Attack Dog
 

Wife and I were driving in our golf cart exploring the new construction south of Bonifay. A man had two very large dogs running loose. The two dogs started to attack our cart and us. The one dog was a large black dog the other was white with a gray spot, both very aggressive, They both tried biteing the wife amd I while in our cart. They also actually bit the tires and cart. We tried getting away but they both were faster then our cart. The both tried to bite our legs while we were seated in the cart. We finally were able to make a run for it with the light colored dog chasing us for about a mile. I am a dog loved had them for years. The Villages is not built to have large dogs. The land area we own, it's just not fair to the dogs. So please stop buying new dogs once you arrive. If this happens again I will be dialing 911 and hope the Deputie is able to take out theses dogs.

I would have called 911 already. What was the owner of these dogs doing while they were attacking you?

I'm a dog lover too and I've driven by people walking with their dogs on leashes and the dogs go crazy as the golf cart goes by them. What terrifies me is that it is usually older owners who use all of their strength to hold the dog back. There are rules about the size and number of dogs allowed in TV. Dogs are grandfathered in here and I know people love their pets, but I hold my breath and cringe every time this happens.

I'm glad you nor your wife were injured. It must have been terrifying.

I am sorry you had this experience, but I have a couple of thoughts. First, I would blame the irresponsible owner, not the dogs. They aren't trained, obviously, and the owner must not care to take the time to do that.

Second, since this was a construction area, I wonder if those dogs even come from The Villages. Perhaps they are from outside TV and the owner brings them there to run loose because it's a construction area. Which is not right.

Third, I hope you won't condemn all large dogs on the basis of this incident. I go to a dog beach all summer long, with big dogs galore, and only a couple out of a hundred are aggressive. We're on our second large dog, and they both would slime you to death before they would ever think of biting you. I like a dog big enough that I can throw my arms around to hug and not worry about stepping on and hurting. Ours is happy and well exercised, and we live in a condo half the year!

There are several dog parks around TV, enough to give a dog lots of exercise. I disagree with your reasoning that we shouldn't have large dogs in TV because we have small yards.

Just my two cents. Again, I'm very sorry you bumped up against an irresponsible dog owner and had a nasty experience. That had to be scary. Hopefully someone will learn who this man is and turn him in.

First off let me say I'm sorry for the experience you had . The fault lies with the owner not the dogs, therefor to ban large dogs or ask responsible dog owners to stop having big dogs seems rather harsh. I have a beautiful german shepherd who is well behaved.She loves riding in the golf cart and going to the dog parks .

I hate hearing things like this. There are leash laws and I can't understand why certain people feel they don't apply to them but I know it happens everywhere or anytime there are laws. I realize that being out riding you wouldn't know who the person was, but whenever anyone sees someone regularly letting their dog or dogs go loose they should call Animal Control in their county and report it. Never mind calling The Villages - call someone who will take some action.

I agree completely.We don't have a dog, but big dogs are usually just bigger versions of small ones and many larger breeds are known for their gentleness and sweet natures. It is just wrong to say that large dogs should be banned when so many large dogs are well trained and sweet natured and leashed.

Who knows where the dogs and owners came from? It is generally known that dogs must be leashed here in The Villages.

It is sad the OP had this frightening experience. If it happened to me as described I would have called 911. It is illegal to not keep dogs on a leash here in The Villages.

Attacking Dog
 

Does the "stand your ground" law apply to a dog attack? :swear:

Yo, Fig, how about a steering column holster, and lessons for close combat. Any thoughts??

Not to sure about this post.Dog chases you for a mile,Dogs where biting the tires, Where was the owner during all of this?

Hmmmmmmmm
 

I'm not sure either - the dogs chased you for a mile or more! Did they chase you through a built up area or were you on open land? What was the owner doing while the dogs were attacking you, did he just stand there, make any comment? Did he call off the dogs, do anything? To try to bite you and your wife, the dogs must have been jumping up at the cart, did the owner react at all?

Were you off The Villages property? Maybe there is a non-village resident who exercises his dogs in that area ........... very strange. DON'T GO BACK!

Yes, the owner was irresponsible on several fronts which is probably why the dogs are behaving the way they do. But big dogs as someone said earlier are not the problem. We have a big dog that the only time he is "uncontrollable" is when he wants to kiss someone hello. That said, an owner should always be in control of their dog. I, too, wonder what the owner was doing while this was occurring. And you should have been immediately calling 911 if you felt you were in danger. If you had, the dogs would have been picked up and the owner held accountable. What part of Bonifay was this? We live there and when walking our dog(s) do not want to run into them for obvious reasons.

Well I think the important thing here is CALL 911. I'm taking it that these 2 vicious dogs are still on the loose or could be and others now could get bit because you didn't report it!

What happened to the original poster? We all have a lot of questions and would like very much to get additional information. Do hope you are ok and the experience hasn't soured you on the "new" section.

these were not trained dogs... we had a trained dog to protect and due harm if needed.. the dog needs commands to due harm and a word to stop them in mid air and they will drop to the ground and stay until released no matter what. this guy had no control over his dogs and thats what i have a problem with... not that they were big dogs.... that there was no control on what they were doing much less not teathered