Monday, April 6, 2009

Meetin' the County...


So, I didn't realize how many dogs are in Nicholas county Kentucky. Today was my first day canvassing, and I probably went to 60 houses (in the rain/snow crap coming down, but I'm not complaining). Probably 80% of those houses had at least one dog, most two. Throughout the day, I think I met 10 times more dogs than people today. Probably 50 dogs, and maybe 5 people.

Most were friendly, some were skittish, and one was pretty scary, until I realized he was on a log chain. Whew!!! One of the scariest incidents I ever had as a cop was a call in a little podunk town for a dog bite. When I arrived, I spoke to a woman who had been bitten in the breast area by a pit bull bitch. A little boy had been riding his bike in an alleyway and the dog came out and bit him on the ankle, knocking him to the ground. The woman ran out to save the little boy and got bitten in the process. The dog ran off into a garage. When I arrived, the dog had gone patrolling, and I unknowingly parked between her and the six puppies she had in the garage. There was a chain link fence between she and I, and I saw her running at me as fast as she could. Of course, she thought I was after her puppies. I wasn't of course, but there's no talking to a mad pit bull. I didn't want to shoot the dog, because I knew she was only acting like any other mother, so I pulled out my Asp. An Asp is a metal expandable baton, about three feet long. I hit her once solid across the face, and she did not like that at all. She disappeared around a vehicle in the driveway and tried to sneak around the opposite side, but I thought she might and I was ready for her. I struck her a second time, and she ran down the alley. The owners pulled in about then and got the dog under control. Needless to say, that was one of the most scary times of my career. If I hadn't hit her just right, she'd have been on me.

Incidents like that make me love staying home with my kids.

Anyway, I'm wandering. Canvassing...
I think the job will be fine, but it's really going to add miles onto the vehicles. I totalled 106 miles just today. The biggest problem is, there is a certain way you have to count the houses, and you end up lapping yourself on the blocks. It's been 10 years since they did the last major address check, so things have changed a lot. Roads overgrown, new roads, falling in houses. It's interesting though, surprisingly.

Different subject, The boys had fun at the gun show. Hubby brought home this ... stuff that explodes when you shoot it. This is Kentucky, and there's a lot of shooting around. But I'm sure the neighbors probably think we're freaks with explosions going off on our hill.

Sigh...

Well, I'm trying to catch up on writing tonight, so this one's gonna stop here. Night all...

3 comments:

  1. I'm glad you're enjoying the canvassing. I carry a wooden club (my idea) and mace (gift from a friend) when I go walking, because I've had a couple of close calls with unpleasant dogs.

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  2. Sounds like the job is pretty interesting. I've never been attacked by a dog, but I can just imagine how terrifying it is.

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  3. It is pretty interesting. Keeps me hopping! Worked in town today, so only cute little fluffy dogs overall.

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