Oldie but Goodie-

I was browsing through some old emails and I came across this in my stuff. It's from 2006 when we first moved to SW Atlanta. The 'hood has improved since this happened, but we still have a long way to go!

AUGUST 21, 2006:

David and I are dog-sitting Zeus, a beautiful blue male pit that's about a year and a half old while his foster mom is out of town getting married and honey mooning and such. He's up for adoption on the K9 Rescue League page in GA. Anyway, we took our usual 2 mile walk around 11:30 pm on Saturday. We like this time because it's not so hot out and there aren't too many people in the streets. We usually get to the Chevron station then turn around and come home. I was walking Boss and Lady and David had Zeus and Lenox. Due to Boss's intolerance for other dogs, David was about 50 feet or so behind me.

I heard a dog barking across the street from the Chevron station at a transmission shop. Curious as I am, I stopped and looked across the street. I couldn't see anything, so I asked David if he could see a dog. He said yes, it's a beautiful black pit with a solid white head. Right then, I did see him and he's a beauty. Then, some guy in a wife beater shirt looking like Dibo from the movie Friday came out of the transmission shop and unhooked the dog from the chain. The dog starting running around behind the fence. Then the guy started to unwrap the chain from the gate. I have no idea what his intentions were, but I took Boss and Lady and said to David, "Let's Go".

Next thing I know, David screams "PICK UP BOSS, NOW!!!" So I obliged and had a hell of a time picking up my writhing, wiggling dog that was trying his best to break away from me and also hold on to Lady Red. I finally had a hold of them and I turned to see that dog flying across the street straight for David, Zeus and Lenox. The guy at the transmission shop screamed "Mike, get back here!" and half-heartedly ran across the street after him. David secured his grip on Zeus and Lenox with one hand and grabbed "Mike" by his collar and pinned him to the ground with the other hand. Thank God that Zeus and Lenox aren't dog aggressive, and apparently Mike isn't either.

The guy who let Mike out came up and grabbed him by his ear and made him cry out. When he did that, Lenox lunged for the guy and growled because he was hurting the dog. I have NEVER, EVER heard Lenox growl at anyone or anything and it's pretty damn scary. The guy jumped back and screamed. Mike got away from him and Zeus managed to break his harness at the same time. Both dogs ran into the street together and were almost hit by a car. David threw Lenox's leash to a guy on the sidewalk and said "Hold my dog" and dove for Zeus. I couldn't get too close to grab Lenox because there would have been a horrible dog fight if Boss had gotten away from me.

David got Zeus under control and took Lenox from the guy on the sidewalk. For those of you who have met David you know that he's very laid back and mild mannered. Well, he wasn't that night. He came unglued on the guy and said "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?? ARE YOU RETARDED?" Well, it was all down hill from there. The guy, let's call him Dibo because that's who he looked like, was surprised and offended that this white guy was yelling at him and he started in on David with the racial slurs, except for he was referring to David as "Nigga and bitch"...Then this crack ho that had been in the shop with Dibo comes out and starts screaming across the street at me "What you lookin' at? You a white bitch"...of course I didn't make matters any better when I screamed at Dibo, "He's a cracker...get your racial slurs right!"..and to the woman, "I'm lookin' at your toothless ass"...then after a long pause the crack ho yells "White trash!!" at us like she was coming up with the winning answer to a quiz show or something...it was pure mayhem. The guy was in the street going back to the shop in the midst of the screaming match, but he took a step back towards David like he was going to be stupid enough to try to hit him or something and then he thought the better of it when he looked over at me and saw Lady Red practically foaming at the mouth to get at him because he was yelling at her daddy. He yelled at us that we had vicious dogs that need to be kept on chains. Yeah buddy, we're REALLY going to take dog ownership advice from the likes of YOU!

Everyone had stopped to watch the madness...even cars in the street were stopped...people pumping gas at Chevron were staring in amazement, and people in the Chevron had come outside. All this because the idiot let the dog out of the gate. People were asking if we were ok and saying to just leave that guy alone because he's stupid and knows he's "dead wrong for that". I called the cops about the incident but they wouldn't do anything about it. The little weenie of a white cop they sent out said there's nothing he can do because that's not his zone and because it's an animal control issue. Ummm, ok, then why didn't they send out a cop from the correct zone? Since there was no bite and no one was assaulted there was no incident to report....The cop said that even if he did make a report the judge would throw it out because the judge that hears their cases throws EVERYTHING out, even crack violations and trespass charges. If this had been my old 'hood that is now yuppie central that guy would have been paid a visit by the po-po.....oh well, welcome to the ghetto!