My sweet dog, need to vent!

[Leash]

Today my mom was walking my dog and her two dogs and one of our neighbors had their dog off-leash in their front yard. Well the dog jumped up and headed straight for my dog. My mom carries pepper spray when she walks, even during the day, but the other dog was there so fast mom didn't have a chance to get it out. She tried to pull the neighbor dog off my dog but was having no luck until some other neighbors heard her shouting and came out to help. They got the dogs seperated and neither of mom's dogs were hurt but mine got bad bites on her ear and neck.
Well mom got all the dogs up and back to her house, only about a block away, and put hers in the house and got my dog to the vet. The vet said it looks like my dog should be ok, no arteries were cut and nothing was broken, but she has to stay for observation at least a day and will definatley need stitches and they will check for any other injuries while she is under the anesthesia for the stitches.
So thank God my little girl should be ok but I am just so worried about her. And because this happened late in the day the vet had already closed by the time my mom told me so I couldn't go see her. DH and I don't have kids yet so my animals are my kids and I am just so upset and worried for my baby.
I am also so mad at these neighbors for leaving their dog loose in their yard, the guy said "oh well if I had been out here this wouldn't have happened", then why weren't you out there or even better why wasn't your dog secured!!!! My mom is saying that we should make the neighbors pay for the vet bill but I'm not even sure how to go about doing that and I'm worried that if I make a case about this then their dog might be put to sleep which I would not want because it wasn't the dogs fault but at the same time if the dog is too agressive and dangerous I don't want this to happen again (could be a kid next time).

Anyway I think I just needed to get that off my chest but if anyone has any experience like this and their dog ended up being fine I would appreciate some reassurance. I would also appreciate any prayers anyone could spare for my baby girl.

 

[frdeb1999]

Sorry about what happened. Our dogs are part of the family so I know where your coming from. I would look into having them pay the vet bill though. I know in this state if you have no fence then your dog must be secured when outside. Don't think they'd force them into having the dog put down. But I do think they could possibly recieve a fine. Pretty much depends on the state and local area. We had a incident similar to this in our neighborhood and they recieved both a fine and had to pay for all vet bills incurred. Dog still is very much alive.....although now they have a fenced in yard. Good luck with whatever you decide. And hope your able to bring your dog home soon.

 

[Christine]

Many years ago, I was out walking my dog and my neighbor had this aggressive dog in the same area. Her dog was off leash. He just ran up and attacked my dog and made puncture wounds in the stomach. I had to take my dog to the vet. She did not need stitches but they did give an antibiotic because infection is a big thing with these attacks. She did get over it though. I think it's good that your vet is watching it. I'm sure she will be fine.

 

[Regina]

Your poor pup!! I hope that she's okay.

I definitely would pursue having the Vet bills reimbursed. I understand your concern for the fate of the other dog, but think how you would feel if this dog attacks again. It could be your dog, another animal or worse case scenario, a child. The owner needs to be held accountable for what occurred.

Good luck!! I'm sure you'll be administering plenty of TLC once your sweet pooch gets home.

 

[Leash]

Thanks for all the kind words and advice.
My pup (Gracey) was able to come home early yesterday evening and the vet said she is doing good. She had to have 4 "drains" put in her neck to help the worst of the bites heal and she has 3 others that were more superficial so they just got stiched up. Her poor little ear has a big chunk missing from the lower edge because the vet said it was "shredded" in that spot so all they could do was trim it and then stitch up the edges So she will have a bit of ear missing from now on but it really could have been so much worse I am grateful that this is it.
She seems to be feeling ok, eating and moving around fine but she doesn't want to let us out of her sight so she just follows wherever we go. She can have the drains removed on Monday and then they will see how she is healing to set a date to remove the stitches. She is being pretty good about not scratching and when she does start she stops as soon as I tell her no, which is good because the vet said that because of the location of the bites/drains they can't put one of the "funnels" on her to protect the wounds from herself.
Sorry that was so long, I'm just so relieved that she really does seem to be doing good and I am so happy to have my little girl back home.

 

[Mouseaholic!!!]

