An Interesting Morning...

I've been in a writing mood, that's for sure. Maybe it is because I've been doing so much reading that I've been thinking "if they can do it, so can I..." Yeah, I can write, but I've never been inspired by any stories or characters...

This morning I took Bailey to the vet to see that everything really was OK after Monday night's dog incident. My vet is great, a very compassionate older man who has a great way of looking at the big picture. What he said was this:

• #1--Bailey is fine (my top priority)
  
• He is 99% certain that the other dog did not intend to kill Bailey, it was all about dominance. Male Akitas have a reputation for being aggressive with other male dogs, but if he wanted to kill Bailey, he could have and had the time to do it.
• He agrees that the Akita's owner should've surrendered him but does not think the dog should be put down if he's never been vicious towards humans. He thinks that somewhere out there is a good owner for that dog (if he can withstand the overcrowding at the humane society.)
• The fact that the Akita has routinely killed skunks and opossums is unrelated to what happened with Bailey. Many dogs do kill small wild animals.
  
• Dogs should never, ever (as in the case of the Akita and his owner) be given as a gift. As he stated, "It isn't like getting a bad tie that you can stash in the closet..."

So those are the basics. I asked him what he thinks would've happened if the neighbor hadn't turned the hose on the Akita. He thinks that eventually (!) he would've been satisfied with the fact that he had won the dominance battle over Bailey and would've walked away.

I'm torn. My logic tells me that everything the vet said is probably true, because we've taken our pets to him for 20+ years and I have a lot of faith in his experience. My heart tells me that the fear I felt during the incident was very much based in reality because of what I was witnessing. Whether the Akita's intent was to kill Bailey or not, I know that for myself I've never been so scared or seen Bailey so helpless and at another dog's mercy like that.

Regardless, I called the Akita's owner when I got home so that she would know that putting the dog down was not the only option. There was no one home and I left a message. Then I made a copy of the vet's bill and mailed it to her. Bailey needed some shots updated, but I paid for that just let her pay for the vet visit. She had offered, which was nice, and I didn't want to take advantage, and I know she'll feel better having made it up to me and Bailey in some small way.

Interestingly enough, when I was done putting things together in the envelope to mail to her, I checked the mail to see if my note to her would go out today. I hadn't missed the mailman yet, but inside the mailbox was one small envelope with the words "Thank You" on them. Inside was a $20 gift card to Trader Joe's from a lady whose cell phone I had found while walking Bailey about 2 weeks ago. Funny. It left me feeling incredulous--I remember when walking the dog just meant that you walk the dog...boy, I miss those days!

And now Bailey is back to doing what he does best...