Beware of Dogpark!

     The weather was GORGEOUS today (and finally dry & not muddy), so I took the dogs to Stoll Park this afternoon. We weren't there 10 minutes before my worst nightmare came true: Taylor was brutally attacked by another dog. Aki & I were in the center of the park, and Taylor was having fun as usual, running around & playing with all the dogs & greeting all the people. He's so fast that it can be difficult to keep an eye on him. 
   Suddenly I heard a big commotion, looked up, and saw about a dozen dogs in a crowd around a dog fight. I started heading that way immediately, since I wasn't sure where Taylor was. Turns out he was on his back with a pit bull mix's teeth wrapped around his neck! Two nice men broke up the fight and things seemed to be okay. But suddenly the dog went in for round two; and again, Taylor had done NOTHING to provoke him. He grabbed Taylor by the next and began to shake him violently. At some point he ripped off Taylor's collar, which we later found more than 10 feet away. I got there shortly after the same two guys jumped in & physically pulled the attacker off of Taylor. One guy (I never caught his name) followed the dog with a big stick, prepared to run him off to protect everyone. He was PISSED. He was walking around saying loudly, "Who the h*ll owns this dog?!" And got angrier every second that no one owned up to it... 
     And she never did officially own up to it. Coward. She sat in the grass 100 yards away & WATCHED the attack happen & pretended it wasn't her dog. When her dog finally approached her about 15 minutes later for some water (because bloodlust makes you thirsty!), people went up to her & expressed their horror. She literally said, "Oh, really?" and played dumb. So I walked up to her and said, "I think it would be appropriate for you to put your dog on a leash, to make sure he doesn't hurt anyone else." She was adamant that he had never done it before & she wasn't going to restrain him. I said, "Your dog REPEATEDLY tried to KILL my dog, who is HALF his size. He pinned him down THREE separate times and he ripped his collar off... it was more than 10 feet from the scene! He was going for my dog's throat. Dozens of people saw it happen!" And her response was, "You should get a bigger dog!" (so he can defend himself) and, "maybe YOU should put YOUR dog on a leash!"
     Keep in mind that the weather was beautiful & this park was filled with children and small dogs weighing just a few pounds. This is a family park. My blood was boiling. She didn't ask if Taylor was okay. She didn't make any attempt to control her dog. She denied that it happened. She took no responsibility at all! It was when she could no longer contain her SMIRK that I lost it. I said, "You know, I don't see how you could think this is funny!" She said, "I'm not going to sit here & argue with you, so you might as well go away." I told her I'd call the police if her dog came near mine again. 
     By then, a crowd of people were milling around to stand up for me. Nick, the main guy who saved Taylor's life, and his wife Jess talked to me for a while, and Nick let the woman know how everyone felt about the incident. They had a sweet boxer & agreed that they had never seen anything like this happen before and were disgusted by her reaction. Taylor, who is normally outgoing & friendly, stood close to me & growled when other dogs got too close. Great. Now my happy dog is afraid of other dogs.
     A few minutes later, the woman's dog came trotting over & started to get too close to Taylor again, hovering over him. I put my hand on the dog's shoulder & gently but firmly pushed him away, and he left. The woman stormed over and yelled, "DON'T YOU F*CKING TOUCH MY DOG!" (Again, families & kids present.) I admit that I lost my cool & told her she was f*cking crazy.  She put leashes on her dogs & finally headed toward the exit—and other dog owners turned towards her & starting clapping. She whipped around and in an exaggerated motion, unleashed her dogs again & gave us all the finger. Am I still on EARTH here?!!?
     The woman was wearing designer clothes & sunglasses: Living proof that money can't buy class, brains or common sense. 
     She was clearly so humiliated by what her dog had done that she didn't know what to do, so she lashed out & tried to intimidate everyone. I'm sure it felt horrible to have a park full of people angry with you, but she lied & she didn't take any steps to make the situation right. The sad thing is that the dog will get the blame, but it's not the dog's fault—it rarely is. She was too ignorant to realize that when you own a powerful dog, it's YOUR responsibility to train it properly to ensure the safety of everyone. Pit bulls aren't evil. But a lot of people get them to make themselves seem cool or tough. That's when they become dangerous. A dog is not an accessory!
     My hope is that she will be too ashamed to show up again. All the other dog owners stood by me and came over to make sure that Taylor was okay. That felt good. Now I have my own posse! I sent a report of the incident to Parks & Rec and the OP PD.
     Nick & Jess, I wish I knew how to get in touch with you to say THANK YOU again for saving Taylor & for sticking by me!!! I'm happy to report that Taylor seems to be okay—the loose skin around his neck & his thick fur protected him.