Good Day Dog Lovers,
It has been rather a long time between laps from the dog bowl, much longer in dog years, but who’s counting?
A strange and unexpected event has moved me to post today, and that is, I was attacked by a dog.
Even typing that sentence is alien to me. I have been around dogs all my life. Big dogs, small dogs, smelly dogs, working dogs, lap dogs and of late lots of stuffed toy dogs due to my baby son’s love of the hound. For the first time I experienced fear of a dog.
Story? My husband, baby and I were out riding our bikes. The sun was shining and Fremantle was buzzing with people soaking up the winter sun. We were cutting a leisurely pace along a quiet footpath, me in front, bubs and hubs following, when we converged, rather abruptly into a lady walking two cattle dogs. They did not see us and we did not see them and bam! I was into the jumble, leads, dogs, bike and all.
Now, I just knew, knew, I was going to get bitten. My primal brain very quickly told me, “you have scared these dogs and one of them is going to launch”. No sooner had I thought it, it happened. One dog lurched away and one dog lurched at me latching onto my upper calf.
From here, it’s a blur. I miraculously disembarked from my bike without dropping it, I pulled away fast and jerkily from the dog while saying something like “get that dog away from me, oww, its biting me”. I then went into shock and started walking away from the scene, crying.
My pants had been ripped and my leg punctured in parts, scraped in others, a bruise the size of the dog’s bite radius already forming.
The owner was as shocked and horrified as I was. My husband and the dog’s owner tied up the dogs and the owner explained to me that she had never seen her dog act this way before. I could tell she was being absolutely honest as her face was in total disbelief.
The owner offered me profuse and genuine apologies. She also insisted I take $50 to pay for my pants…
The part that surprised me the most was that I was not angry at the owner or the dog… I was very scared and shaken however, it was so apparent to me that this dog was not a vicious monster hound, but a scared dog acting out of character. This is not to say I hope the owner does not take what happened seriously and keeps a tighter hold on her dog in future, but this was just an event that happened where no one was at fault.
What also surprised me is the amount of damage a dog can do which not much effort exerted. Dogs of my past have only ever “mouthed” me playfully, I had no concept of the power they can exert when they are not playing.
My leg is now coming good and is healing nicely. Mentally however, I am still also recovering. Generally I delight in passing dogs as I walk my baby son in his pram however, now I think twice, giving large dogs a wide berth. As my baby shouts out “woo, woo” his version of woof woof as we approach a dog, I make a quick mental calculation as to how far its lead would reach as we pass.
I will always love dogs and now I have a healthy respect for what they can be capable of.
It has been rather a long time between laps from the dog bowl, much longer in dog years, but who’s counting?
A strange and unexpected event has moved me to post today, and that is, I was attacked by a dog.
Even typing that sentence is alien to me. I have been around dogs all my life. Big dogs, small dogs, smelly dogs, working dogs, lap dogs and of late lots of stuffed toy dogs due to my baby son’s love of the hound. For the first time I experienced fear of a dog.
Story? My husband, baby and I were out riding our bikes. The sun was shining and Fremantle was buzzing with people soaking up the winter sun. We were cutting a leisurely pace along a quiet footpath, me in front, bubs and hubs following, when we converged, rather abruptly into a lady walking two cattle dogs. They did not see us and we did not see them and bam! I was into the jumble, leads, dogs, bike and all.
Now, I just knew, knew, I was going to get bitten. My primal brain very quickly told me, “you have scared these dogs and one of them is going to launch”. No sooner had I thought it, it happened. One dog lurched away and one dog lurched at me latching onto my upper calf.
From here, it’s a blur. I miraculously disembarked from my bike without dropping it, I pulled away fast and jerkily from the dog while saying something like “get that dog away from me, oww, its biting me”. I then went into shock and started walking away from the scene, crying.
My pants had been ripped and my leg punctured in parts, scraped in others, a bruise the size of the dog’s bite radius already forming.
The owner was as shocked and horrified as I was. My husband and the dog’s owner tied up the dogs and the owner explained to me that she had never seen her dog act this way before. I could tell she was being absolutely honest as her face was in total disbelief.
The owner offered me profuse and genuine apologies. She also insisted I take $50 to pay for my pants…
The part that surprised me the most was that I was not angry at the owner or the dog… I was very scared and shaken however, it was so apparent to me that this dog was not a vicious monster hound, but a scared dog acting out of character. This is not to say I hope the owner does not take what happened seriously and keeps a tighter hold on her dog in future, but this was just an event that happened where no one was at fault.
What also surprised me is the amount of damage a dog can do which not much effort exerted. Dogs of my past have only ever “mouthed” me playfully, I had no concept of the power they can exert when they are not playing.
My leg is now coming good and is healing nicely. Mentally however, I am still also recovering. Generally I delight in passing dogs as I walk my baby son in his pram however, now I think twice, giving large dogs a wide berth. As my baby shouts out “woo, woo” his version of woof woof as we approach a dog, I make a quick mental calculation as to how far its lead would reach as we pass.
I will always love dogs and now I have a healthy respect for what they can be capable of.