Don't Let The Dog Bite You on Your Way Out

Hello people who still read.

The past few days have been spent slowly collecting parts to rebuild my bicycle. I have a 1980 CCM Corsa 10 which I refurbished about ten years ago and recently just gave it another working overhaul. Nearly everything except the frame got replaced this time. And without proper tools (not a good idea) this took several days.

So after a few days of working with screwdrivers to take the tires off and pry out the old rotted rubber and put the new stuff on I decided to take it for a victory lap around the neighborhood.

My first thought - "wow, this is a lot faster than walking"

My second thought - "hey look a dog"

My third thought - "What the heck!"

As a dog came sprinting out of someone's side yard alongside the bike. It soon ran directly in front of me and I slammed on the new breaks trying to avoid the dog. I managed to not hit it, but the dog decided to take my sudden stop as an opportunity to sink its teeth into my right calf, drawing blood in three places and leaving seven other deep bruise impressions.

I was unable to find the owners nearby and didn't want to call animal control who would likely put the animal down. So I hopped off the bike and used it as a barrier between me and the dog. Together we walked for a quarter mile, with the dog being held at bay by my bike which I was using as a shield. Eventually the dog got bored and left me to hobble home. I asked several nearby neighbors if they knew the owners of the dog but no one did.

Now this brings me to the point of my whole story, modern law regarding animals makes sense but is also grosely unfair. Should I have called the proper authorities, the dog would likely be put down, a fate it did not deserve. But then again, a dog cant just go around biting people as that is a public hazard. Furthermore it would not be fair to hold the owners fully responsible as who can ever be fully responsible for the actions of another being (even though if they knew it was capable of biting random strangers for no reason they should either train this out of it or keep it in a place where it cant do so).

So in the end nothing is resolved. I cleaned the wound and crossed my fingers that the dog didn't infect me with anything. I don't have the money to throw away on a "could have had rabies" doctors visit as I am still quite unemployed. And I spent the day hobbling around as my leg throbbed its way along. I never found the owners, and likely never will. I could have checked the dog's collar, but I wasn't gonna put my hands near it after already being bitten hard. But most of all I'm confused and mildly annoyed. I have been physically hurt, possibly requiring medical treatment if this gets infected, and who is to blame? What can be done? And why would a dog just run up and bite someone in the first place?