Photo is unrelated to the article. [Getty Images Bank]
Photo is unrelated to the article. [Getty Images Bank]

An apartment resident in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, is drawing widespread criticism after his dog lunged at a neighbor in an elevator and he responded with a casual "my dog doesn't bite" — showing no sign of remorse.

According to the online community Bobaedream on Monday, A, a man in his 60s living in Suwon's Yeongtong-gu, got into a dispute with fellow resident B while trying to board an elevator on Thursday after returning from exercise. As the elevator doors opened, B's dog rushed toward A, barking loudly, but B appeared unfazed and tried to walk away without a word.

A said the dog had bolted more than 1 meter from its owner and charged to within 20 to 30 centimeters of him, as if trying to bite. "I wasn't actually bitten, but I was absolutely startled," he said.

The dog's owner made no apology and tried to move on, prompting A to protest: "Shouldn't you at least say you're sorry?" The owner simply repeated, "My dog doesn't bite — you weren't bitten," showing no acknowledgment of wrongdoing.

A pressed further, saying the issue was not whether he had been bitten but that the dog had suddenly charged at him. "If you can't control it, hold the leash shorter — at the very least, you owe me an apology," he said. B kept repeating "my dog doesn't bite," and the exchange escalated into a heated argument.

When A muttered, "Young people these days have no manners," B shot back, "I probably went to a better university than you," and the quarrel dragged on. B then threatened to call the police, turning the confrontation into a case of blaming the victim.

A ultimately gave up and walked away. "Not all young people are this rude and cold-hearted, but I don't think 'my dog doesn't bite, you weren't bitten' is any kind of resolution," he said. "A single 'I'm sorry' to a startled neighbor would have ended the whole thing — even looking back now, I feel frustrated and angry," he added.

He also urged pet owners to be more considerate of those around them, saying, "If pet owners paid just a little more attention and acted with manners, wouldn't our shared community become a warmer place?"

Online commenters sided squarely with A, criticizing the dog owner. "It's because of irresponsible owners like this that millions of responsible pet owners get a bad name," one wrote. Others said, "To the owner the dog may be a beloved child, but to everyone else it's merely a dog," and "I have a dog too, but I'm extremely careful — most owners are." Some concluded the owner was simply "not fit to have a dog."


betterj@heraldcorp.com