Doggone it!

I opened Sunday's paper and heaved a huge sigh of relief!! Like the Oprah Winfrey show that spoke about post partum depression,and how feelings of regret and second thought about the whole motherhood process is actually normal, there was this letter written by a lady that made me feel like I had been absolved! Absolved from a terrible crime albiet one executed only in my head!!
I have company!! I was under the impression that I was the only one thinking uncharitable thoughts about people who seem to think their pet somehow has equal parity with humans, more specifically, my kid.
We have a neighbor who seems to be perpetually training a large, scary looking canine who, rising up on his hind legs can easily stand at more than five feet. Unfortunately,he seems to be off leash quite often and can be seen wandering, no, galloping around the neighborhood with the owner in hot pursuit and he usually makes a beeline for kids playing outside. Can you imagine the aforementioned dog, rushing towards a ten year old who is mortally afraid of all dogs and this gamboling canine in particular? He takes off( my kid!) like a rocket, trying to get home before being devoured by the beast chasing him!
But, no,the pet owner seems to think that it is my kid's fault that he is being chased- he needs to, she says, stand still and not run. This is told to us in a very belligerent and confrontational tone. Now if my son had a chihuahua nipping at his heels, well, actually,he would still take off, because he is scared of dogs, period, but the pet owner insists that the entire neighborhood is the dog's private property( this was said while standing on the sidewalk on the OTHER side of the road from her house!),and therefore he takes priority over kids playing outside and the kids need to be accommodative of her obviously untrainable dog.
Don't take me wrong, I love dogs and have had pets all through my childhood,and was actually 
considering buying a small puppy for my kids,because,it seemed, my son's fear of dogs seemed to be 
abating. And then we moved. Into this neighborhood,with this dog and things went downhill again.
He's gone from maintaining a respectful distance and appreciating the finer points of owning a dog,to hiding behind whoever he is with while shaking with fear. Everytime we cross their house on foot, he keeps an eye out on their garage door and if it seems to be open, he refuses to walk on that side of the road and crosses over to the other side,but funnily he has had the dog run out at him once,even then. Remember, the dog is on 'private' property? And she obviously, had the same as explanation
again!! 
What gets my goat, is the fact that I would be willing to settle for a tepid apology, everytime her dog has a run in with my son. She however seems to think that blaming my son, somehow expunges her involvement in terrorizing a kid through her dog.
I for one am still trying to assuage his fear ,while trying to make enough money, to buy out my whole neighborhood,so that my kid can play outside the house,without being chased around by a mutt!! Because once I buy this whole place, the it becomes, my son's private property right?,


Lottery tickets anyone?!


 P.S. I"ve been trying to get the font size to match,but no,its messed up.I tried and tried and gave up!!