[golf2140]

Hi there,

I will answer some of the questions asked above

1. As posted we were in the area south of Bonifay checking new construction, yes were in The Villages.

2. I am aware of the Doggie Park on 101 and good owners take their dogs there to run.

3. The owner of the dogs was just calling the dogs to return to him. They do not lsten well.

4. While trying to get away from them, the last thing on my mind was dialing 911 on a cell phone.

5. I will be checking this area, while in my automobile to see if I can locate the dogs again to notify the Sheriff's office.

6. No, this was not made up. Have lived in The Villages for 12 years. I have had neighbors who have had dogs and they were great.

7. I had not replyed sooner sine this is my first visit back to the site since my post.

Have a great day

[schotzyb]

Originally Posted by paulandjean

I said this on the 11th post, sounds little hard to believe......................

I know the OP personally and lived next door to him in Polo Ridge prior to he and his wife building a new home. Believe me, you have no reason to doubt what he has to say.

[shcisamax]

Thanks for coming back. We are all pretty concerned. Especially those of us who live down there. Was this near the Bonifay Country Club? Do you have any recollection of what streets you were riding on and where you first saw the dogs? There are a lot of people who live in that area already and no one wants to run into pack mentality dogs...especially if walking with a dog. Anything you can remember would be helpful. Thanks.

[golf2140]

Originally Posted by shcisamax

Thanks for coming back. We are all pretty concerned. Especially those of us who live down there. Was this near the Bonifay Country Club? Do you have any recollection of what streets you were riding on and where you first saw the dogs? There are a lot of people who live in that area already and no one wants to run into pack mentality dogs...especially if walking with a dog. Anything you can remember would be helpful. Thanks.

Nor sure of the street. It was an area to the rear of the New Club House being built.

[gerryann]

This is certainly unacceptable behavior for any dog living in the Villages. Did the owner (or the person calling them) look like a construction worker? One can only hope they don't live here. Sorry you and wife had to go through this. Very bad situation.

[shcisamax]

I am thinking you are referring to the new rec center - Bradenton - which is on Pinellas. Behind the rec center is Allaire Loop. And that is certainly Village property.

[tommy steam]

Originally Posted by golf2140

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 think you should have called the cops right away. Didnt you have a cell phone? Those dogs could have knocked one of you down and malled you to death. I would still call the police and let them know what happened to you.

[Tom Hannon]

Originally Posted by CFrance

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.

Retrievers, Golden's and Collies are large dogs but gentle giants. I agree when an owner get older they should thing before they get another companion. How strong will they (the owner) be in another ten years and will they be able to control them? Which explains the reason for so many little white fluffy dogs now. For the person who is blaming the dogs for being loose, point the blame on the owners...although there is a possibility they broke away from their owners.

[Patty55]

It's not just big dogs, for whatever reason Yorkies seem to always go after my dogs. It's just that the big ones seem more threatening.

I love big dogs, but know that I can't have a dog that I can't pick up.

[PennBF]

I had one instance with a dog owner. Unfortunately he was probably psychotic as he allowed the dog to threaten me because I said the dog should be on a chain. The dog was as crazy as the owner. He was obviously
a pretty sick person as he brought the dog close to me as it barked and threatened. THere is no excuse or logic for what he did and I could only write it off as his being very mentally ill. I did call the sheriff's office but unfortunately by the time they got there he was far gone. I guess you have to deal with all sorts in this world.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by golf2140

I will be checking this area, while in my automobile to see if I can locate the dogs again to notify the Sheriff's office.

I think it is very good idea to check the area in your car to see if you can locate the dogs again. The dog owner probably has a routine of walking his dogs in that area. (And I'm thinking that if you alert the Sheriff's Office now, and give them a description, they'll probably have a police car patrol the area).

Good luck, these dogs really need to be confiscated so they can't do any harm to other people walking in that area.

[schotzyb]

As I posted earlier, I know the OP personally and have for over 5 years . In all the time we lived next door to each other there was never an issue with he and my very large dog. He made it a point when I was out in the yard with her to come over and pet her . Too much "jumping to conclusions " on here with people that have nothing better to do but try and stir the pot.

[shcisamax]

I live down in that area and now that I know it is somewhere behind Bradenton, I will be taking a car ride over to see if I can identify them.
Sorry if I "jumped to conclusions" by asking if this might be something to stir people up. Honestly, it does happen on here and when someone posts something so traumatic, it would seem natural that they would be there to answer other's questions. Maybe that is why it got so out of hand which it did with the accusations and woulda shoulda couldas.. I was hasty in considering that possibility but the long lapse struck me odd. Next time, I will pm the poster personally. I suggest others do the same if they have negative comments. I can imagine how badly golf felt with the amount of "expert" advice coming at him.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by Tom Hannon

Retrievers, Golden's and Collies are large dogs but gentle giants. I agree when an owner get older they should thing before they get another companion. How strong will they (the owner) be in another ten years and will they be able to control them? Which explains the reason for so many little white fluffy dogs now. For the person who is blaming the dogs for being loose, point the blame on the owners...although there is a possibility they broke away from their owners.

This is a good point about people aging vs big dogs/small dogs, one I have been pondering the last couple of years. I'd like to take this quote and start a new thread, if it's okay with you, Tom.

[lovsthosebigdogs]

\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.

IMO, this is part of the post that got people worked up. I don't think the OP really meant it (forgive me for interpreting if I am nnot right), I think he was just traumatized, as I now I would have been if it had happened to me. He was spreking from that fear. Had the original attack part of the story been told WITHOUT that part many of the subsequent posters wouldn't have added their comments. My dogs are 30- inches at the shoulders and routinely go to nursing homes to see Hospice patients or are around many people at educational events or Read to the Therapy Dog. You can't use one brush to paint all big dogs. As long as I'm able to walk I can't see myself having a dog I have to bend down to pet. That's one of the reasons we chose TV. And all small dogs aren't automatically safe either. We met a Pomeranian that ran up to my Great Pyrenees and attached itself to my dogs throat and had to be pried off. I think what we can all agree on is that all dogs need an owner in control who respects the rights and space of others.