Things have been scary on a neighborhood list serv this week. There was a report of a large dog -- one post says it's a puppy, about 70 pounds -- that was attacked in Elysian Park by a loose pit bull and badly hurt. The pit bull was described as a brindle, its owner as looking a bit like Danny Devito. According to the puppy's owner, the pit bull's owner basically fled the scene, walking away quickly and leaving the injured puppy without asking questions or giving his own contact information. The puppy's owner has asked for help in identifying the pit bull and its owner.

The attack quickly led to an extended song of fear on the list serv: Dog owners who fear for their safety and the safety of their dogs. One woman says she has a .22 and is considering bringing it with her to the park so that she can shoot a dangerous dog if it tries to attack one of her four dogs. Another woman says she already carries a stun wand. Someone asked where to get one. At least two maybe three say they pack pepper spray, but one person says it's hard to use.

Oh, my. There's nothing more fearsome than fear.

There are of course counter-notes being struck on the list. One person remarked that she thinks it's illegal to carry a concealed handgun. Another asked the gun owner to consider bystanders in the park and children on the street above. She might even shoot her own dog.

With fewer gangbangers working the streets of Echo Park, some of us thought the chances of being hit by a stray bullet had decreased. Maybe so. Maybe not.

Meanwhile, I walked my dog in the park this morning. It was lovely and mostly bucolic -- except for the bulldozer that was packing the trail on the far northern edge of the park: it nearly ran my dog and I off a cliff. But otherwise, the people I passed and said hello to all looked as though they had no reason to carry a gun or a stun wand. The view showed the city looking hazy, as though the gauziest of spider webs had been draped over everything, with the grand exception of St. Andrew's Orthodox Church, whose gold spires shined as though the sun were shining on them and nothing else.