ボスは迷文家シリーズ |
バンディット、ついに逮捕される
あわれなるバンデイット、ついに逮捕される
先週の金曜日にバンデイットは逮捕されました。拘置期間は10日間。
水曜日の午後、事務所のドア付近で見張りをしているバンディットに向かって、顔はオートバイのフルフェイス・ヘルメットに脚には刺青だらけの風貌の大男が大股で近づき、そして挨拶もなく通り超えようとした。そこで、「何だ、お前は？」、というつもりで彼の脚に向かってNipした。ところが、威嚇のつもりのNipでも歯が皮膚に触れた為、相手の皮膚はちょっと切れてしまったのだ。誰の目から見ても何でもない傷であった。
動物は言葉が通じないので、相手の目や表情から危険な状況（Hostile）か安心できる状況（Friendly）かの判断をする。ところがこの大男は、動物にずかずかと向かいながら、相手にEye Contactはもとより顔の表情すらも見せなかった。要は、フルフェイスのヘルメットで顔を隠したままなので、バンデイットに挨拶をしなかったのだ。そこで、バンディットは威嚇をした。これは、動物によるTeritorial Protectionの為の自然な行為なのである。
小さな傷なので騒ぎたてなくとも、、と思っていた僕が甘かった。彼は、そのままAnimal Controlの事務所で“噛まれた”と報告をした。その為にOfficerが朝一番で事務所にやって来たのだ。僕が驚いてしまった、ことは言うまでもない。
Animal Controlのオフィサーは、日本でいう保健所ではなく、どちらかというと動物をPoliceをすることが仕事。だから侮ることなどはできはしない。調書をとりながら、オフィサーは僕に伝えた、一年以内に同様な事件がおきた
場合、バンデイットはキング郡（シアトルを含む）を出て行かなければならないと。僕は、バンディットがいかにジェントルな犬で、本件に関してはバンデイットだけを責めることはできない、と説明。オフィサーもバンデイットのジェントルさに、顔を態度を柔らかくし、バンデイットを撫でていた。そして、口を開けてあることに気がついた。
「な〜んだ、バンデイットには歯がないのか、、、」 そう、バンデイットには前歯がゼンゼンないのだ。 これは、競争犬時代、ずっと小さな檻に入れられた生活だったので、他にやることがなく、前歯で鉄格子をガリガリやっていて、前歯はみんな削られてなくなってしまったのだ。牙すらも失っている危険とはほど遠い犬だといえる。
本日で四日目。あわれなるバンデイットは、あと六日日も拘置生活に耐えなければならない。
８・２４・９８
DO
NOT ENTERYour FULL FACE HELMET or SHADES may be threatening our office dog
NO ENTRY
if you have either a full face helmet or shadeｓ covering your face
NOTE
Dogs need eye contact with you, and need to see your facial expression to determine if you are hostile or friendly
Do not walk by our dog without letting him know you are not hostile by showing your face and eyes. Otherwise he may give you a warning by nipping at you since you are threatening him. He is a sight-hound dog. He checks you by seeing but by sniffing
Even though he does not bite (his teeth are gone), the edge of his worn down teeth could scratch or break your skin if two of you hit each other in a wrong angle
We are sending this warning out to all our business associates in the greater Seattle area to make sure your next visit with us will be pleasant. Thank you.
(Aug 25, 1998)
<続き>
From: Shoji Onozawa
Sent: Saturday, September 19, 1998 10:37 AM
To: astieda@shana.com
Subject: finally got bitten
Alex
I would like you to add onto your list of Canadians do-s which you sent me today "Canadians are not sue happy"
I finally got bitten by a vicious "I'm gonna get you if you let me" animal after living here for almost 20 years. You hear about this all the time in the States, but this was the first time actually happened to me.
The man called me first thing in the morning yesterday, and said; "I am going after NORCO for letting him ride a bike with a pedal not securely tightened, resulting in a severe accident" he said he is suffering from the injury.
(This is a biggest scam, he is a bike shop mechanic and he should have known if the pedal was really loose.)
He continued saying he was not that kind of a guy who sued everybody, implying if I had taken what he was gonna say lightly, he would have sued me. This is called "SHAKE DOWN", and it is a felony.
A long story short, he said a fair amount was $400.00 with a doctor's bill included for a micro size scratch he got from Bandit in my office. He is psychologically affected by this now that he is afraid of dogs.
His scar he was describing grew larger than what I saw right after the incident. I have two witnesses who saw him crashing his motorcycle right in front of my office. The scar was from the motorcycle crash. The dog scratch, which I saw, right after the incident was much smaller. But there was no point in arguing.
What really happened in my office was like this,,, This man walked into my office with a full-face motorcycle helmet on. Dogs need eye-contact and facial expression before he determined the man was hostile or friendly.
The man walked by Bandit without telling the dog he was friendly. Bandit nipped at him (nipping is not biting), warning the man not to threaten him. Bandit mouth and his leg both came in a wrong angle and this resulted in the man getting a small scratch on his leg, breaking his skin a little.
Bandit does not have teeth. His teeth are gone from the time when he was at a race track. He grounded down his teeth on bars of dog crate. This is common amongst racing greyhound dogs. The man said Bandit punctured
his skin. That was a bull shit.
If he did sue me it would cost me more money, and it would be mentally exhausting. So, I decided to pay the amount. He came in today and thanked me for the check. I was just about to say "happy birthday, jerk!"
No it wasn't a dog bite that got me. I feel I got bitten by a low life.
Shoji
From: Alex Stieda
To: "'Shoji Onozawa" <Shoji@sidetrak.com>
Subject: RE: finally got bitten
Date: Fri, 18 Sep 1998
Well, that doesn't sound like fun. Though I have to say, Canadians are starting to see the potential in lawsuits - American ways have a way of making their way North one way or another. Too bad, it really spoils our perception of the human race, doesn't it? Good people are still out there and when I find them, I make sure that I let them know! Hang in there Shoji, you're doing the right thing. How was the show for you? What trends do you see coming?? Alex