Dear Friends and Family, 

I hope this letter finds you and your respective families well. This is very emotional and traumatic for me to write. Please take the time to read through this entire letter, keeping your own children and loved ones in mind.

On Wednesday, January 12th, at 5:45 pm, I was ferociously bitten by Troy, a golden retriever dog in my neighborhood. On my way to the basketball court, I stopped to chat with my cook who lives by the garden. As we were talking, Troy was coming down the stairs in the garden with his driver. As the driver brought Troy towards me, I simply waved and said, “Hi Troy”. In a fraction of a second, Troy pounced and fiercely latched onto my hand, biting deep into my wrist.  After 2-3 minutes of pulling and biting into my skin, the dog eventually let go. 

Despite the agonizing pain, I rushed to Troy’s home to ensure he had received all his vaccinations, specifically his rabies vaccine. Upon verbal confirmation from his mother, I rushed to my own home. My mother, amidst her meeting, immediately started first aid. We quickly drove to the hospital with Troy’s mother and driver. Upon consultation with the doctors as well as my father, an infectious disease physician, I decided to take the recommended shots which included Tetanus and Immunoglobulins. As I am extremely sensitive to vaccinations, I debated on whether or not to take the rabies vaccination for an hour and a half with my father, who has 25 years of expertise in vaccines and has treated hundreds of dog bite cases where the dog and/or the victim have unfortunately died. I begged my father to take the rabies vaccine as I did not want to die and would rather suffer from the vaccine’s side effects for the rest of my life. This was out of fear that Troy could have been infected with rabies as he was acting wildly like a rabid animal.

I moved to this community in late August of 2021 and Troy was one of the first dogs I met. He was very friendly then and I used to pet him all the time. But lately, Troy has become a completely different dog. He has become ferocious and out of control, demonstrating extremely aggressive behavior. I have trained and raised dogs ever since I was born and so has my father. We have always been dog and animal lovers and cared for our own dogs so we know when a dog is exhibiting abnormal behavior. This dog will continue to bite and its next bite may be far worse than the first. 

My injury comes under a Level 3 bite as stated by the on-call doctors at the hospital, which means the dog is a real threat and danger to other people and pets (Ref. 1). Troy’s parents, by law, are accountable to furnish the vaccination records immediately following the bite but have failed to do so. They have exhibited irresponsible behavior by not providing the proper information about their dog’s behavior and vaccinations after the attack which my family had repeatedly requested. Troy’s mom sent a blurry photo of a vaccination record without Troy’s name or details on it and we simply asked for a more complete record. Per my doctor’s request to obtain a comprehensive vaccination report of the dog including its name and details, I had to view and get a copy of the physical report as the dog’s mom was not responsive to my texts. 

On the 3rd day after the incident, January 15th, I had to gather myself, even though I am petrified of their dog, and politely ask for Troy's vaccination record and check on him as I was worried he had rabies and was suffering psychologically after the bite. Even though both of Troy’s parents were home, they refused to open the door and show the vaccine records like responsible dog owners. I was heading to the hospital later that day to receive my second rabies shot and was asked by the doctor to bring Troy’s record. I patiently waited for almost an hour and a half for her to come out but she kept extending the meeting time. She thought if she kept me waiting longer, I would eventually go away and forget about the incident. To her, this might seem trivial but not to me, as it should not be to any of you either. Any of your children or your loved ones could have encountered this, where they would have to bear the mental, emotional and psychological trauma for the rest of their life for no fault of their own. 

There are lifelong side effects that I would have to endure (Ref. 2) such as recurring nightmares replaying the horrific incident, a constant fear of stepping out of my home and, worst of all, a lifelong fear of dogs. Now I can never look at dogs the same, even my own dog, an adorable 3-year-old Goldendoodle, whom I love immensely. Not only do I have to go through a fever, splitting headaches and joint and muscle aches with every vaccine that I get, let alone the long term side effects (Ref. 3), it infuriates me that I have to suffer from all of this because of someone’s negligence and inability to properly monitor their dog, where it now has turned out to be a threat to the entire community. 

The dog’s owner must be responsible for their dog’s actions. If one decides to get a pet, they must consistently teach it the proper behavior and ensure that it behaves like a domesticated animal, not a wild one. Troy’s mom said that her daughter noticed Troy acting more aggressive in the past 3 to 4 weeks. Like other dog’s parents have done in the past, it was her duty to inform the community about her dog’s change in behavior to warn the neighborhood and keep everyone safe. But she did not. Even 4 days after the incident, she had still not posted anything in the community group for their safety and protection. She only posted when she was forced by the Executive Committee upon them receiving my complaint. Even in the post, she failed to state that her dog had unfortunately attacked an innocent girl. 

We are simply asking the owners to be accountable and take their dog out of the community premises as it is a major threat to the community. A few members of our community’s Executive Committee as well as some neighbors are congregating to be biased as opposed to being fair and standing up for what is right for the community. Instead of owning up to their mistake and apologizing for their dog’s behavior, the owners of the dog are spreading false propaganda about me and my mom. They are defaming us for no fault of our own simply because we have recently moved into this community 5 months ago. They are taking advantage of the mere fact that they have been living here for longer than us and can therefore influence the community members to take their side. Their friends, which include some other dog owners in the community, are alienating us so that we would feel uncomfortable continuing to live here. As my father is currently out of town, many community and EC members expect us, as women, to refrain from standing up for ourselves and simply accept that nothing can be done. We are doing what is right for our community and protecting other innocent children and adults from being attacked by this dog. The dog’s owners are misleading others by creating a false story that paints me, a dog lover and owner, as the villain! I am fighting for what is right, which is to protect myself and my community from another horrible attack. 

