... thanks for nothing, animal control.
And a note up front -- for the most part, almost everyone here has a mostly happy ending, lest you fear a different outcome for me and mine ... although clearly there were frustrations along the way, hence this post.
This is the story of Jasper, the pit bull mix who lives a block and half away. We know Jasper because he's on Casanova's walk, and because he is a bit territorial, waiting for us to approach, after which he goes a bit mental and runs back and forth and back and forth and back and forth in the well worn grooves he's created in the grass in his front yard. From one corner of the fence to the other, he runs frantically, not stopping his pace and not stopping an aggressive sounding bark the whole time.
We know Jasper's name not because we ever met him beyond the anti-greeting he gives at his fence, but because we've heard his owners yell at him to behave from inside the house when he gets wound up. We also know that he lives with two other little dogs and a young girl-child, and we know that his people have tried to curb his behavior by placing assorted items in his path -- a giant flowerpot, a folded up bed frame, an outdoor patio chair and, rather inexplicably, a 3x5 foot framed painting (which he hasn't yet burst through ... but I'm expecting it any day). We conclude that that means that Jasper sometimes escapes ... and that his people KNOW this ... and that they've tried to control that behavior.
Mind you, we also think that Jasper probably needs more exercise ... and probably is just protecting his place as a dog will do ... and probably would benefit from the kind of walks that Casanova gets on the regular, so, unlike others in the 'hood, we haven't been particularly fearful of Jasper.
You probably know where this is heading. About two weeks ago, whilst walking Casanova, Jasper found a way to circumvent the assorted-furniture-barricade, and he slipped out underneath the fence where the bed frame was, charging across the street at Casanova and I, jumping on Casanova's back.
Here's the thing -- because I knew Jasper's name, I yelled out, in my best stern parental voice, "Jasper -- NO! GO HOME!". And you know what? He did exactly that -- which saved me from the Jon Bernthal approach to breaking up a dog fight (see link below/to follow). Well, at least, Jasper crossed the street and started sniffing around his neighbors' yards, no longer concerned with Casanova. I finished the walk, and inspected Casanova upon getting home. The scruff of his neck was wet but there were no puncture marks, which was not a surprise since Casanova hadn't made a single noise during the whole encounter.
In the end, it was far from an "attack" ... and maybe was just some "play" that Jasper was sorely needing .. but it still was troubling. Jasper was now loose in the 'hood, and the part of my brain that was re-wired by my legal education was concerned that there might be side-effects that might show up a few days later with Casanova, and so we decided the best thing to do was to report the incident. A quick call to the local 411, where we were initially told that a police person would stop by to take a statement, led to a call back that we should call animal control instead. That's when I started to get a queasy feeling, as, after evaluating Casanova, it was more important to me that a professional was pressed into action to reunite Jasper with his owners than to pursue any other issue.
That phone call led to a conversation with someone in that office who said that they would send me to the "citations" desk ... which set off more alarms that this was taking an unwelcome turn. Sure -- Jasper had gotten loose and was running around the 'hood, but he had listened to me as soon as I had said his name, and I didn't want this to be escalated into something it wasn't. There was another red flag, though, as the gentleman who answered advised me that I would likely get a voicemail and that I was to leave my name and number and to rest assured that a response would come in the order in which the messages were received.
Which finally brings me to my issue. That response came a day and a half later. At that point, I was certain that I wanted no citation issued ... and I also had given up on anyone official helping to get Jasper back where he belonged. (NOTE: future walks proved that Jasper was indeed somehow reunited with his family.) At that point, my tone was all "thanks for nothing", although the words I actually said were, "thanks for returning my call ... but it is clearly the case that you do not have the necessary resources to be of any assistance."
Or -- in other words -- we're on our own out here folks. We cannot trust the government to help us.
I.E. ... thanks for nothing.
THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE DEPARTMENT IN QUESTION:
http://www.broward.org/Animal/ProgramsServices/Pages/ReportingAnimalIssues.aspx
HEY THERE JASPER'S FOLKS ... JUST A THOUGHT:
https://www.chewy.com/petcentral/health-pet-fitness-8-reasons-your-dog-needs-exercise/
LUCKILY I DIDN'T HAVE TO DO *THIS*:
http://www.pajiba.com/celebrities_are_better_than_you/jon-bernthal-talks-dog-fights-in-esquire-profile-.php
