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Has Clifton Springs Gone To the Dogs?
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First I need to say that I like animals. I recently obtained a dog from the local shelter. He seems a nice enough dog, but he thinks that he is the neighborhood watch dog (all 15 pounds of him); barks at anything and nothing, which is a habit I'm trying to discourage. A couple of weeks ago, when the weather was actually nice, I had my front door open to enjoy the breeze. And of course, Clancy started barking. When I went to reprimand him, I discovered a stray dog on the front porch, so I closed the front door and assumed he would stray away.
This other dog just stayed on the porch, so I went out on the porch, closing the door behind me to keep my dog from escalating the situation and said "Where do you live , doggie ?" as if he would tell me. The dog made no move to leave, so I decided that as long as I was outside, I would get the mail. Very wrong decision. I went down the side steps to get the mail from the box; this stray decided it was time to attack! He came bounding off the front steps showing teeth and a lot of growling. Fortunately I had received a large catalog in the mail that day-only by keeping it in front of me, I managed to sidle up the side steps and got back on the porch. I shoved a chair from the porch between me and the dog and quickly retreated inside, shaken but unscathed.
My first reaction was to call 911-this was a vicious animal! But I was told that the police will not respond to a call involving animals of any kind, I had to call the Humane Society in Canandaigua. They did give me the number. When I called, they said they would send a truck out. They arrived about an hour and a half later. The man said that they were conserving gas by having two people to a truck, but that lengthens the response time. He happened to be in Naples when he received the call, and had to stop in Geneva to do a pick up. I asked if it would matter if I hadn't avoided getting bitten; he said no, the police will not respond, it was up to the Humane Society. Talking to my neighbor about the incident, he related that just a while before, a dog had come after his dog on an enclosed porch. At least he knew where that dog lived (he was running with a broken leash). He returned the dog to the house it belonged at, and informed them that the dog had ruined two screens. When he returned later with a bill, the people said that the owner didn't live there, and they did not have his address or phone number. My neighbor is out $50.00. Just to keep the momentum going, this same neighbor's wife had been bitten by a dog the next street over about a week before. After time in the ER, and making a report, nothing was done. The investigator decided the dog wasn't vicious because it rolled over and let him rub its belly when he went to talk to the owner. When did Clifton Springs stop having a dog control officer? I do not remember hearing anything about this change. But then, we do not realize that services have been cut until we are in need of them. Why is it necessary to try to rely on services from a county run humane society which is too far away to be effective, and already over extended? What is the point of having a leash law in the village if we have no one to enforce it? Fortunately, I have very good neighbors who are responsible pet owners, but what are we do to about the few that are not? What are we paying taxes to the township and the village and exactly what services are we receiving from them? Or is Clifton Springs going to the dogs?
Donna Carr
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