My wife and I were walking our dog in the neighborhood, a popular area for dog-walkers. We always kept him on a leash, and most of our neighbors did the same for their dogs. But this day, someone didn’t.

We were a few blocks from home when we passed a house with an open front door. At that moment, a large dog about the same size as ours dashed out, barking viciously, and headed straight for our dog. Without any provocation, he attacked.

In a moment or two, a woman came out of the house calling out to her dog, but to no avail. I held our dog as close to me as I could in the hope that the woman would be able to take control of hers, but she was no match for him—and didn’t appear to be concerned. As the attack continued, I felt both protective and angry. I held back our dog as best I could to protect him, while being angry with the neighbor for ignoring the leash law and for not appearing to care about the consequences. It was her husband’s dog, she said, so it wasn’t her fault.