Justin was bit by a dog last month. But it was on a Friday night...bummer.

 The St. Louis City website says to call 911 if a dog bites. So he did, but they denied having anything to do with it. So he called our local police at the Seventh District. They also said they couldn't help him, but he should try animal control on Monday.

Packs of feral dogs roam neighborhoods in the city of St. Louis and nothing is being done about it. It wouldn't happen in St. Louis Hills, Webster Groves or Kirkwood. It wouldn't happen in Mayor Slay's neighborhood.

 A few months ago, the kids and I are on a walk. Tullaia has Stella (an Akita mix) and i have Judy (St. Bernard). We cross to the other side of the street when we see a dog wandering around. We continue walking, but i am alarmed when i see the kids ahead with more dogs in the lot next to them. They are growling and barking. The hair is raised up on their backs. One is a big black Akita. Another is mangy and 3 legged. And there is a nursing/pregnant black dog. (In addition to the black one across the street and a few smallish non-threatening ones.) I wonder if they are related?

I know their descriptions well because every week i place a complaint with the CSB(Citizen Service Bureau), St Louis' place for communication. And every week, my service request is marked as "resolved". Nothing is being resolved. The dogs are still there and they are easy to find.  In fact, the nursing/pregnant dog was indeed pregnant and this week there were brand new puppies lying next to her.

The dog that bit him was not part of this pack. But it is part of the same problem.

Dogs need to be posing a threat for action to be taken. And growling and baring teeth doesn't count. "Threat" means an attack, and i know this now after speaking with Jill from Animal Control.
If an animal bites, animal control will come out and deal with it(not after hours).  If not, the complaint is forwarded to Stray Rescue, a non-profit staffed with volunteers.


In 2001, a young boy was mauled to death by a pack of dogs. It was just a few blocks from us. Here is part of a newspaper article from that sad story.

ST. LOUIS -- Ten-year-old Rodney McAllister was no match for the stray dogs that neighbors had complained about for days. The fourth-grader was found mauled to death by a pack of dogs Tuesday, bite wounds on most of his body, pieces of his clothing scattered around the park across the street from his home. The attack has horrified many in St. Louis and led to the jailing of the boy's own mother for not keeping closer watch over him. "He was literally eaten by the dogs," Police Chief Ron Henderson said. "They fed off of him." Neighbors told police they heard the sounds of "suffering" Monday evening, two hours after Rodney told his mother he was going to play basketball in the park, situated in a neighborhood of attractive middle-class homes as well as abandoned buildings and vacant lots. Before Rodney's death, neighbors had complained about stray dogs in the area around Ivory Perry Park. Just a few days earlier, two officers from the city's Animal Control division had responded to the complaints. "We did not see anything," said Richard Stevson, Animal Control program manager.

 We will continue to go on walks in our neighborhood.  But the conceal/carry class is on my mind.