My nightmare happened today. Everything was okay in the end, but I keep thinking about how bad this whole situation could have been.
Those of you who know us, and know us pretty well know that we have two dogs- Lucy and Kale. We rescued Lucy when she was 13 weeks old, and Kale came to us at about 3 years old. We don't know much about Kale's past, except that he was found wandering along the highway in Missouri, lived there for 8 months in a foster home, and then was relocated to us as his new foster family with the hope that a change of scenery might help him find his forever home (which ended up being us after 4-5 months of caring for him, making us Foster Failures). These are our first children, and we love them, despite all of their faults. Lucy is a bit neurotic (making her almost too human-like), and Kale can be a bit unpredictable, especially with strange dogs.
A little background: A few years ago, Kale bit an elderly dog that spooked him while we were up at the cabin. The dog required stitches (which we made sure to pay for), and the guilt has plagued us from then on. Since that event, we are very cautious as to where we take him, worry about the proximity of other canines, and are a bit obsessive compulsive when it comes to proper introductions between him and new dogs. Kale is 100% fine with humans, but he seems to be a bit prejudice against black, male dogs, especially those that are not neutered.
Flash forward to today. Luke is on his way home from a work trip, and I decided to take both dogs on a walk so that they could expel a little energy before I have to leave to pick Luke up from the airport. One of the things I have always told Luke that I worry about is unleashed dogs running up to us while on a walk, and that's what happened to us today. Thank goodness it happened at the end of the walk, instead of at the beginning because my pups were hot and tired at that point, and not very feisty. An elderly male pit bull came trotting up to us, and when I realized that no one was moving to get their dog, I had to yell, "Please come get your dog- I can't guarantee that my dog won't bite yours." You'd think that would get them moving faster, but no, they continued to waltz over until I yelled, "You NEED to move faster, and get your dog RIGHT NOW!" I had a super-human grip on Kale who was actually too tired to do anything more than do his screechy screaming thing, and I wasn't concerned about Lucy in the moment (she does pretty well with new dogs, until they try to sniff her butt without her sniffing first).
After they grabbed their dog, one owner made this big production of yelling at Duke to get back in the FENCED-IN YARD (why they didn't have the gate shut is a mystery to me...), and I couldn't even look at them, because I was worried that they were going to hit or kick him in some way. The other owner apologized and told me that if his dog got bit, then his dog got bit and it would be his own dog's fault. I think he thought that would make me feel better about the fact that I prefaced the interaction with "My dog might bite yours!" and what all could have happened. I hate that the owner had that attitude. I would much rather not have to split up a dog fight at nearly 34 weeks pregnant, because even though I know that I'm not supposed to step in between fighting dogs, my instinct would be to get my dog out of the situation. I just keep thinking about what could have happened, and how badly the whole even could have turned out. I was super proud of my dogs and their behavior in that moment. I made sure that they each got a cookie when we got home :)
Anyway, this was more of a rant then anything else. I just wish people would be more aware of their dogs and more concerned/proactive with their dogs. I've promised Luke that I will not take both Lucy and Kale on a walk without him, especially throughout the rest of the pregnancy, and that I will only take them on individual walks while he's away.
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