A few days ago, my Nico was attacked by another dog, and hurt pretty badly. Another pit bull apparently took a disliking to my pup and went for her throat, and it was one of the scariest situations I've ever found myself in.
In a split second, I was straddling Nico, holding her bleeding head in one hand as the other dog's jaw clamped again and again on my pittie's face. With my other hand I grabbed the other dog's collar, trying with all of my might to get her to let go. But she would not let go, she would not listen. I knew that she very well may bite me too, but I also knew that if I didn't intervene this may be the last time I see my Nico alive. I instructed Nico to stay still, and she became a statue, trusting me to save her. Then the other dog's owner was there, yelling for it to stop. The dog did not listen. Instead, she released her jaw for a moment and then bit down harder, over Nico's ear, this time catching her owner's finger too, nearly severing it. And blood was everywhere, and Nico was whimpering, and I held both dogs' collars, at this point knowing that the least I could do was to stop the other dog from moving her head and ripping off Nico's ear.
It felt like hours went by like this. For some reason I wasn't panicking- I just knew that I had to save my Nico. She didn't fight back or move, she just waited for me to tell her what to do. The other owner was yelling and bleeding, but that dog wouldn't listen. She only wanted to fight. I could hear Biet, who had begun screaming as soon as she saw the other dog pounce, in the background with Gaby, wailing all the while.
And then suddenly, my husband, who had handed off the baby, leaped in, shouting "get off my dog!" and began punching the other dog in the face. And that did the trick. It let go and jumped back, and I pulled Nico away. We rushed home as fast as we could. I took Nico into the bath to clean and asses her wounds, and thats when the terror of the whole situation hit me. And I began crying and trembling. Nico was trembling too. She had deep bite Marks across her neck and face, and tears in her ear. We stayed in the water together until we both calmed down, and I hugged her.
And then I got mad. As the owner of a dog whom I consider to be an ambassador for the pit bull breed, it is shocking to see the other side- the dogs who fight and attack and don't listen to their owners. I could go on, but I'd rather write about the amazing recovery of the dog that I know, about how she was petrified and depressed afterwards, until little miss Biet cheered her up.
The vet put Nico on antibiotics, and she was sprawled on the couch for the rest of the day, unmoving and unresponsive. She wouldn't even come when Gaby called her. We were worried that the attack would have a long term emotional impact on her. And then Biet went and found Nico's favorite red ball.
Biet began to play fetch with her sister dog (although she can only throw the ball about 2 feet), and Nico perked up. And before we knew it, Nico was interested and smiling again. And although playing fetch in the house is usually forbidden, Gaby joined in too. By the end of the night, Nico was back to herself- Biet had cheered her up.
She is still healing physically, and probably will be for a while, but I am happy to say that she seems to be handling her recovery like a champion. So a word to the wise... be careful out there around unknown dogs of all sizes, because you just never know. And if you ever find yourself in the same kind of scary situation, punch the dog in the nose. I don't know how Gaby knew to do that (he doesn't know where he picked it up either), but it saved the day.
Oh, and give your babies and your children and your pets a big kiss tonight and tell them you love them, because they are all just so precious.
