| It happened so quickly.
I'd brought my happy dog out for a walk
in the deep, soft snow - something he always
adores - and we were just on our way home
from the off-leash park. I clipped him back
onto his leash for the walk home through the
neighborhood streets.
My dog had just bounced back to his feet
from a playful snout-first romp in the snow,
when out of the corner of my eyes I saw a
blurry flash.
Then I heard a scream.
A scream that came from my dog, who had
been knocked down by two big shepherd cross
dogs who had appeared out of nowhere to
attack him.
Until you actually experience it - and I
hope thatyou never have to - you cannot
imagine or know how horrifying it is
to hear your dog yelping and screaming in
fear and pain. My dog is only about 30
pounds; a happy little guy who was minding
his own business when he was attacked for
absolutely no reason other than the fact
that he was there.
I don't know how long the attack lasted.
It was probably only about 5 minutes, but it
seemed like forever. My mind was a jumbled
mess of rage and fear, and it seemed like my
dog's yelps of pain were piercing my brain
and stabbing straight into my heart. I
punched and kicked and yelled - but the dogs
just kept coming.
The owner of the shepherds finally heard
the commotion and came running out. He
pulled his two dogs away and chained
them up at his house, which was across the
street on the other side of a small park.
Later on, he said that even thought he knew
his dogs were animal-aggressive, he didn't
think anyone would be out walking in that
kind of weather!
My dog was lucky. He was shaking, but he
didn't have any serious physical injuries.
In fact, having the bouncy happy personality
that he does, he was rolling in the snow in
our backyard about an hour after his attack.
He yelped in pain at one point and stopped.
I took him to the vet who checked him
over and gave him some antibiotics. My dog
is pretty hairy so it's very hard to locate
puncture wounds, even for the vet. When we
got home I slowly and carefully checked him
over and found 15 puncture wounds, two of
which were really quite bad. His right side
was extremely sore.
The two owners of the German shepherds
paid the vet bills in full. They admitted
that it was their fault. At the same time,
they also tried to persuade us not to file a
complaint. We did anyways, and they were
fined for allowing their dogs to run at
large.
Intervention usually won't work if a dog
is aggressive and is going to attack. It
happens blindingly fast, so fast that
initially your mind just can't comprehend
what's actually happening.
If you're unfortunate enough to have it
happen to your own dog:
- Do NOT pick up your dog in an
effort to protect him. The attacking
dog may leap at you instead (in a bid to
get at your dog) and you may be
seriously injured just for 'being in the
way'. If you are hurt, you won't be able
to help your dog.
- Soothe and comfort your dog as
best you can afterwards - but be
careful. Dogs that are fearful or in
pain may bite - even if they're normally
very gentle.
- Get the names and phone numbers
of any witnesses - or if your dog is
severely injured and in need of
immediate vet care, consider telling
them your address and asking that they
drop off their names and numbers there.
- Note any details you can
about the dogs, where they live, and
their owner.
- Note the day and the time.
- Get your dog to the vet - even if
he doesn't show any external signs of
injury. Better to be safe than
sorry.
- File a complaint with the local
animal control officers as soon as you
can. Even if the owners apologize,
pay the vet bill, seem like nice people
... file a complaint. If the dog
has a history of aggressiveness, animal
control can make a decision on what
additional steps they may need to take.
If yours is the first complaint then
it's on file should anything ever happen
again.
Pets that are known to be aggressive
should never be given the chance to exercise
their aggressive tendencies. Owners need to
keep these pets securely leashed and under
control at all times.
So if you or your pet are attacked, don't
feel guilty about reporting the incident -
no matter how apologetic the owners are, or
how nice they seem. You're doing your part
in helping to keep others safe. |
