Personal experience: even a dog can be put under house arrest in the USA - ForumDaily
The article has been automatically translated into English by Google Translate from Russian and has not been edited.
Переклад цього матеріалу українською мовою з російської було автоматично здійснено сервісом Google Translate, без подальшого редагування тексту.
Bu məqalə Google Translate servisi vasitəsi ilə avtomatik olaraq rus dilindən azərbaycan dilinə tərcümə olunmuşdur. Bundan sonra mətn redaktə edilməmişdir.

Personal experience: in the USA, even a dog can be put under house arrest

One of the arguments of supporters of the idea of ​​disbanding or reducing funding for the police, which is now being actively discussed in American society, is that law enforcement officers perform many functions in communities.

Photo: Shutterstock

In an article in the Washington Post, Georgetown University professor of law Christie Lopez, a fan of the idea, gives examples of police being called in to discipline the school, remove a homeless person from the street, or help in a family dispute.

In the US, police officers, in addition to catching criminals, really have many other responsibilities, for example, providing quick response and assistance during natural disasters. Police officers also participate in various projects and campaigns designed to build trust and unity in the communities they serve.

In connection with this, an incident that occurred to me at the beginning of March immediately pops up in my memory. In addition to me, two dogs, two runners, several police officers, 3-4 ambulances and one representative of the animal control service took part in it.

One spring evening, while my husband was away on a business trip and the baby was home, I went to walk my dog, a burly four-year-old named Zakk, a coonhound mixed breed. We were already returning, we just had to cross the bridge in front of our house, when I saw a couple with a dog slightly larger than Zakk running towards us.

Then everything happened in a couple of seconds. Dogs, both on leashes, but not short enough on a narrow bridge, rushed at each other, in the middle of their quarrel there was a man whom my dog ​​(though maybe him) grabbed his leg.

“He bit me,” shouted the man, who, as I later found out, was 46 years old. His wife, who was following him, immediately began calling the police.

“No need,” I remarked.

In critical situations, I always remain icy calm - I stress only later.

“I sincerely regret that this happened, but we were in the same conditions - our dogs were on leashes and rushed at each other. This is my house, let’s go there, I’ll give you everything you need to treat the wound, show you the dog’s vaccinations and leave my coordinates,” I tried to reason with the woman. But she called the police, and we all stayed together to wait for her.

Meanwhile, the woman continued to express her indignation - both to me and to her friends whom she called. The fact that the bitten man and I examined his wounds, discussed the need to buy him new running shorts (he rejected my offer) and made human contact further irritated his wife. Our dogs, meanwhile, sat companionably next to us, as if they were not involved in all this.

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Soon the police arrived - by that time I had lost all sense of time, and I can’t say how long it took. The policeman treated the wounds, took our statements and my coordinates. I looked at what he was writing there and was happy: a minor scratch, first aid was provided. Not only was this true, but it meant that a possible lawsuit by the couple was futile.

Following the police, the ambulance and the Animal Control Service arrived. All this noise greatly irritated my dog, which was already lying on the side of the road and whining. The orderlies put the man on a bench, the three of them measured his pulse and provided some other first aid. The man felt awkward, we mutually apologized and advised in the future to be careful with dogs on narrow bridges and alleys.

I didn’t know when all this would end, and I told the policeman that I had enough entertainment for today and I had to go - I had one child at home. Mom left for 10 minutes, and she’s been gone for an hour.

“How old is the child?” — the policeman tensed.

“Eleven,” and he relaxed.

A friendly man from Animal Control came up to me and told me to go home - he would come to me in a few minutes. He ordered me to find the dog’s vaccination certificates and wait.

At home, the son was really scared. I drove the dog, which continued to behave inappropriately, into the courtyard surrounded by the fence, cleaned up a bit, and prepared vaccination certificates. I'm waiting.

The man from the animal control service arrived immediately. I was immediately informed that I had already found information about the vaccinations, they were just fresh with us, and praised for the good care of the animal’s health. I asked if there could be any consequences of the criminal procedure for me because of this incident. Suddenly I want to run somewhere.

“No,” a man dressed in a uniform resembling a police officer explained to me, which made me believe him even more, because he is a representative of local law enforcement agencies. - Now, if your dog was not on a leash or you set it on a runner, then yes, it would be a crime. In this case, you have nothing to worry about.”

"The lawsuit?"

“I can’t say here, but it’s unlikely,” - like the bitten man, he clearly showed sympathy for me.

However, after a second it became clear to me that there was something to worry about. He had a police walkie-talkie, on which a female voice repeated several times: “Attention to all units! A man, 30 years old, pointed a gun at a policeman, Falls Church, attention to all units! .. "

“And here we are with our dogs...” I once again emphasized the insignificance of the whole incident.

“Yes, real crimes happen in this city,” he emphasized the importance of the work of local law enforcement agencies.

Then we got down to what he came for. Due to Zakk's aggressive behavior on the bridge, he was placed under "house arrest" for 10 days. I signed that I took responsibility for making sure that he served the entire sentence, and promised to report to the appropriate authorities about any changes in his behavior and health, and also to report on the tenth day after the event.

“What, you can’t go out at all?” - I asked again. We have a yard with a fence, but how do other animal owners do this?

“It’s possible close to home. Just don’t go far,” he explained.

The purpose of this arrest is not to punish the dog, because it won’t get there anyway, but to make sure that it is healthy, and if it shows signs of rabies, then immediately inform the victim.

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The man handed me a memo that explained in detail what the “10-day detention of your pet” meant, which also included cats and ferrets, with portraits of “high-risk offenders.”

The Animal Control representative entertained me with several stories from his practice, repeatedly repeated the main message - closely monitor the dog's health - and left.

As a law-abiding citizen, I have taken my obligations to society responsibly. And when Zakk’s term of “house arrest” expired in mid-March, it began for everyone else. After all, it was on this day that the start of quarantine was announced in Virginia.

Original column published on the blog. Ukrainian service "Voices of America".

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