This morning, while I was sleeping in, Annoying Dog bit Z. on the hand. It was completely and totally Z.'s fault: the dogs were fighting and despite being warned off and in every way knowing better, Z. stuck her hand in the middle. A. yelled a lot, and I woke briefly at that noise, but when it quieted down I went back to sleep. Really, that was fine--having me rushing out of bed and to the rescue would have just added to the general shock and alarm.
Z. has a puncture wound on her palm that's swollen, and toothmarks on the back of her hand from where Annoying Dog bore down but didn't break the skin.
It could have been worse and it's not the dog's fault, but maybe we should still get rid of her just so we don't have two dogs. If we don't have two, they can't fight each other. Not that Annoying Dog and Hunter Dog fight frequently, but it happens some and when they do, it's ugly. Hunter Dog and Diva Dog just about never fought.
On the other hand, if we gave the dog up we'd have to tell them she bit a child and that might well be a death sentence.
It really wasn't her fault.
Even so, I can't say it won't happen again.
We're still waiting for the doctor's office to call us back--I'm assuming Z. will need a shot and we may need to do hot compresses for the next few days. I'm thinking of my own dog bite, when I was a year younger than Z. is now--when I was, in fact, about the age that she was when she broke her arm--and the scar on my cheek that I see clearly even though no one else notices. That dog bit because I hugged it while it was sleeping. It wasn't my dog, but I loved that dog. The neighbors who owned it didn't get rid of it, and that was the right decision.
I guess we keep Annoying Dog. But I have no idea if that's the right decision.
Update: no shot, but five days of oral antibiotics.
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5 comments:
Of course, if you really felt you needed to give up a dog, you could give up Hunter Dog. Then you'd only have one dog, so there'd be no fights and Hunter Dog's never bitten anyone so you wouldn't have to say anything.
But that's just my hyper-logical side speaking. I'm sure that you want to keep them both and that you'll a way to keep Z away when they fight -- which should solve the problem.
Oof. More stress. I'm so sorry you had to deal with this. For what it's worth, it sounds like keeping Annoying Dog is the right decision. I'm sure Hunter Dog appreciates the company, even if they fight sometimes. But you would know better than I.
Oh, you can't give up Hunter Dog!!
Niobe, I am laughing at my complete and utter resistance to your impeccable logic. Lo wins on this one.
E., thanks. They seem to fight in very specific cicumstances, when Annoying Dog challenges Hunter Dog's alpha status around going down stairs or food.
It's probably a good thing we're going away and they'll be kenneled for the weekend.
Somehow I missed this until now. Sorry about the drama and the broken skin. Hope everyone is ok by now.
I'd be interested in hearing what Z thinks of the incident now? Did it change her perception of the dogs in any way? Children that age are often very fond of cause and effect associations, and she might just have firmly figured out that she gets an owie if she sticks her hand where the dogs are fighting.
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