Last update on the dog drama...

I am SO ready to move on from this. It feels like it has been consuming my week. But I did get a chance to talk with the Akita's owner this afternoon to tell her what my vet said.

The dog's owner said that the 2 ladies who run the local humane society had discussed the dog's personality and record with her and agreed that, based on those things, they didn't feel comfortable adopting him out to someone else. My family has dealt with these animal control officers before and they are very sensible and really care about each animal they take in, so I have confidence that they didn't make this decision hastily...

...but...the dog was put down earlier today.

I'm conflicted, because 2 nights ago I seriously wished this fate on the dog, but now I hate that it had to come to this.

It is just a sad situation all around.

*Update* on the dog incident...

I called the owner of the dog who attacked Bailey and informed her that I was taking him to the vet tomorrow to be checked out. She told me that she surrendered her dog last night. He is being held at the local human society and the animal control officers were not informed at all by the police as why this dog was being given to them. They were treating him like a stray who would eventually be adopted out. That's scary...

The owner said that she is going to sign a consent to have him euthanized. Last night's episode was too severe to ignore. I feel bad that it has come to this, but relieved that that dog will not be able to hurt anything or anyone else. I'm grateful that she is being responsible about this (despite the fact that the dog has hurt and killed other animals and had no tags or license...)

Anyway, it seems to be over. I'll mail her the vet bill, which I hope will be small, after tomorrow's appointment. Bailey seems to be on the mend, which is all I care about now.

The Morning After...

I slept deeply last night, worn out by what happened with Bailey and that other dog. I hope that the dog is being humanely treated (if my assessment is correct and he was taken away by the police.) If they take him to the local human society I know he will be, even if they decide to put him down, because that is where I adopted Bailey, and the two animal control officers who run it are very nice and caring towards the dogs and cats there.

Mainly I thought about everything that happened because I wanted to go over my reaction and make sure I wasn't over dramatizing. I don't want to wish, gulp, death, to another animal unless it is really deserved. I've never wished for another dog to be put down before. And the weird thing is that the other dog was never vicious in behavior. He never growled or bared his teeth. One second he was calm and the next he was on top of Bailey with his teeth on his throat. It was the first image that came into my head this morning when I woke up, which helped me rationalize that, yes, that dog does need to be put down. Still, I feel guilty thinking that.

Bailey seems to be doing OK. His eyes are not nearly as bloodshot as last night, but I notice that he is very stiff when he stands up. He may have a few bruises from being thrashed around on the cement sidewalk for what seemed like an eternity, but what was probably 2-3 minutes.

I still can't believe what happened.

A truly terrifying experience....

Less than 3 hours ago, around 7:30pm, I was taking my big black dog, Bailey, on our nightly walk. We turned down a street we've walked on hundreds of times before when a black/gray Akita came across the street towards us. At first I didn't think much of it, but then the Akita attacked Bailey and had him on the ground in seconds with his teeth clamped onto Bailey's throat.

Bailey weighs about 80lbs, so I'm not used to seeing him in a helpless position, but he was 100% at this dog's mercy. I tried to pull him away with the leash and it was impossible. I started screaming and trying to kick the other dog away but he would not let go. Bailey's tongue was turning gray before my eyes and I was sure that he was going to be killed. My screams turned from trying to frighten the attacking dog to screams of terror and helplessness.

A man across the street came running and started yelling at the attacking dog and hitting him with a backpack. I got one good kick into the dog's face and he would still not let go. A lady came out of her house and turned her hose on the dog and the man took the hose, which startled the dog enough to let go of Bailey. The man yelled at me to get behind him with Bailey, which I did. The dog still did not leave, and stayed only at the tip of where the water from the hose reached him.

Another lady came out and asked if I was OK and offered to let me take Bailey into her dog-free backyard to see if he was OK and to calm down a little. The first lady with the hose called the police and the man who had helped left. A black Mercedes SUV pulled up across the street and the attacking dog stood next to it, like he recognized the driver.

After seeing the Bailey didn't have any broken skin (miracle) just a lot of saliva around his neck, I left him in the "borrowed" backyard and went to talk to the lady in the SUV. The gray dog was hers, and had gotten out while she was buckling her 18 month daughter into her car seat and the little girl was holding the clicker to their gate. They live 2 streets away and the dog got out and walked 2 blocks. The lady was extremely apologetic and asked if Bailey was OK and then, surprisingly, admitted that she was willing to surrender her dog. I asked her how long she had had the dog (whose name I never learned) and she said 7 years. She seemed pretty willing considering how long she'd had him.

She said that she was nervous about having him around her daughter and that every time Animal Control came out to her house she had discussed re-homing the dog with her husband. (Every time Animal Control had been over? This is not normal.) I learned that SHE is the one who would call Animal Control because the dog would kill skunks and opossums and she would call them to clean up the carcasses. No, this is definitely not normal.

I lost track of time, but somewhere in there a police car arrived and the officers put her dog into their cruiser. I stood with the other ladies across the street while the police talked to the dog's owner for a long time. Bailey waited patiently for me in the neighbor's yard, looking OK but a little confused.

While the policeman got statements from the two neighbor ladies, I went and talked with the dog's owner. She apologized profusely again and offered to pay any vet bills. I didn't think that would be necessary, but I asked for her contact information just in case. I'm going to see if he's in any pain tomorrow and maybe take him to the vet just to be sure there are no internal problems.

Then it was my turn to give a statement to the officer. I didn't have any ID on me--this was supposed to be a quick 10 minute walk, not an hour-long drama--but gave him what information I could. My heart was still racing.

45 minutes after the attack I got Bailey home and had dinner with my mom at her house across the street. I had to recount the entire tale again and that was when the tears came. Things had been so intense I couldn't even cry before, but now as I relived it and thought about how Bailey looked with that dog's teeth on his throat, the thought of losing him like that was horrible.

Three hours later, Bailey seems to be OK. He kept panting for a long time after we got home and his eyes were very bloodshot. I could hardly eat any dinner. All I wanted to do was hug him. Right now he's sleeping peacefully at my feet.

To the best of my knowledge, the police took the attacking dog with them. And, as much as I love dogs, that particular dog is dangerous. I love my sweet Bailey. He's my constant companion and protector. I know that he will not be around forever, but I'm not ready to give him up yet, especially in a way like what happened tonight. It was awful.

First blog and my mind's on dogs--

This is my first entry on this site, so I'm experimenting a little bit. I wanted to include a photo and since I spent the morning at a dog training class I decided to include a photo of my 6 year-old dog, Bailey. We are, literally, trying to teach an old dog new tricks. The class is as much a training for the humans as for the dogs.

I've got dogs on the mind right now because, for the first time ever, my family is about to re-home a dog. No, definitely not Bailey. My mom's dog, however, who is a ball of unrestrained energy, is going to be re-homed today. Fortunately, she was able to find a really great website to help with the process. They screen the potential owners and do a house check. It has taken 3 meetings with different families, but the one who is finally taking my mom's dog home is a family we have a lot of confidence in. We have great emotional investments in our pets, so this is a bittersweet moment. They will be here in about an hour.

And, yes, my mom is my neighbor. I bought the house across the street from where I grew up. That's a WHOLE other story.

Aside from that, I'm excited because tonight we are going to the Greek Theater in LA to see the Celtic Woman group in concert. They put on a wonderful show. We've had the tickets since December and my mom gets to "cash in" on her Christmas present.