So yesterday, my son walked the dogs – we have two, an aging yellow Lab and a youngish Sheltie mix. As he was coming back into our yard, our neighbor across the street let her two Shitzus outside.

Our Sheltie went nuts, lunging and trying to go play; at least, I thought it was play, his tail was wagging. I helped my son get them inside and told him to get them a drink out back; when he did, the Sheltie went over the fence and across the street.

Here’s where it gets sticky. The neighbor said my dog ran over there and she could “tell” he was attacking and not playing; my dog did bite one of hers, but I’m pretty sure he was simply herding and over-excited. He’s never attacked anyone or anything. The neighbor was screaming, I heard barking, and I ran over there.

Oh, and she shouted that she was going to call the police. I asked why.

We got our dog back, and I went to check on the one that was bitten. There was a puncture, I held the little guy while his “mom” cleaned the wound; he was calm and fine, as was the other one. When we finished, he ran off and hid under a bed, but that’s pretty normal – probably didn’t like the smell of the alcohol.

The neighbor was totally freaking out, talking and talking, saying she “knew” my dog was attacking and why would she lie about it and so on and so forth. I tried to calm her down, even found her vet’s phone number when she couldn’t see it on the open page, told her what I thought the vet would say, offered to pay for the vet visit if she wanted to bring the dog in, and assured her my dog’s shots were current.

She kept saying her husband was going to be really ticked and she showed me an axe or sledge hammer handle that he’d probably use on my dog, if he could.

When she called the vet, it sure sounded like they told her to wait and see, but she insisted on bringing the dog in; so she did. I saw her come home about 30 minutes later and went to see what happened.

Yes, the dog had a puncture and a little bruising; the vet cleaned the wound (again) and put on some Neosporin and told her to watch for signs of infection. For that, I asked for and was given the bill of $60. Okay, I get it; she was scared and worried and thinks her dogs are people. Not my thing, but whatever.

Oh, and she also talked about “neighbors” and how she didn’t want this to come between us. We’re not exactly close, but we do see each other outside from time to time, and visit on occasion. Okay, fine, whatever; I was actually planning on going back with a check and a bottle of wine.

Then the police pulled up. I opened the wine for myself. And I’m seriously considering getting the equivalent of that vet bill in pennies and leaving them on a pile on their front porch. Really.

I mean, what kind of people do this? And since when are the police supposed to act as animal control? After all of this, they call the police. Who, by the way, sent TWO patrol cars. Sheesh.

Yes, my dog got out and yes, my dog bit theirs. But I did the right thing by helping in a crisis, and offering to help further, and to pay the bill, and by having my dog’s shots up-to-date. Should I also be penalized by having the police at my door?

I should add that no, the police did nothing except ask what happened and to be shown the shot records; since my son’s numerous incidents with the police, we know most of the force and they’ve all met my dogs. They were, as always, courteous and professional.

Still, it’s something I didn’t need after this week. Seems like those who do try to do what’s right end up getting screwed. I fully expect neighborhood gossip, and probably a lawsuit.

Sigh.

Here’s a conundrum: I believe that parents should be responsible for most of their child’s actions, to a point; I believe that crime victims should not be penalized for being a victim. How in the world can this be resolved when the parent is the victim?

Take a kid who has been “raised right”, had many advantages in his life, and still persists in pushing the envelope; this kid lands in detention because he hit someone and assault charges were filed.

Now, typically, the parents could and maybe should be held responsible for paying, in dollars, for this kid’s mistakes. It depends, really, on prior circumstances – if the parents have raised the kid to be accountable and responsible and do the right things, then, well, you still have to look at the fact that the kid is an individual and capable of making his own decisions. This is, after all, what landed him in detention.

The judge would not order the victim to pay for the kid’s public defender, right? In fact, in most cases, the kid will be ordered to pay into the Victim Restitution Fund, at least a token amount.

This particular kid was indeed ordered to pay restitution; his parents were also billed for his public defender. Responsible parents, as in this case, will make the kid pay for his own defense. Because in this case, the victim was a parent.

Yes, folks, the parents received a bill from the public defender’s office. Talk about passing the buck (no pun intended): the clerk of the court directed the parents to the public defender’s office. The PD office had no clue that Division 16 was a part of the 21st Circuit; the parents were directed to the office of the PD who handled the case, and the mailbox was full. The parents were then given another number to call, which was also too busy to take the call, but was the wrong number anyway.

And for all this, they were billed $200.

Ironically, initially the parents were told that the kid didn’t qualify for a PD and that the fee for the attorney to be used was $150. Then it was discovered that the victim was a parent, so the PD office was contacted – to bill a greater amount.

And what, you ask, was received for this $200? The PD met once with the kid and the parents and read a short, one-page report from the detention folks; she attended a brief hearing and misquoted the report. Three weeks later, she arrived late to court, met with the kid for a few minutes, and perhaps advised him as to his options. At the hearing, she asked the judge to not impose restitution or community service.

That was it. Hardly worth $200. Or $150. So, note to parents, if you try everything possible to get your kids in line, or keep them in line, if you call the police many, many times for assistance with this and when you are in fear of your own child, if the case manager determines that, because you’ve tried everything possible, your child should remain in detention for three weeks – the courts will still make you pay. Perhaps because it’s still “your” fault. No matter if you are the victim as well.