I'm glad Gracy is home with you now and I hope she is mending well a month later.

I wanted to tell you a story about my little Cairn Terrier, Casey.

We too were minding our business many years ago when an agressive German Shepherd blasted through the shrubs separating our two communities.

The shepherd (aka:BAD DOG) lunged for my Casey and clamped down on his neck. Luckily he clamped onto his harness to Casey was spared.

The owner came through the bushes right after his dog....to find me pummeling his German Shepherd with the plastic bag of Casey's DOG POOP and screaming for all I was worth.

Casey was proudly standing behind me......"I got your back, Mom - you are doing great".

It terrified me at the time...but I laughed about it for years since.

Careful of the Poop Toting Mama!!!



I hope it makes you smile.

 

[Leash]

I'm glad Gracy is home with you now and I hope she is mending well a month later.

I wanted to tell you a story about my little Cairn Terrier, Casey.

We too were minding our business many years ago when an agressive German Shepherd blasted through the shrubs separating our two communities.

The shepherd (aka:BAD DOG) lunged for my Casey and clamped down on his neck. Luckily he clamped onto his harness to Casey was spared.

The owner came through the bushes right after his dog....to find me pummeling his German Shepherd with the plastic bag of Casey's DOG POOP and screaming for all I was worth.

Casey was proudly standing behind me......"I got your back, Mom - you are doing great".

It terrified me at the time...but I laughed about it for years since.

Careful of the Poop Toting Mama!!!



I hope it makes you smile.

Well first I'm glad that Casey wasn't hurt!

Having said that, you had me laughing with the image of a woman smacking a German Shepherd with a bag full of Terruer poop!

Gracey is doing fine, wonds are all healed and everyone says that the missing part of her ear "gives her character". She also seems fine mentaly as she is just fine with all the dogs she knows but we have yet to take her out where she might encouter strange dogs so I'm hoping she won't freak out when we do take her out again.

 

[Mouseaholic!!!]

I'm so happy all is well.

Gracey may be timid for a while - but I"m sure with your love she will understand she is safe and rebound.

Give her a hug for me!

 

[ess]

I'm glad your dog is doing well. I would never walk a dog without carrying something like Direct Stop. I used it once and it stopped the dog right in it's tracks. Just google the name it will come up with things that are similar since I think they've changed name of it.

 

[Leash]

I'm glad your dog is doing well. I would never walk a dog without carrying something like Direct Stop. I used it once and it stopped the dog right in it's tracks. Just google the name it will come up with things that are similar since I think they've changed name of it.

My mom had pepper spray but the other dog moved too fast and she was afraid that if she sprayed that dog she might get Gracey too. She has since checked and found that even if our dogs get caught in the spray it wouldn't do any permanent damage. Thanks for the idea though I think I will look into that for when I can walk Gracey again.

 

[ess]

Your welcome. Direct Stop is more like a citronella spray so it won't harm the dogs it just stops them long enough to get control of the situation. Good luck with your baby, it's so scary when they are hurt and can't tell us how they feel.

 

[WI WDWGIRL]

I have 3 rescues, the youngest being a puppy mill survivor (Pete) that ended up getting sold to an abusive man. We adopted him in Nov 2007, at the age of 9 months, and in May 2008 my male 16 old neighbor came to collect his grass cutting money. He knows not to come in the yard when I am out with Pete but kept coming coming even with me yelling. Unfortunately, Pete bit the kid and his mom(who her and I WHERE the best of friends) called the police. The police officer calls animal control. I had to show Pete's current vaccination records and he quarantined in home (and that's only because he was current on his vaccinations) for 10 days. The kid was ok, just a scratch and their whole family and husbnad and I don't talk anymore. But knowing how our dog reacts to any of them, they purposely antagonize him. But just for the record, their dog attached Pete twice in OUR HOME 4 months earlier and the mom just brushed it off. NOW, about a month ago this same dog of theirs came into our yard (he's never leashed, EVER) and attached Pete AGAIN!! I grabbed their dog and tried to throw him in the direction of their house. The whole time my husband is yelling for the husband to come and get their dog. He just took the dog and left. So being on both sides of it, I suggest you call or mail a copy of the vet bill. If they pay it great, if not, remind them that you never called animal control. And off the record, animal control has to be called twice for them to look into putting a dog down unless it's a mauling or worse I hope this helps and I'm truly glad your kid is going to be ok. We have no kids either our 3 dogs are our kids .

