Discontented citizen

As a newcomer to Brooksville, I have never been so dissatisfied with an area of this country that I have lived in as I am with the county and city of Brooksville and its officials.

I have a serious problem concerning a neighbor's five vicious, full of malice, guard dogs. I moved into a rental home in Hernando County. The mailbox of this address was missing, so I bought a new one and hired a man to put it up for me. On my street, all mailboxes are on one side. Mine happens to be across the road from my driveway. The mailbox is in front of this neighbor's fenced yard. However, the fence is made of very thin wire called hog wire, I believe, with square space sections between the wires throughout, which makes it very pliable.

When I approach my mailbox, I am in jeopardy because all five dogs come charging at me, growling and barking while jumping onto the flimsy fence. The fence is destined to fall onto the ground from the weight of the dogs. It's a perilous sight that would frighten the devil himself.

One of the dogs, a boxer, stuck his head through one of the fence spaces and bit the fellow on his leg who was putting my mailbox onto the post. He, being the masculine type of man, didn't want to admit that he was hurt by the bite. I suggested reporting the incident to the authorities, but he declined. The bite wound was dressed at my house, and he went home.

The seething hatred the dogs have for anyone approaching the fence line or walking along the road, the nastier the dogs behave the closer you get. I'm in grave fear for my life every day I go to get my mail at the combat zone. I fear the worst. One day I may become a victim maliciously torn apart by these evil monsters because the fragile fence will topple over, and every one of your readers will be reading about the grueling death of a brutally attacked woman killed by this pack of mad dogs.

I tried talking to this neighbor about his dogs and his fence, but he is not a person one can communicate with civilly. He exploded into a malignant-mannered, acid-tongued person as nasty as his dogs. He was cocky and brash, telling me to go away and leave him alone. I decided to report the bite incident myself. I went to the Hernando County Sheriff's Office to explain my situation and was refused any help. I went to the post office to see if I could move my mailbox and was told "no" by the supervisor. I then went to Hernando County Animal Services and was told that it was too late to inform them about the dog bite; that it needed to be reported the day of the incident. It was 10 days later. No help there either. I called code enforcement for help, but they said that there is nothing they can do.

I am appalled by the fact that, according to the Hernando County officials, there is no one willing to help me with my problem until I am actually attacked by the dogs, which have escaped their fencing or if one of the dogs should bite me while sticking its head through the space in the fencing. They can reach me.

Everyone's only suggestion for me is to buy a post office box at the post office. Why should I have to drive miles out of my way every day to the post office to receive my mail when I just purchased a box to use at my address?

What is it about this county that will not help a senior citizen widow woman? Why should this exposure to danger be allowed? I am so sorry that I moved here! I'm afraid this will be a short stay.

B.J. Dusage

Brooksville