Okay, so it wasn’t exactly a run-in with Cujo, but it was scary enough.
Yesterday afternoon I had to go to training for my new job. Megan being 14 (albeit, a slightly immature and irresponsible 14 thanks to A.D.D.)* I gave her permission to play in the neighborhood with friends while I was gone. It’s what she does all day when I am home, anyway.
My cell phone started ringing around 3:00, but I was unable to answer it at the time. It was after 4:00 when I got the chance to check the messages. I had 3. One from a neighbor. One from Megan. One from Tim. Apparently, Meg and one of her friends were playing in a yard that they have been in many times before and petting the owner’s dog. Meg said she had just petted it and it had licked her hand when out of nowhere it jumped up, growling and grabbed her shirt, getting a bit of her tummy, too. The dog kept trying to get her as she tried to get away from him. She isn’t mean to animals and has always been around dogs so no one is sure what happened. He ripped the shirt and she has puncture wounds but thankfully none so deep she needed stitches.
The poor neighbor was beside herself, especially with Tim and I not home. She took Megan to the pediatrician’s office to be checked, bought her prescription (antibiotics are routine in dog bite cases), bought the Neosporin, bought her candy (a lot of candy), and gave her money for a new shirt. She also called several times asking how Megan was. Meg’s fine. All she is worried about is what kind of shirt to get.
We’re trying to reassure the woman that all is okay and we don’t hold anything against her. She wasn’t irresponsible in any way. The dog had no history of violence and in fact, Meg’s played with him lots of times. He was in his own fenced yard. Meg was invading his territory. The neighbor wants to put him down since the incident has to be reported to the Health Dept. and he will have a "record" as a vicious dog. We keep trying to tell her we think that’s a bit premature. Meg will stay out of their yard when the dog is out and they just need to be watchful when any of the neighborhood kids are around.
Other than all that….my job training went pretty well. I’m going to drive my new run on Thursday to get the hang of the roads (my route is sooooo booney-fied). I also had bloodwork done yesterday morning. I’m 42 and have never had my cholesterol, triglycerides, thyroid and whatnot checked out. My doctor thought it was about time. Imagine that.
*Yes, I know ALL 14 yr olds are immature and irresponsible to at least some degree. It’s the nature of the beast. It’s just that with Meg, one of the big problems with her A.D.D. is impulsiveness and lack of judgement. She gets an idea into her head and there doesn’t seem to be anything in there that argues with her when it’s a really bad idea. It just seems like fun so she goes with it….then gets incredibly angry later if she gets in trouble for it.
I think the neighbor did all the right things and agree with you the dog does not ned to be put down. Hope the bloodwork comes back ok.
Comment by lorilinna — August 22, 2006 @ 9:32 am
Once my own dog nipped my daughter right above her eye. I freaked out and was ready to call the animal people to have my wonderful dog eliminated. My daughter insisted that she hadn’t been mishandling the dog (darling daughter was only about 6 or 7 years old at the time).
The next day, the same daughter got bit again, this time by her younger sister. We realized then that we had a daughter problem and not a dog problem.
Dogs’ space requirements must be somewhat different than ours.
I share your hope that both the dog and your daughter will come through this fine.
Comment by Jim — August 22, 2006 @ 10:11 am
Hope your bloodwork comes back clean.
I just had mine done for the first time a couple weeks ago and it came back with a tad high cholesterol level…Dr. said not anything to be concerned about right now…but wants to keep an eye on it so lucky me, I get to go back in 6 months.
Okay…I think this gets me up to date on your blog now!
Comment by chesneygirl — August 22, 2006 @ 12:56 pm
How scary. I’m glad your daughter is alright. Your neighbor is probably concerned about the homeowner’s insurance. A company can cancel you for a vicious dog. Some companies won’t insure you if you own certain breeds of dogs.
Comment by Rene — August 22, 2006 @ 1:11 pm
Glad Megan is ok. I hope she isn’t scared of dogs as a result? Also glad your training went well!
Comment by Rachel — August 22, 2006 @ 4:05 pm
Thanks, everyone for all the comments and concern. Megan is fine today…and no, she isn’t afraid of dogs. She still likes the one that bit her, though she’ll be a lot more careful of him from now on and not go near him unless the owner is right there. Oh, and the dog was a Jack Russell.
Comment by Stacy — August 22, 2006 @ 8:04 pm
I am glad Megan is OK. Hope your blood work is also Ok.
Comment by bettygram — August 22, 2006 @ 8:42 pm
I am glad that is Megan is okay, also. I haven’t been on the computer much these last couple of days I had no idea so much has happened.
I have three dogs that when outside stay in our fenced in back yard. When we first moved to our home our neighbor’s boys use to come into the fenced in area to play with the dogs. My dogs who are usually very gentle just got too excited and uneasy at their space being invaded and me not being around. It got to the point where I had to put a lock on the gate so they wouldn’t come in anymore. I talked to my neighbor about her boys and installed the lock because ultimately it is my responsibility to keep my dogs from hurting anyone (even on my own property). I can understand why your neighbor might be debating about putting her dog down it is a huge liability if your dog is aggressive and has a history violence especially if he ends up biting someone else they can say she was aware of her dog’s history of aggression.
Comment by Sarah Forhan — August 25, 2006 @ 9:14 am