The first really bad incident was with one of the aforementioned enemies. I was walking Jenny Lind early one Sunday morning. By this time, I had resigned myself to the fact that she had to be on leash. We walked around our circle, and the neighborhood pack of dogs and people came down the street towards us. These dogs were off leash for the first few moments of their walk; another five minutes and they'd have been tethered. Jenny Lind's best enemy broke away from the pack and flashed towards us. She jumped Jenny Lind who immediately turned around and pinned her assailant. You know they say that the thing to do is to let go of the leash? I recommend it, because I didn't. I tried to pull Jenny Lind off of the by-now screaming and thoroughly bested attacker, but I wasn't strong enough. Jenny Lind is just under (or over, depending on how truthful we are about scales) 50 pounds, probably only three quarters of the weight of the other dog, but she is very strong, and in a frenzy, even stronger. The other dogs, including one of Jenny Lind's friends, joined the fray. As I continued to try to break up the fight, to no avail, Jenny Lind pulled me off my feet, of course into the gravel. Chuck, the dog's owner, was with us by this time, and succeeded in pulling Jenny Lind off. I don't recall any conversation, but there must have been. I was possibly in shock. I'd been bitten three times, twice by Jenny Lind, and perhaps the third one was her too. I recall clearly looking at my hand in Jenny Lind's teeth, and the look of brief confusion and astonishment that passed between us before she went back to the brawl. I walked home, bleeding and crying. I was hurt by my dog, someone I'd relied on, trusted, was friends with. I was more than bitten and scraped, my heart was hurt too. Jenny Lind was still in a fog of battle, and I'm sure had no idea of the havoc she'd caused. I missed the birthday party that I had been on my way to, and spent the day in the ER instead. How I wish I could find that picture of me, all in bandages, but smiling.
That was the first bad incident. I don't recall thinking that I'd have to do something horrible about her yet. I would just keep her under my watch. We didn't go for walks very often after that, and when we did, I was on the alert every moment. I tried to avoid the times that the neighborhood pack was on their regular walks. Of course Jenny Lind knew I was tense, but she had no idea I was tense about her. I observed her from time to time interacting with loose dogs that would run near my quite isolated house. When I wasn't around, she was a normal dog. Maybe a little on guard, but not aggressive. This gave me hope that the problem would be resolved with time and very little dog social life. I was willing to keep her away from other dogs, if that's what it took for us to be safe.
A couple of years later, I was walking her, again around the circle, again on leash, when a woman walked towards us, with her dog on a leash. I'd never seen either of them before and was completely taken off guard when Jenny Lind attacked. Again, I didn't let go of the leash. Perhaps it's mistaken instincts for taking charge in a dangerous event, perhaps it's pride that I didn't want that woman to think I had a vicious dog, which, in fact, I did, but I was trying hard to not face that. Once more, Jenny Lind pulled me off my feet, and this time, in her attempt to get across the street to that dog, with my not letting go of the leash, she dragged me through the gravel. I'd heard of road rash before, but had never experienced it anywhere near this extent. This time, I was angry. I was lying on the ground, and I pulled Jenny Lind down on top of me. The poor woman was concerned for me, but there was nothing she could do, since she had to hold her dog. I asked her to wait for a moment to make sure I could get up, which I was soon able to do. I walked home, and once more spent the rest of the day in the ER. In fact, that time, I spent the night in the hospital, since the heartache that I suffered manifested manifested itself in my physical heart, and they wanted to observe me.
No comments:
Post a Comment