A woman down the street from one of the properties I manage had a huge pit bull. She and my tenant did not like each other, and tensions ran high between them. To make matters worse, the woman would deliberately parade up and down in front of my tenant’s house with her pit bull, trying to intimidate her. The dog was often off-leash, adding to the fear and frustration of everyone nearby. When I tried to speak to this woman about the escalating situation, she told me in very colorful language, that she wasn’t doing anything wrong and that I should mind my own business. 

One day, the unthinkable happened. The unleashed pit bull attacked a little dog belonging to the people next door to my tenant. I will spare you the gory details, except that the scene was chaotic and horrifying. In a desperate attempt to save his little dog, the pet’s owner intervened and stabbed the pit bull. It was a drastic measure, but at that moment, it was the only way to stop the attack.

When the news media got wind of the story, things took an even crazier turn. The incident was reported with a heavy bias, focusing on the pit bull being stabbed rather than the context of the attack. The pit bull’s owner was interviewed on television, tearfully recounting the injuries to her dog. She said her pit bull was on a leash, and the other (very little) dog had attacked her pit bull. The media coverage painted her as a victim, and sympathy poured in from viewers who only saw part of the story.

The pit bull’s owner set up a GoFundMe campaign and quickly raised several thousand dollars to pay the vet bill. This was a stark contrast to the grief and anger felt by the owner of the small dog that died on the way to the vet, whose story and suffering were largely ignored.

I contacted the news reporter responsible and explained that the incident had been reported inaccurately. She apologized once she heard the whole story, but it was already too late. 

I released my tenant from her lease so she could move. Sometimes, that is just the right thing to do.