LAKE GEORGE POLICE & DOG BITES

Tony Walker


Dawn's "Dog People" reminded me of one of my "did that just happen?" stories. Mine also involved a dog.

It was August 1998, about 2 or 3 weeks before my wedding. My wife & her friends have been going up to Lake George at least once a year for a long time & this was the first time I went with them. This was also my first trip ever to Lake George. What an introduction.

We spent a few days there & were about to head home. We checked out of our hotel, hitting "Grandmas" for breakfast (that place is the best!) then going straight home. After an enjoyable breakfast one of our friends needed to go back to the hotel.... I don't even remember why. For reasons I also don't remember, we all decided to go back to the hotel. We had our own car so I have no idea why we all had to go. 

Anyway, we were driving down the strip in Lake George where there is nothing but hotels for what seems like 1000 miles. All of a sudden traffic going both ways comes to a complete stop. What is all the commotion? Turns out there is a little tiny dog out in the middle of the road. The dog is freaked, barking & running all over the place. So we all pull over... here we come to save the day!! I'm out in the street, I had both legs then so I am ready for action, when the dog runs right to me. I grab him. He bites me. He hardly scratched me but I scream like a baby & let go of the little bastard. Some hero I am. The dog takes off, right past my wife, who grabs him. He bites her & her best friend who was trying to help until I grabbed the dog once again.

Here's where things get weird....

My wife & I had already suffered a miscarriage earlier that year so we didn't want to tell anyone we were pregnant again until we knew this was going to last. But with a stray dog biting her we had to tell everyone since we didn't know if the dog had his shots.

I hand the dog off to someone & focus my attention to my soon to be wife. She is freaking because of the pregnancy. Now all of our friends are making a fuss because they are finding out now that we're pregnant. But what to do? What about the dog? Where are the owners? What's happening? Wait a sec... where is the dog? Cars are honking their horns so traffic can start moving. Everyone is moving their cars out of the way. People are trying to bandage up the girls who were bit. Commotion everywhere.

I move my car & start looking for the dog again as someone applies first aid to my wife. The dog is gone. Someone yells out that the owner of one of the hotels on the strip grabbed the dog. Out of nowhere someone who works for some state animal control department appears with her badge ready to kick ass. The two of us walk to this hotel as our friends follow. The state-pet worker-person is greeted by someone as we walk down the path. I keep going into the hotel, past everyone, & right into the owners office. Somehow I knew exactly where to go. I walk in & the owner is this old lady. She is sitting there literally stuffing her face with kiwi as she is on the phone with animal control. She acts like I am not even there. She says to the person on the phone, "Something happened up there but I don't want anything to happen to this poor dog." I say, "Poor dog? Screw the dog! My wife & baby are in danger! Let's take the dog, test him for rabies, & help my family!" The woman tells the person on the phone that the dog is not hers, she doesn't know who the dog belongs to, & that she sent the dog to a vets office. My blood pressure starts to boil. She gets off the phone & I start telling the lady to hand over the dog. She gets up, still eating the kiwi, walks right past me, outside to where my friends, my wife, the animal-state-person-with a badge-lady, & the family of the hotel owners are. They're all talking over one another & nothing is getting resolved. I mention to one of my friends that the dog has been taken to some vet. My friends vow to find the dog & go running off. My wife gets in the kiwi eating woman's face demanding the dog, telling her that she is pregnant & could be in danger. The woman stands there, expressionless, with kiwi dripping down her chin. I'm getting very mad.

As we're all yelling & getting nowhere, a man grabs me. I find out later he is the owner's son. He gets in my face & says, "You better get the f*#@ out of here!" That was it. Let me tell you, all the craziness that led up to this was now exploding out of me. I lost my temper like I never did before. I was jumping up & down about 10 feet off the ground yelling like a mad man. I called these people rednecks. I was running up to their guests at the hotel telling them to leave right away. I couldn't handle a little dog biting me but I could yell at these gubers. It took 3 people to pull me out of there because I was so out of my head. I totally lost myself. I don't even remember everything I said & did during this time.

Once they got me off the grounds I was convinced to take my wife to the hospital. The friends who put on their Columbo jackets on to find the dog called the hospital. They not only knew how to track us down, they called to tell us they found the dog! The owners of the dog showed up too. They claimed the dog had it's shots & will send us proof when they get home. They were from Queens. They kept their promise & sent it to us a few weeks later. While in the hospital another call came in for me. It was Sheriff Gomer Pyle who asked me if I was coming back to Lake George. I informed him that I was trying to go home. He said that's a good thing because if I came back I would be arrested for causing a public disruption, trespassing, etc. I told the sheriff I did nothing wrong, go arrest the owners of the dog, & arrest the owners of the hotel for attempted murder. Sheriff Pyle told me to calm down before he decides to come get me. I said I know all the locals are going to take care of each other no matter what, that they make me sick, & if he wants to come get me to go right ahead. I'll be here at this hospital for a while. 

After I hung up the phone I thought about how stupid I am. What moron mouths off to a sheriff in a small, upstate town? Especially with our wedding coming up! Luckily the sheriff never showed.

My wife & her friend received shots & were sent on their way. They were fine.

Sometimes my wife wonders if that shot caused our daughter's autism but I don't think so. Don't ask me why I don't think so, but I don't. 

We've gone back to Lake George several times since without incident but I still can't look at that hotel when we pass it.