IMPORTANT: 

Fact 1. No sympathy or empathy: Before the bite, my cook previously mentioned to me that her son was once hospitalized as this dog owner’s son pushed her son, resulting in my cook’s son having a broken arm and a sprained ankle. My cook carried her crying son, drenched in blood, to the dog owner’s house, informing her that the other kids in the neighborhood saw the dog owner’s son push this innocent kid and asked her for her help. Instead of being sympathetic and showing compassion to the seriously injured child, she questioned my cook as to why her son played with her own son and refused to help. My cook and her family had no choice but to take care of her son at that moment and ended up paying approximately 28,000 rupees or 374 dollars, for his treatment, which is a painstakingly huge amount for such families who rely on minimum wage salaries to live. This shows how manipulative and accusatory this woman is and that she would go to any extent to show that she does not care about anybody else.

 

Fact 2. Lying and Deceit:  I must also mention that Troy’s mother did not offer the minimum courtesy to pay for the initial round of shots. Later on, when we decided to take the Rabies vaccine, my mother stayed next to me as I was crying with immense pain from the bite and the shots. Therefore, Troy’s mom was asked by the doctors to purchase the vaccine from the pharmacy. Upon my mother asking for the bill amount, she said it was between Rs. 800-900. My mother was ready to pay through her phone, but the payment did not go through. Upon checking the bill, I saw that the vaccine was only Rs. 358. She lied and tried to collect more than double the amount. Once again, this demonstrates the dog owner’s deceitful behavior as she thinks she can easily get away with blatantly lying.  

Fact 3. Breaking Community Rules:  The dog’s owners have broken the community guidelines and bylaws regarding pets which were created to keep our community safe and peaceful. Other dogs in our community were removed for mere barking, causing a nuisance, whereas this dog not only barks but has also begun to attack. Many neighbors have complained that this dog had been a nuisance for the past 3-4 months, due to its uncontrollable barking, escaping from the gate and running without a leash, preventing the children from playing peacefully. The children are more scared than ever to come out of their houses after the attack. In this case, as the owners of the dog do not care about the community, the Executive Committee is not able to put sense into the owners to remove their dog from the premises. 

Fact 4. Neglection of Dog by its Owners:  A well-loved and cared for pet dog does not bite so aggressively, especially without provocation. Other neighbors that live closer to this dog and other dog owners have noticed the aggressive behavior of this dog and believe it is being neglected. As we all know, negligence is a form of abuse for both humans and animals! This dog has not been neutered and it is almost 4 years old, further contributing to its aggressive behavior. Neutering of a dog, especially males, should be done between 6-9 months (Ref. 4) to reduce their aggressive nature. For this dog to live in a gated community with other dogs and children around, preventive and protective measures such as neutering should have been taken before any such incident. Unfortunately, they have failed to understand this important responsibility as a dog owner and a good citizen. No dog should go through such negligence. Troy should not suffer any longer and should be placed in a new, loving home. 

Fact 5. Falsified Veterinary Report:  When a veterinarian was brought in to analyze the dog and its behavior after the bite it so happened that this veterinarian was junior to the dog owners’ veterinarian. After examining the dog, he informed us that the dog was exhibiting aggressive behavior and it was humping excessively. To our surprise, he wrote a falsified report in favor of the dog’s owners as he was influenced and coerced by his senior veterinarian and the owners. Once again, this highlights the extent the dog’s owners will go to falsify and defame an innocent person just to keep their dog, who may be psychologically suffering and has unfortunately, become a threat to the community. 

Hence, action needs to be taken now so that this incident never happens again. The dog must be removed from our community immediately as the dog’s family is negligent and is putting the entire neighborhood at risk by continuing to keep the dog in this community. 

If our dog unfortunately attacked someone, as responsible dog owners, my family and I would act conscientiously and remove our dog. Sadly, this is not the case with this particular family so we really need your help to protect our community full of innocent children, adults and pets. Please, please, please help and sign the petition as if this happened to you or your loved ones. 

Thank you for your support and please share this petition with your friends and family! 

 

References: 

1.https://www.usadogbehavior.com/blog/20141096-types-of-dog-bites

2.https://www.carlsonattorneys.com/news-and-update/psychological-injuries-caused-dog-bites

3.https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/rabies-vaccine-intramuscular-route/side-effects/drg-20069868

4. https://www.santacruzpet.com/do-male-dogs-change-after-being-neutered/

 

 

Pictures: 

1 and 2 - Bite on the right wrist (my dominant hand) 

3 - Me getting my Immunoglobulin series of shots directly on the bite

4 - Hole in my shirt ripped by his paw 

5 - Two scratches by his paw (on right abdomen) 

6 - Medical Report of the Level 3 bite