 

[Leash]

I have 3 rescues, the youngest being a puppy mill survivor (Pete) that ended up getting sold to an abusive man. We adopted him in Nov 2007, at the age of 9 months, and in May 2008 my male 16 old neighbor came to collect his grass cutting money. He knows not to come in the yard when I am out with Pete but kept coming coming even with me yelling. Unfortunately, Pete bit the kid and his mom(who her and I WHERE the best of friends) called the police. The police officer calls animal control. I had to show Pete's current vaccination records and he quarantined in home (and that's only because he was current on his vaccinations) for 10 days. The kid was ok, just a scratch and their whole family and husbnad and I don't talk anymore. But knowing how our dog reacts to any of them, they purposely antagonize him. But just for the record, their dog attached Pete twice in OUR HOME 4 months earlier and the mom just brushed it off. NOW, about a month ago this same dog of theirs came into our yard (he's never leashed, EVER) and attached Pete AGAIN!! I grabbed their dog and tried to throw him in the direction of their house. The whole time my husband is yelling for the husband to come and get their dog. He just took the dog and left. So being on both sides of it, I suggest you call or mail a copy of the vet bill. If they pay it great, if not, remind them that you never called animal control. And off the record, animal control has to be called twice for them to look into putting a dog down unless it's a mauling or worse I hope this helps and I'm truly glad your kid is going to be ok. We have no kids either our 3 dogs are our kids .

Thanks, she is doing good. I'm glad to hear about the two calls thing, makes me feel better. I'm glad that nothing bad happened to Pete and am sorry that you lost friends over it, clearly sounds like the kid was at fault but people can be stupid about that kind of thing. I am going to just send a letter about the vet bill and probably leave it at that, if they don't pay we would have to go through small claims court and that is just way more hassle and money than I am will to deal with (the vet bill came to about $1,500).

 

[WI WDWGIRL]

Thanks, she is doing good. I'm glad to hear about the two calls thing, makes me feel better. I'm glad that nothing bad happened to Pete and am sorry that you lost friends over it, clearly sounds like the kid was at fault but people can be stupid about that kind of thing. I am going to just send a letter about the vet bill and probably leave it at that, if they don't pay we would have to go through small claims court and that is just way more hassle and money than I am will to deal with (the vet bill came to about $1,500).

The animal control lady said that the boy was old enough to know the difference when I kept yelling for him to stay out of the yard. So between that and him knowing Pete's background, she deemed that Pete was only 50% at fault. Good luck with the vet bill, hopefully you can come to some sort of an agreement.

 

[Leash]

The animal control lady said that the boy was old enough to know the difference when I kept yelling for him to stay out of the yard. So between that and him knowing Pete's background, she deemed that Pete was only 50% at fault. Good luck with the vet bill, hopefully you can come to some sort of an agreement.

In my opinion Pete was 0% at fault because the kid knew better and ignored you yelling at him to not come in. As for the vet bill if I get the money back that would be great (went on a credit card and I am trying to pay them all off) but if not I figure it is a small price to pay to have my little girl all better.

 

[WI WDWGIRL]

Way to go you for having such a pawsitive attitude!!

I am thankful that when my husband accepted his current job - they offered pet insurance as a perk. When I saw that, I made him take the job, and thankfully he loves it!!

Good Luck to you!!

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

We had a similar situation last year. My dad was walking the family dachshund when a neighbor's german shepherd grabbed him, tearing all the muscles on his torso. Shnitzel was leashed, neighbor dog was not. He ended up having to have surgery, was at the vet for several days, and we weren't sure he was going to make it. Although it has been more than a year, he still has no hair from the nape of his neck to the bottom of his ribcage where they shaved him for surgery. I doubt it will ever grow back.

