Hi Folks,

One more clarifier for ya'll. Yes, I have had many, many problems with unleashed dogs here in the big city. But, believe-you-me, many other people have been bitten as well. The problem with city dogs is that they're constantly confined (in small apts.) and when they do get taken for walks, the brunt of the time they spend on the leash. It's not a happy life for a city dog. There are designated fenced-in dog runs throughout Manhattan, yet some owners can't resist letting them run wild in Central Park or the like. The police here really don't care until you've actually been bitten. And I don't blame them, as their job is tough enough already. I really fault the owner's for not caring about others' safety. My defensive weapons have worked like a charm so far. It's the 150 lb. Rotweilers that make me nervous, though. Also, there's another breed which looks exactly like a wolfe, that flat-out wants to kill me when he sees me go by. The dog-walker uses both hands and all his muscle strength to control the beast. If that thing ever got loose, I'd be in real trouble. Keep in mind, a lot of people use a dog for personal protection, since it's so difficult to legally acquire a handgun here...a set of sharp teeth and a deep growl is the next best thing, so it seems. If you want to know how serious dogbites can be, type "dogbite" into Google and check out all of the sites.

Steve