The Horrifying Reality of a Dog Attack

It happened so quickly.

I'd brought my happy Eskie dog Rundle out for a walk in the deep, soft snow - something he always adores - and we were just on our way home from the off-leash park. I clipped him back onto his leash for the walk home through the neighborhood streets.

Rundle had just bounced back to his feet from a playful snout-first romp in the snow, when out of the corner of my eyes I saw a blurry flash.

Then I heard a scream.

A scream that came from Rundle, who had been knocked down by two big shepherd cross dogs who had appeared out of nowhere to attack him.

Until you actually experience it - and I hope you never do - you don't know how horrifying it is to hear your dog yelping and screaming in fear and pain. Rundle is only about 30 pounds; a happy little guy who was minding his own business when he was attacked for absolutely no reason other than the fact that he was there.

I don't know how long the attack lasted. It was probably only about 5 minutes, but it seemed like forever. My mind was a jumbled mess of rage and fear, and it seemed like Rundle's yelps of pain were piercing my brain and stabbing straight into my heart. I punched and kicked and yelled - but the dogs just kept coming.

The owner of the shepherds finally heard the commotion and came running out. He tore his dogs away and chained them up at his house, which was across the street on the other side of a small park. Then he came back to us.

I remember shrieking at him, 'You're responsible for keeping your dogs under control!' and his lame response, 'I know - I just didn't think anyone would be out walking in this kind of weather. It won't happen again.'

This only made me even angrier because it shouldn't have happened at ALL - and I yelled at him some more. I must have looked like a wild woman.

Meanwhile, Rundle was crouched up against me while I stroked and comforted him, and gently felt for any soreness, broken bones, blood, etc.

He was lucky. He and I were both shaking uncontrollably, but he didn't have any serious physical injuries. In fact, having the bouncy happy personality that he does, Rundle was rolling in the snow in our backyard about an hour after his attack. He yelped in pain at one point and stopped.

I took him to the vet who checked him over and gave him some antibiotics. Rundle's a hairy guy so it's very hard to locate puncture wounds, even for the vet. When we got home I slowly and carefully checked him over and found 15 puncture wounds, two of which were quite bad. His right side was extremely sore.

The owners of the shepherds paid Rundle's vet bills in full. They admitted that it was their fault - they even admitted that they knew their dogs were animal-aggressive. They also tried to persuade us not to file a complaint. We did anyways, and they were fined for allowing their dogs to run at large.

Intervention usually won't work if a dog is aggressive and is going to attack. It happens blindingly fast, so fast that initially your mind just can't comprehend what's actually happening.

If you're unfortunate enough to have it happen to your own dog:

Do NOT pick up your dog in an effort to protect him. The attacking dog may leap at you instead (in a bid to get at your dog) and you may be seriously injured just for 'being in the way'. If you are hurt, you won't be able to help your dog.

Soothe and comfort your dog as best you can afterwards. Be careful; dogs that are fearful or in pain may bite - even if they're normally very gentle.

Get the names and phone numbers of any witnesses - or if your dog is severely injured and in need of immediate vet care, consider telling them your address and asking that they drop off their names and numbers there.

Note any details you can about the dogs, where they live, and their owner.

Note the day and the time.

Get your dog to the vet - even if he doesn't show any external signs of injury. Better to be safe than sorry.

File a complaint with the local animal control officers as soon as you can. Even if the owners apologize, pay the vet bill, seem like nice people ... FILE A COMPLAINT. If the dog has a history of aggressiveness, animal control can make a decision on what additional steps they may need to take. If yours is the first complaint then it's on file should anything ever happen again.

Pets that are KNOWN to be aggressive should never be given the chance to exercise their aggressive tendencies. Owners need to keep these pets securely leashed and under control at all times.

So if you or your pet are attacked, don't feel guilty about reporting the incident - no matter how apologetic the owners are, or how nice they seem. You're doing your part in helping to keep others safe.