A black laborador attacked one of my dogs at the beach yesterday. I was a few feet away, so didn't manage to grab my dog in time. He bit him and wouldn't let go. The owner kept yanking his dog around on the leash, which just made him clamp down and thrash my dog around. Luckily my dog was wearing his harness, and the other dog mostly grabbed onto that. I kneed the dog several times in the chest, and punched him in the face. I found myself screaming at him to let him go - but he was huge, and wouldn't let up. Finally he let go and I grabbed my dog and lay in the sand, trying to keep myself from crying as I checked him for bite marks.
He had a few marks, but they were shallow. A few ladies ran up to me and asked if he was okay, fed him water. They told me that dog wouldn't be coming back there again. I was shaking with the adrenaline that'd been dumped through me. I thought about going home, but we'd driven over an hour to Del Mar that day, and he seemed okay, so I stayed for a little bit so they could at least have some fun that day.
When we got home I put hydrogen peroxide on my dog's wounds, and fed all of them rawhides. Robert came home and showed me what to do the next time a dog attacked like that - get behind him, squeeze his throat so he'd let go, and stand up. I started to cry when, as if I'd finally felt like I could let it all go. He hugged me and told me that everything was okay, Kid was safe, and next time I'd know what to do to protect him.
I had a few scratches as well - including a scratch down my nose (You can see it in the picture above), but ultimately we all came out relatively unscathed.
This isn't the first fight my dog has been involved in, and I'm sure it won't be the last. The Kid was born feral, he generally loves playing with other dogs but if a dog displays aggressive behavior, he sees a threat. That's one of the dangerous things about being around other dogs and people - - opening yourself up to the possibility of danger.
The four of us (me and the three dogs) went to Oceanside beach this afternoon. I was apprehensive about going, but I know that the possibility of anger is ever present. I need to be prepared, not avoid it. It's impossible to avoid it. I just need to be as prepared as possible, and ever vigilant. I want to protect my dogs and make sure they have a good life - and I can't do that if I shut myself away from the world.
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Pizza photo by me
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