Most people who rescue and/or buy dogs to add to their family consider the dogs just that – family. We love them, they love us, and as part of that contract, we do our very best to keep them healthy and safe.
When we adopt a new family member, they are sometimes coming from situations that were less than ideal, and adapting can take time.
In this case, OP’s new dog had some aggression issues he was trying to work out through training, which included muzzling him around strangers (canine and human).
This was the scenario during a usual visit to the dog park.
My dog, Maximo Tiberio, is a rescue dog. He has a lot of aggression problems.
As a result, his vet recommended training him with a muzzle.
The muzzle that my dog wears is totally comfortable for him, it doesn’t hurt him or anything.
So far we have had very good results. I take my dog to a dog park every Monday, along with my 11-year-old daughter.
I took my dog to the dog park like I normally do, he was wearing the muzzle.
I keep an eye on him, checking for signs of trouble.
When he heard a child crying, OP tied up his dog and went to make sure it wasn’t his daughter.
Upon his return, he saw a girl running off with his totally stressed-out dog.
Suddenly, I hear a girl cry, and my daughter is out of my field of vision, so I get worried. I tie Maximo up in an area specifically designated for that purpose, and I move no more than 15m away from him to search for my daughter.
I find her (it was not her who was crying) and when I return for Maximo I see this girl running towards him, she takes him in her arms and runs back to her car. Max is visibly stressed but because of the muzzle he can’t do anything.
He got a shot of the license plate and went to the police, who were able to track her down and bring her (and the dog) into the station.
The park was almost empty, so there was no one around her to stop her and I couldn’t reach her, but I took a picture of her from her license plate.
I went to the police station, there, they identified the owner of the car and sent a patrol to look for my dog. A day later, the police returns with the girl and Maximo, who was in a deplorable state, very nervous and anxious.
She claimed to have done it because she believed the dog’s muzzle was akin to abuse, but OP still wants to press charges.
There, the girl explains to me that she took Maximo because she thinks I am abusing him and that she watches every Monday how he uses a muzzle against his will.
Regardless of her reasoning, no matter how noble she is, I decided that I would sue her anyway. The stress I felt, along with the state Maximo returned, is reason enough to sue her.
Some people he knows thinks that he should cut the girl some slack since her heart was in the right place, but he’s not so sure.
My sister has another opinion. She says that I am being a horrible person for suing someone that thought she was doing the right thing and that the girl took a risk to save a dog that she believed he was being abused, and that’s admirable. Some of my friends agree with her.
I still want to sue her, but I would like other perspective to see if I am in the wrong..
What does Reddit say? Keep reading to find out!
The top comment says no, and don’t feel badly about it, either. She stole your dog!
Image Credit: Reddit
Not only was it wrong, but she caused mental distress for both dog and owner.
Image Credit: Reddit
Some people think the abuse allegation was just an excuse to begin with and she really just wanted the dog.
Image Credit: Reddit
The woman needs to learn a lesson about how to go about things the right way.
Image Credit: Reddit
If this happens to you, just call animal control of the police. Don’t take matter into your own hands.
Image Credit: Reddit
I would absolutely freak out if this happened to me, and I would want to make sure it didn’t happen to someone else if I could help it.
Do you think he should just let it go? Let us know why or why not in the comments!
