BEWARE of DOG

Just before 10 a.m. yesterday I got an e-mail reply from my brother that contained some disturbing news. Following his very brief inquiry in regards to my previous message, he wrote, "Maria and Casey were attacked by a dog this morning while running. Both are at the doctor/vet. Maria has some bite wounds on her hands and Casey has some bite injuries and was heavily favoring his right front leg. Both seemed OK but shaken. Will let you know more when they are out. We know who's dog it is now but have only spoken briefly with the owner. Todd" end of message (Casey is my brother's Sheltie and Maria is his wife).

I thought, "WHAT?!" and immediately called him. I was relieved he was not with a patient so that I could get more information, but at the time he was still not certain as to the extent of Maria or Casey's injuries. About 4 1/2 hours later I got the following update, "Maria back from the doctor with her hand mumified with gauze, steri-strips and antibiotic Rx. Casey got a morphine dose and has 4 puncture wounds that need stiches; haven't checked the leg yet as they were still closing the wounds when Maria last spoke to them. Dog owner apparently called animal control this morning because when Maria spoke to them they already were aware of the incident and told her that the dog's shots were current. She's now waiting for a call back from one of the officers."

At that point I was getting anxious as I hadn't been able to reach Maria. After calling three times in a row without leaving messages, she called me back. She still did not know for certain the extent of Casey's injuries. The vet suspected that one of the bites may have punctured a lung, and she was also uncertain about his leg injuries. She suspected a break or some torn ligaments/tendons. He was sedated and she was waiting to hear back from the vet.

From what I now understand, the events occurred something like this: Maria and Casey were jogging in a nearby neighborhood at about 6:30 a.m. Apparently the "attack dog" jumped the fence in its back yard and darted straight for Casey. Having a firm hold on Casey's leg, the dog began to drag Casey away from Maria. Maria tried to break the dogs apart - all the while screaming at the top of her lungs, "Somebody please help me!" to no avail. Her shrieking eventually drove the dog away, and she carried Casey home to get Todd's help. After leaving Casey with Todd, she went back to the neighborhood to try to find out who the dog belonged to. She found a helpful neighbor, but on their way to the owner's house the dog came at both of them again. (Maria said the dog was relatively Bailey's size, 45-48lbs, but a little taller than Bailey, who stands about 22" tall at the withers). Maria eventually alerted the owners that their dog was loose and had attacked her, although the news did not seem to surprise them. UPDATE: Maria has since revised her description of the dog (not surprising since Bailey's appearance is deceptive - people always think he weighs much more than he does). She found out the dog was a St. Bernard Shepherd mix, and probably weighed closer to 80 lbs.

At the time of my last update from my mom, I was told that Casey came home for the night, but will return to the vet this morning for sutures. The "attack dog" was put down yesterday. I can't help but be a little sad, as I hate to hear about any animal being put to death. I know Maria feels the same way - she probably blames the owners for the attack rather than the dog. (This is a woman who goes ridiculously out of her way to help animals in need. She picks up stray dogs on the side of the road - no matter how big, small or dirty - in order to protect them from moving vehicles and help them find their way home. She is the equivalent of a doggie fairy godmother).

Some good news is that Casey should likely make a full recovery and the owners of the "attack dog" came over to Todd's last night to tell them "send us the bill" for Casey's care. I'm just thankful that Maria and Casey are relatively in one piece, home and now safe and sound!

Closing thoughts:
1) a co-worker recommended that joggers/walkers always carry a cell phone for when emergencies like this happen;
2) please keep your dog(s) on a leash when not in a secured area (I am guilty of not doing this with Zoe, shame on me);
3) if your dog is over 35 pounds and/or has a lot of spring (like Zoe), a 5 ft fence is NOT tall enough!