Wannabe Hero Rescues A Dog Thinking He Was "Muzzled Against His Will" and Gets Sued By The Dog's Worried Owner
Pets are valued family members for their owners. If any harm comes to them, their families will do everything to protect their precious pets.
Just like how this woman reacted when someone stole her dog, thinking he was being abused. OP (original poster) has a rescue dog named Maximo Tiberio, who has had some aggression issues in the past.
Due to these issues, Maximo's vet recommended that he be trained while muzzled. His muzzle fits him perfectly and comfortably; it hasn't caused any issues so far, and his training is going well.
Every Monday, OP and her 11-year-old daughter take Maximo to a dog park. So off to the dog park they went, with Maximo wearing a muzzle while OP kept an eye on him to recognize any signs of discomfort.
Suddenly, OP hears a cry that sounded like it was from a girl. Thinking it was her daughter, OP left Maximo in an area specifically designated for keeping dogs tied in order to search for her daughter.
OP was about 15 meters away from Maximo when she found her daughter, who wasn't crying. Relieved, OP went back to get Maximo when she saw a girl running toward Max.
She scooped him up and ran back to her car. The whole time, OP could see that her dog was visibly stressed, but since he was muzzled, he couldn't do anything.
The people in the park were few and far between, meaning there was no one to stop the dog thief. OP was too far away to catch up to them.
Quickly, OP took a photo of the girl's license plate and showed it at the police station.
They identified the owner of the car and sent a patrol to search for Maximo. A day after the incident, the cops returned with the girl and Maximo, who was not in good shape; he was nervous and anxious.
The girl explained to OP that she took Max, thinking he was being abused. She also said she had been watching them every Monday and witnessed Max using a muzzle against his will.
Despite her seemingly noble intentions, OP still decided to press charges against the girl. OP's stress, panic, and worry, on top of Max's state when he was returned, were enough reasons for OP to press charges.
OP's sister thinks otherwise. Her sister believes that the girl is admirable for taking action when she thought she saw an animal being abused.
She told OP that she was a horrible person for pressing charges against someone who thought they were doing the right thing. Some of OP's friends also think she's in the wrong here. Read OP's original post below before casting judgment:
"Suddenly, I hear a girl cry."
"The stress I felt..."
OP also shared a photo of her dog, Maximo Tiberio. This is what they call a dog tax on Reddit; a requirement when one is sharing stories about their animal companions.
Now onto Reddit's opinion. They say OP is not an a**hole. The girl did try to steal her dog.
A tangent: Maximo's name really suits him.
There's no other way around it; despite her good intentions, the girl did steal Maximo.
OP must have felt restless when Maximo was missing.
She didn't have to go Batman on that "rescue" mission. She could have gone through the proper channels if she really wanted to help.
She could just be saying that was her original intention to save herself.
The least she could have done was ask OP why the dog was muzzled.
If she's been watching them for a while, how did she jump to the conclusion that Max was abused?
She probably wanted her hero moment or something.
Things could have gone wrong in an instant after she stole Max.
If the would-be hero had been hurt after stealing Max, she would have blamed OP for it.
The vigilante is no hero. In her attempt to "help" Max, she ended up hurting him. Poor dog!
It depends on where she lives, but OP can definitely sue this girl.
So many options, and she chose the obviously wrong one.
She could have asked reputable rescue organizations to help her with her noble intentions...
...if she didn't trust the system, because neglect does happen in some cases.
OP was actually acting like a responsible dog owner. Max is muzzled for his safety and the safety of those around him, which the girl could have learned if she had asked OP.
The girl definitely knows this now.
She made up a whole story in her head and convinced herself she was doing the right thing.
Time to face the music, miss.
OP answered some questions about Maximo's state upon his return.
He was wounded in the area where the girl tried to cut the string off of his muzzle (dangerous), and he is now reactive and hostile toward his humans.
Months of training and hard work just down the drain because of someone thinking they were doing the right thing.
OP admits that she feels quite resentful for what the girl has done. Maximo's hostility is back, and OP is planning to hire a professional trainer to retrain him. Guess who's paying?
What's the saying about hell being paved with good intentions? This would-be heroic girl thought she was doing the right thing by "rescuing" a dog she believed was being abused because he was muzzled.
Despite observing them for weeks, she didn't think to ask OP why they muzzle Maximo. Instead, she made up an entire story in her head that the dog needed rescuing and that she could be the hero to save him.
She was wrong on all accounts, of course. Thanks to her gallantry, Maximo is now worse off; he has to undergo months of repeated training to undo the damage this girl has managed to accomplish in a day.
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