Peanut the Killer Chihuahua

I don't like most dogs.

There, I said it.

When I was a little girl, I witnessed a mauling; the neighborhood "problem" dog would attack kids coming home from school every day.  I lived between the bus stop and the problem house, so I never had a problem, but I would see the dog chasing kids, kids would talk about being chased, and one day I heard the screams as my little brother's friend, Jesse, was bitten.  He was just walking down the road.

It was a shepherd.  After the attack, the dog was euthanized.  You can imagine my horror, a few years later, when a loose shepherd jumped on me playfully as I walked home from a friend's house.  I almost had a nervous breakdown.

Looking back, I can see it was an adolescent, saw a "child" and wanted to play.  I just saw a huge dog with large teeth coming to "get" me.  Praise God it was not aggressive.

I was a very fearful child, and my top two fears: "bees" (include entire wasp family), and dogs.  Even a small dog would make me cry.

You can imagine the fun I had when I went to visit my mother in law.  I'm desperately trying to make a good impression, and then I encounter Peanut the Killer Chihuahua.  For a small dog, it was incredibly aggressive.

The dog bit everyone, and I mean everyone, who entered the house.  [sarcasm]  It was just his way of saying "Hello".

When Ron entered the house, the dog bit him.  Then it went after me.  Now, at times, Ron and I don't do very well, but when the thing came after me Ron got his cane and smacked it, sending it cowering under the kitchen table.

I should add, Ron's "white cane" is a hollow fiberglass tube, about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in diameter (it tapers).  He didn't hurt the dog, but he did teach it "Don't go after Heather, or I will smack you."

His mother was furious, and it actually came to the point where Ron had her choose, him, or the dog.  She chose the dog.

She told him she'd rather not have him visit, if it meant confining the dog.  So, Ron stopped visiting!  He was very hurt she chose a vicious little animal over her own son, but he was tired of being bitten and defending me from the attacks.

The dog would have been a great candidate for one of those "dog rehabilitation" shows.  It's dead now.  Good riddance.

So, you can see how I might not be a fan of dogs.  I was bitten by a stray cat, but I have petted many, many cats in my day.  The cat did not do any lasting damage.  We had some antibiotics, which I took, and I reported the cat so it got picked up.

I didn't want the neighbor kids getting attacked.  They love Bubba, and enjoy petting him.  I didn't want them to pet that!   Besides, a vicious cat like that makes all the GOOD cats look bad.

Pretty much the same thing with dogs.  I also lived in very bad neighborhoods, with aggressive, unleashed pit bulls.  They'd growl at me, sizing my meatiness as the owner blithely assumed me "He doesn't bite".

It got so bad I began running with this:  http://www.TheHomeSecuritySuperstore.com/batonstun-guns-nightstick-stun-baton-flashlight-5m-swb5000r-p=3150 

One woman's dog pursued me aggressively every time I went running.  I went running with that thing one day, and the dog came after me again.  I turned around and said "Come on, Dog!  I got something for you!"  The owner saw the stun gun baton and freaked out.  "You can't hurt my dog!"

"Lady," I said "I called the police.  I'm allowed to defend myself.   I will defend myself."  She began screaming for her dog and locked it up.

You see, it was pregnant.  She didn't want to lose her paycheck if I had to zap her dog.  From that point on, I was fine.  People knew I would defend myself, if needed.   Dogs were confined.  A stun gun is clearly a defensive weapon, even my foot-long megavolt monster.

As we looked for our home, I made a point of noticing any loose dogs.  If they had loose dogs running around, I wouldn't even consider the area.  Why spend thousands of dollars moving out of one ghetto, into another?

Unless, of course, God CALLED me to it; then I'd go.   I'll go anywhere He calls me to.

So,  dogs are a big issue for me.  Remember the dog next door?  Barking constantly, Ron banging on the door every night, begging them to please shut it up?

You may not know we also had a dog behind us, for about 5 years.  Everytime it saw another dog, it went nuts barking.  Fortunately, most of the time, people do confine their dogs, but it can be very annoying, nights, with "Barky" going nonstop for hours.

This morning, we had a pickup in what I would call country ghetto.  It is a semi-rural area, decaying wood frame houses, trailers, home-built additions clearly not up to building code, and lots of loose dogs running wild in the street.

We pulled up in front of the house.  The chain-link gate was wide open, and a wolf-mix hybrid looked into the vehicle.

"Please don't open the door until you see the client" I said.  "That breed is the #1 biter - worse than pit bulls."  The driver left the door shut, the dog wandered off, and the client came out.  As he was situating the client, I saw the dog trotting back, looking very curious.  The door was open.

I jumped up and locked it (it has a school bus style handle), and explained myself to the driver.  He thanked me.

I wasn't sure why God had me in such an awful neighborhood.  It was tremendously depressing.

Then, when we came home, I saw the trucks.  Barky's family is moving out.  The painters are freshening up the house.  They will either put the house up for rent, or sale.  I don't know.

Other than the dog, they were fine.  They were mostly quiet (except for his odd habit of drumming loudly at 3 AM many nights, until the police put a stop to it) and they always stayed out of the yard.  When the dog damaged the fence, they always made some kind of repair.

I just have to wonder: the last time a neighbor moved, I BEGGED God to provide "the right" neighbors.  We had a year-long trauma of incessantly barking dog, filth everywhere, so bad we had to call the Health Department multiple times.  Finally, they seem quiet.  They take care of the house.  They only have a small house dog, which I never hear.

Frankly, I'm kind of scared to ask for the "right" neighbor again!  I'm worried who, or what will move in behind us.  Another incessantly barking dog?  Kids in my yard?   Party animals?

Only God knows.  I just pray they are quiet, and respect my boundaries.  Whatever happens, I know He will give me the grace to deal.