Attacked!

Yesterday was quiet. The kits and I enjoyed the sun and warmth, read the newspaper, watched football, read, and snuggled. I headed over to the Rs house a little after 4 p.m., uncertain of making my bus connections - the RTD buses are not supposed to run early, but they sometimes do, and they also frequently run late. With the buses running only once an hour on Sundays, it can be a really long trip and/or layover at the main bus station. Luckily, the Jump was on time, and the 204 was running a little late, so I made it to Rosie and Remy's just before 5 p.m. Poor Remy had been attacked earlier in the afternoon while Joel and Nancy had been walking the Rs. Joel had both dogs on their leashes, and they were walking past the newly finished giant-sized house on Emerald, when a pit bull appeared from nowhere and attacked Remy three different times. Rosie, of course, tried to go to Remy's defense, but was restrained by her harness and leash. The attacker left several punctures in Remy's skin, and a long scratch on the top of his head. The apparent owner of the attacking dog stood on his porch and called his dog with a couple of "Here, boy! Come here!"s, but the dog did not respond. Finally, a woman came out and called to the dog, who promptly went to her. She called, "Sorry about that!" to the Rs owners, and closed the door behind her. - Now, I wasn't there to see what happened. I don't know if the dog snuck out of the house when the man went outside, or if the dog was loose, or if the dog had somehow gotten out of the fenced backyard. All I know is that Remy was bitten. I am also alarmed because small children live across the street, both straight and diagonally, from the big house. I am alarmed because I walk the Rs on that stretch of the neighborhood street on a daily basis, as do a lot of other people who live in the neighborhood and have dogs. Some of the other people out walking have their small (Bichon Frieses and terriers) dogs off leash and under voice command; and several houses across the street also have house cats that are allowed outdoors in their own yards. Was yesterday's attack on Remy a single, isolated incident? Or is the entire neighborhood going to have to visit the new owners' en masse to speak with them about having dangerous animals? And the Silver Lake Irrigation Ditch runs through the backyard of this house... Will volunteers who keep the ditch clean, open and running be able to have access to the yard to make sure the ditch is clear? Methinks that I shall walk very carefully on Emerald for the next few days... By the way, Remy spent over three hours lying on the sofa beside me with his head in my lap last night; Rosie changed places, but was usually in the leather chair beside the sofa, with her muzzle laying on the sofa arm beside me. We had a nice, quiet, uneventful evening.