My dog "Trouble"

My dog is a Pointer mix with a lot of energy & cute as a (large) button. I love him as though he were my child. He is nine years old & has been in my family from birth & raised around many children. He is non-aggressive & has only growled at a few very deserving people.

Some people would argue about the worth of an animal/pet. I feel as if a pet should be treated like a child for the most part & should also be protected as a child.

I had an issue come up today that I feel needs to be addressed. .....

Brian & I took Trouble to work today as he has been showing signs of illness/anxiety. He has been chewing on himself constantly. We have tried bathing, lotions, meds & so forth. It has come down to either an allergy or anxiety as the cause. Keeping him with us until his raw spots are healed is the only way to stop him from chewing.

He has been to work many times before, is very well behaved & friendly. He does like to greet anyone who is around & sniff them. He has barked a few times, only from being startled. He does not growl or intimidate at all & usually finds a place to lay down.

Brian & I are sub-contractors & run a mobile heavy equip. mechanic/maint. service. The place the incident happened at was a regular clients shop where Trouble knows everyone & is very relaxed.

Today.......Trouble was rambling around the office just saying hello to everyone after being out in the shop for a while & panting as it was hot in the shop. All the people in the office have dogs of their own except one man. This one man is afraid of dogs but has met Trouble before & without incident. Today this man pulled out his knife & said "get your dog away from me or I will cut him up". Trouble was just walking past him about five feet away from him. I told him that Trouble was not doing anything wrong & that I would hurt him if he tried to hurt my dog. Then I got my dog & left.

That being said.........What kind of freaking moron pulls a knife out in a place of business & threatens anyone? My dog was showing no aggression what so ever & acting very normal. I know that phobias are an illness but threatening an animal will make an animal aggressive. Fortunately Trouble was not paying attention to the threat & did not retaliate like a cornered animal would. Needless to say I was livid & will never go back there again.

My issue now is.......... The manager, secretary, & crew all witnessed this & did nothing, nor said nothing as if it is common place for employees to pull weapons out & threaten violence. They all just went about their business & some were laughing as if it was a joke.

Problem is  that this place is a main client & we need the work. But I now have a big problem being around this guy. Is he going to threaten me with a knife if I make him nervous? That & the fact that he is now on my hate & want to hurt list.

What to do....What to do.....


People argue that pets are just property & don't have rights. Many States have cruelty laws & some are more strict than others. Here are my thoughts/observances .......


1. Pets are fought over in court as if they are property but placed as if they were a child by a judge. Sometimes couples even get visitation rights.
2. The Humane Society has laws stating that you are obligated to provide for your pet ie; food, water, appropriate shelter, medical aid,  much like children.
3. If your pet causes problems such as noise, running loose, obedience problems in public places, or harming others, they can be confiscated or you may be fined such as with children skipping school or running amuck.

With these observances, I am led to believe that it is up to me as the Owner/Parent to protect my dog/child as well. Especially against unwarranted threats & assaults.

I personally think that if someone is so idiotic/irrational/nervous as to pull a knife at work because a dog walked too close to him that he is unstable & could do the same to anyone, so therefore he is unsafe to be around for anyone & should have been fired.

I would like to see some rational feedback on this subject please.