It was a cool February morning in Columbia, South Carolina . Andy had been reading meters for only 4 months. He already had a few nips on the back of his legs to remind him to always be on the look out for dogs. This was the first time he had been in this neighborhood. Less than an hour into his route, he approached a home, got the read and heard a woman from the next house say: "I'll come get the dogs and put them away". The dogs were three large Great Danes. The fence holding the Danes was only 4 feet high. The fence is 48 inches and the dogs are 33 inches at the shoulder. It's not hard to imagine the dog’s heads barking over the 4 foot fence.

At this point, they are running along the fence barking and the owner is trying to call them into the house. Andy jumps over the fence of the yard he had just gotten the read and into the area between the two yards. As soon as he jumped into that area the Danes jumped out of their yard and surrounded him. Andy is now desperately trying to keep an eye on all the dogs sniffing around his legs. Remember, all this is happening in seconds. The owner is now screaming for the dogs to come back. She is rushing to what she thinks is Andy's aid. (She may think she helping but we know she is only making it worse for Andy.) Then he feels extreme pain and is stunned that one of the Danes has quickly bitten him under his left arm. Then the same dog bites him again on the forearm, same arm.

He is now really into the fight, hitting the dogs with his Data Cap (handheld computer). Trying to get the dogs away from him, he goes over the fence back into the yard he just came from, he is trying to get to the porch of the house. The Dane's follow him over the fence. His right forearm is suddenly grabbed. The dog's teeth tearing out part of the large muscle. He feels and sees the damage the dog has done. Andy feels himself being pulled down but he keeps himself up and continues to move toward the house. Another dog attacks his back, ripping his shirt. The neighbor is calling to him to get into the house. He is able to finally run into the house and slams the door shut. Relieved he is safe, the door opens and the neighbor comes into the house letting one of the Danes back in with Andy. Now there is only one dog. Andy is not going to be bit again; he backs the Dane off him, the dog retreats.                                                                                                                                           
Andy is treated for his injuries and does recover. He lost over 10% of the large muscle on top of his left forearm. He also learned valuable lessons. Multiple dogs, especially dogs of great size and strength can over power a man very quickly. Andy kept himself from being knocked down, avoiding being "pack attacked or mauled". On the ground the dogs would have had even greater physical advantage over him. Never depend on the customer to come to your rescue. Here the owner's presence gave the dogs more courage and she could not control the dogs. Within a month or two the customer and her dogs were gone from the home. Andy found out that the dogs had attacked on two other occasions. The customer could not get insurance because of the aggressive history of the dogs she owned. These dogs are extremely dangerous because they have been allowed to bite on several occasions. They will attack again.

Written by, Andy & Mitzi Robinson.