AIBU to scream and panic when knocked over in the dark suddenly?

I think worrying about dog thieves is the least of his problems.

He should be worried about his dog running in the road and causing a traffic accident!
And knocking you over of course!!

Do you have a local magazine or website? Perhaps you could warn others about a dog off the lead running into the road causing possible accidents.
If he is local he might read it and walk his dog somewhere else?

As lemongrove suggested, could you change your dog walking route for a while?

Hope you feel better soon.

I am sorry this incident left you so shaken Lavazza but now you have calmed down do try to remind yourself that you were not attacked by this dog, you say it was biggish and ran out of a church gateway It didn’t jump up on you or attack you, just took you by surprise - however unpleasant that surprise was.
The owner could have been a lot more sympathetic and apologetic, but I assume he was anxious to catch his dog. I am sincerely sorry you were hurt and the owner showed appalling manners in not helping you up. Sadly there are people like that, but it does not say it all about dog owners eazybee
It was an unfortunate incident, accident, but let’s not build it up into anything aggressive or illegal.
Dog theft does not come int this so I don’t understand why 25Avalon has brought this up and there was no reason for you to hide or be afraid of the owner knowing where you live.

Damned predictive text!!!! My post should have read ^ I guess you like COFFEE!!!!! ?

What a horrible experience for you Lavazza1st. Hopefully your partner can persuade you to go for short daytime walks once you feel a bit more confident. Any fall leaves us very shaken. Hope you quickly mend and feel stronger soon. ?

I know dog theft is a problem, yes. I can't believe he was (a) on his phone or inattentive for another reason and (b) I also can't believe he a massively delayed reaction to his dog moving away from him. I can only think he might have been under the influence of something? (c) he wasted vital time by not noticing what his dog was doing and then went in the opposite direction to his dog because he was not "with it".

He's lucky there were not dog thieves there because he would have been an easy target. I hope he learns a lesson because he was really horrible.

I am not exactly sure what happened because it all happened so fast. The dog ran at me and knocked me over. I don't think it jumped, but rather charged at me.
It crossed a road to get to me, but it was very dark so I couldn't see well.

Good point about confidence. I had just started to feel more confident again after getting over a previous bad experience. I mainly left the house because I wanted exercise as my other exercises habits have been curtailed due to covid. I have been feeling frustrated because I wanted to lose weight and can't use the pool or do the classes I'd usually do.

A very irresponsible dog owner Lavazza1st what an uncaring person. You are not at all unreasonable, anyone would have been scared.
Don't worry about the dog it will be home safely now. Sorry you are feeling nervous, could you and your partner just do a few shorter trips until you have your confidence back.
I know how you feel as one of my own dogs pulled me over and I fractured my pelvis. It took me a while after I recovered to feel confident enough to walk him on the lead. Hope you feel better soon.

Just to point out, at no time did Lavazza1st say that the dog "jumped" at her. She said she was knocked over by the dog running out of the church gateway.

Can I ask: if you have little confidence in leaving the house, why did you go for a night time walk?

I see someone is being sued for thousand of pounds because their dog was off lead and knocked someone over or off their bike (can’t remember which) causing extensive damage. Unless the dog owner has insurance cover it could cost him dear.

Dogs are being stolen at the moment. If that was the problem dog should be on lead. No excuse. Not only should the thug with a dog have apologised he should have made sure you were alright.

Does your area have a dog warden? You could speak to them. They will be on local council website.

Surely if your partner is with you (as they were when the unfortunate incident occurred) then you should feel more confident?

Walk a different route.

The dog owner blamed you?
Says it all about dog owners.
Not your fault at all.
I hope you are feeling better and were not injured last night.

Lavazza How awful for you. I hope you're feeling a bit better. I've had a few 'incidents' with dogs myself.

Good grief no. I was angry reading this. You’re not being unreasonable at all, it could have really hurt you. I would let the police know. You never know, he might be spotted out and about. With a bit of luck the owner will get a big fat fine! Hope you’re soon feeling better ?

Thanks so much for all the kind comments. My default position seems to be blaming myself, for some reason, even though all I did was walk along a road.

Is there anyone who can advise me on a better way of handling this sort of thing. I won't be going out in the evenings now, but it's a long time til the evening's get lighter again.

Only after the dog had run off he accused me of taking his dog.

I hope you asked him where you were supposed to have hidden said dog! If it was big enough to knock you over you could hardly have had it stuffed up your jumper. He should have had it on a lead. Could ou sue him?
Perhaps it kept on running and is miles away by now ?

I'd just go out in the daytime with your own dog.

I feel angry on your behalf Lavazza1st! I expect the dog owner was being defensive and knew he was in the wrong and should've kept his dog under control. Check out the gov.uk website...it clearly states 'that it's against the law to let your dog be dangerously out of control anywhere' and I agree with the other poster that suggested you let the police know. It won't be the first or last time it will happen.

Some dog owners are very irresponsible. (most dog owners are very responsible I hasten to add).

I have been jumped at by large dogs but fortunately didn't fall.
Dogs that are inclined to jump should be on a lead.

Nasty experience for you Lavazzalst. Glad you and your dog are able to go out again now.

Love your name! I guess you love money. That's one of my husband's favourite makes of espresso coffee. ☕☕☕☕☕☕☕
You must have got an awful fright!!!. I have been terrified of dogs since a huge black labrador jumped on me as a child. ?

Lavazza1st Take a day or so to get over it, but don't let this experience cause you to lose your confidence. Decide in your own mind that you will get over it and move on. You did nothing wrong. Your partner was with you. Take a deep breath and go out in the daytime for a nice walk to give yourself a boost.

@KittyLester thanks so much. I'm not particularly new but a bit quiet

@Nonogram I'm so sorry to hear of your bad experience. I'm glad he helped you up, but shocked there was no apology or concern.

I think the reason he accused me was that I was with my partner and he was supporting me down the road as I was dizzy but wanted to get away. I think he thought we were carrying his dog because he chased us , threatened us and accused us. Then he saw we weren't carrying his dog and it dawned on him that he should go and look for it sigh

@Lemongrove He wasn't really with it. I would have thought he would have been "on it" the moment that the dog ran out of the gate, but he failed to react even when I screamed. He didn't react until after I was 100 metres away. I have no idea what was wrong with his reactions. Perhaps he had taken something.

@Fennel so sorry to hear that. don't think I will be going out after dark again. I did know the dog was in the church yard, but only because it had a flashing collar. I assumed it was on a lead and proceeded to walk down the road on the opposite side. I have now managed a day time dog walk, but tonight I will be staying in.

What a terrifying experience.

Are you new Lavazza - if so, welcome. Gn is a lovely place to be!

What an awful experience! No wonder it's knocked all your confidence out of you.
I've had several falls outside and now hardly ever go out on foot after dark. I bought a good torch which helps. You can get a torch on a headband which leaves your hands free, but not so good for aiming at the ground to look at uneven pavings etc.