We ended up not asking them to pay the vet bill. We've already had issues with their dogs who have cornered people and gone after my dad and we were just glad they got rid of the dog (who was both dog and people aggressive.) We also know from prior experience with a different neighbor that our sheriff's department refuses to press the issue and will just let the owner off, so we decided not to fight that battle. I do wish my parents had, but I understand why they didn't.

I'm glad your girl is okay. Good luck getting them to pay the vet bill. I personally would ask them to, and if need be take them to small claims court. I doubt they would put their dog to sleep for dog on dog aggression, it seems like they normally give dogs a second chance unless somebody is seriously injured. But even if they did, it's their fault. You would be in no way, shape, or form responsible.

 

[ma2jr]

Your poor pup!! I hope that she's okay.

I definitely would pursue having the Vet bills reimbursed. I understand your concern for the fate of the other dog, but think how you would feel if this dog attacks again. It could be your dog, another animal or worse case scenario, a child. The owner needs to be held accountable for what occurred.

Good luck!! I'm sure you'll be administering plenty of TLC once your sweet pooch gets home.

I agree... I'm so sorry this happened; any responsible dog owner would/should offer to pay the bills. I always feel terrible for the dogs that get into trouble for their owners lack of responsibility. Dogs will be dogs.. in their world protecting their territory is normal... in our world the owners need to make sure they are controlled so this type of situation is avoided.
Mention to the owner that you do no wish to report/persue the matter but you'd like to have your bills paid and since her dog was off leash (against the law) ...it's on her.

Poor Gracie 4 drains... that's a really bad bite.

((hugs)) 4 Gracie

 

[Leash]

We had a similar situation last year. My dad was walking the family dachshund when a neighbor's german shepherd grabbed him, tearing all the muscles on his torso. Shnitzel was leashed, neighbor dog was not. He ended up having to have surgery, was at the vet for several days, and we weren't sure he was going to make it. Although it has been more than a year, he still has no hair from the nape of his neck to the bottom of his ribcage where they shaved him for surgery. I doubt it will ever grow back.

We ended up not asking them to pay the vet bill. We've already had issues with their dogs who have cornered people and gone after my dad and we were just glad they got rid of the dog (who was both dog and people aggressive.) We also know from prior experience with a different neighbor that our sheriff's department refuses to press the issue and will just let the owner off, so we decided not to fight that battle. I do wish my parents had, but I understand why they didn't.

I'm glad your girl is okay. Good luck getting them to pay the vet bill. I personally would ask them to, and if need be take them to small claims court. I doubt they would put their dog to sleep for dog on dog aggression, it seems like they normally give dogs a second chance unless somebody is seriously injured. But even if they did, it's their fault. You would be in no way, shape, or form responsible.

Wow poor little doxie, I love those dogs and can only imagine what it would be like to see your little dog attacked by a giant like a shepherd, sorry to hear about the fur but at least he is ok otherwise.

I am going to ask them to pay the bill but in the long run I think small claims is more trouble than it is worth, I work at a law firm and see so many things just drag on.
I know I wouldn't be responsible but I still don't like the idea of a dog being put to sleep if they are healthy. At the very least they have not let their dog outside since this happened.

 

[Leash]

I agree... I'm so sorry this happened; any responsible dog owner would/should offer to pay the bills. I always feel terrible for the dogs that get into trouble for their owners lack of responsibility. Dogs will be dogs.. in their world protecting their territory is normal... in our world the owners need to make sure they are controlled so this type of situation is avoided.
Mention to the owner that you do no wish to report/persue the matter but you'd like to have your bills paid and since her dog was off leash (against the law) ...it's on her.

Poor Gracie 4 drains... that's a really bad bite.

((hugs)) 4 Gracie

Yeah a "responsible" dog owner would pay but a responsible dog owner wouldn't have left their dog off leash in the front yard to begin with so my hopes are not high.
It was reported, the vet is required to report bites to animal control, but I don't know what comes from that if anything.

The drains are gone and she is healing but she is missing a chunk from her ear that won't grow back and she has a little bald patch where they shaved her ear that doen't seem to be filling in.

I will be sure to pass along the hugs, she is such a little cuddler that she will love it.