on the owner’s truck, parked on the street. He called me shortly thereafter. What an asshole! He was as aggressive as his hound dog. I told him to put up a Beware of Dog sign warning that his unleashed dog would bite. Obviously I never would have walked up the driveway had there been a warning sign. To which he informed me that he could probably “get me for trespassing”. Huh? Apparently he expected to get sued, so he was already on the attack. He went on to tell me that he had little kids that needed protection. Pity the small kids who come over there to play at face level!
I was sorely tempted to report his dog to the local SPCA who would have quarantined the dog, fined the owner and forced them to keep the dog leashed. I was never tempted to sue, that’s not my way.
Eventually, a Beware of Dog sign popped up on his driveway. He’d called several times to see if I was OK and mostly to make sure I really was not going to sue him.
Meanwhile I was trying to find a way to remove this gigantic tree and root ball which had fallen over and crushed the deck. The insurance company was only willing to pay $1,300 and I could not find anybody to remove it for that price. I hate losing money on even one item, so I was in a funk about how much it was going to cost out of my pocket above the $1300 from the insurance claim. Lo and Behold the neighbor with the biting dog called me one afternoon and told me he had a front loader and dump truck at his house that day and did I want to pay him to remove the tree and root ball?
“Well, sure, how much?” I asked “How about $600?” he asked. “Uh, well, I guess that would work” I told him. Quietly jumping up and down in my office on the other end of the phone line.
So a dog bite is worth $700.
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