The Story of Holden

On New Year's Eve, my landlord came over to do some work on the house. I was not home, and didn't know she was coming. Neither did Holden. The landlord came into the house, and Holden ran to the door, which she had propped. She thought he was going to run away, so she grabbed him. Holden doesn't know her, and he turned around and apparently bit her. She went to the hospital. It's a minor injury - no stitches - but it still scared the hell out of me.

I immediately thought about the incident with the lying garbage man from three years ago. This incident brought with it a ten-day holding of Holden to see if he was a vicious dog that cost me $500, a $10,000 lawsuit against me that I won, and a lot of stress. What's more, it was proven both by the hospital that the lying garbage man went to, and the subsequent trial, that he wasn't bitten; there weren't even teeth marks. In fact, he was just trying to make a buck.

However, I've always heard that dogs only get two chances, and I found out last time that dogs do not get any sort of presumption of innocence. If a person says a dog bit him - any person, regardless of the fact that he might be a crackhouse owner who owes the city $20,000 in backtaxes and fines (like the lying garbage man) - then it's assumed to be true. Therefore, I thought this would be the second time and that's it - a date with a needle. I envisioned myself hightailing it up to Michigan with the dog and giving him to my parents, or at least having him hide out with the Polish girl for a while.

You see, the landlord - who, by the way, blames herself for grabbing him, and has apologized almost more than I have - went to the hospital, and the hospital has to report it. And they did. Yesterday, I received a call from animal control, which is exactly what happened last time. I'm thinking to myself, "I've already seen this movie; I don't want it to be replayed." I started thinking to myself how I could get away with this. Say I gave away the dog to my parents? Figure out some other way? My landlord even tried calling, trying to explain that she didn't want the bite reported. No dice.

But after talking with the woman just now, I feel a lot better. All I have to do is send in the proof of rabies vaccination. Since he wasn't due again until 4/06, he's fine there. Because someone came onto the property and provoked him, she explained, they're not concerned about dog viciousness.

And neither am I. Anyone who has met Holden knows he's a nice dog - gentle and funny. But he's an animal, and he freaks out a bit when people come into the house when I'm not around. And he should. He's a watchdog, after all.

But it was scary. He'll be okay, though.