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Permanent scar damage from a dog bite on the job

A while back, three dogs jumped me and one of them gave me the scars in the photo. You know what the owner says? “I don’t know what came over her, I’ve never seen her like that!” Nobody thinks their dog bites until they do.

So today I’m delivering in the same neighborhood. I was approaching a different house with a package, a dog comes around from the back. I’m not running, I’m holding the package between me and the dog and it’s the only reason the dog isn’t biting me. The owner comes out, yelling and cursing at the dog like it’s the dog’s fault (it isn’t, the dog is an animal and can’t be held responsible for its instincts. That’s up to you, lady.)

She’s shouting the usual platitudes (“He won’t bite, he’s friendly, blah blah blah”) and I’m politely saying that I’ll need her to bring the dog inside before I can bring her the package. Eventually the owner deigns to approach, while the dog is running between her and me while my package-shield is the only thing keeping me from being bitten.

I’m like “Ma’am, could you hold his collar or bring him inside? Dogs can surprise you.” She ignores that, she’s just talking down to me with the usual “The worst he’ll do is lick you to death.” Then she tries to grab the package, but I held onto it saying “I’m sorry but I need to hold this package between me and the dog, can you hold his collar?” She isn’t even trying to control the dog, she’s just trying to grab the package out of my hands while the dog is standing ready to pounce.

Eventually she runs at the dog swearing at it, scaring the poor thing enough to run into the house. Then she comes at me, snatches the package, and snaps “He wasn’t going to hurt you!”

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I can tolerate people losing control of their dogs, I know the precautions. I can tolerate when people don’t understand why I’m being cautious, they don’t have to get it. I can tolerate people believing that dogs don’t bite, I can defend myself. I can even tolerate people talking down to me for taking safety precautions, I know better.

But I can’t stand this attitude that people get, that when I respectfully and professionally insist on being safe, that I am somehow insulting them. People have gotten like that in this neighborhood more than just this time. There are people who are so petty and spiteful that when they feel insulted, they will deliberately refuse to take responsibility and let whatever happens happen.

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In other news, I just learned about Halt Spray.