3 Dog Days: It's All Fun and Games....

Until Dottie gets chomped and ends up in the cone, among other things. As I wrote in the previous post, Dottie was attacked at a USDAA trial by another competitor's dog. A border collie who had just finished running the course. Dottie and I were waiting by the score table under the EZ up making use of their shade, since all the other shade had been cleaned up, due to the trial being almost over. The dog ran over so fast I didn't see him coming and didn't have time to react. He latched onto Dottie's head. And was not letting go. I could see his canine digging into her skull. Luckily another competitor was able to pull him off.

The owner, who I did not know, was very apologetic, and has paid for Dottie's surgery, and has checked up on us numerous times. She had her dog neutered and is seeking the help of a behaviorist. I say this since she appears to be (and from what I'm told) a really nice person who is in a bad situation since her dog happens to be aggressive. No one wants an aggressive dog, but she got one.

The attack is under investigation by the board, and the "sentence" on the dog (such as suspension or a life ban) has not been decided yet. For the owners sake, I know a life ban would be really tough, but for the other competitor's sake, how do you guarantee this won't happen again?

As for Dottie, she does not appear to be traumatized and is heeling well. The vet stitched the head wound (before it bled a little I could see the muscle membrane covering through the hole) and stitched and put a drain in her chest. It took over 3 hrs due to the sedation and the other dogs and I were stuck in Santa Barbara. We headed to State Street to pass the time. Not one of the worst spots I've been stuck.

Some statue on State Street.

Pie made friends with a homeless man in a wheelchair. I appreciate having a friendly dog, but trying to crawl into his lap and licking his ear off is a bit overboard.

The next pictures are of Dottie's wounds, so if you are squeamish you may want to not scroll down. (It's not that bad.)

The head wound after it had bled a little.

All stitched up the first night.

Chest wound with drain, draining. All over the floor.

The first night was rough. Neither of us got much sleep. I thought the traffic would be done since we left Santa Barbara so late, but we still sat in traffic. I didn't get home until around 11 pm. Then Dottie couldn't sleep due to the pain, and she whined all night, and circled and banged her cone. Ugh.

The next night she felt much better. I didn't realize she thought she couldn't potty with the cone on, and when I took it off the next afternoon, she had the longest pee ever. Sorry Dottie.

The drain came out four days later- Thursday. Dottie is feeling very hyper but I couldn't let her run around. I finally let her run a bit today, and she was very happy. Still, it was limited since there are still stitches. She has fluid retention around the drain site. I'll show it to the vet on Monday. I hope she will say it will re-absorb, but what if it is bad fluid? Overall, Dottie seems ok. I suppose I won't know if she has lasting mental issues until she gets upset when a dog surprises her or gets in her space. She has never had issues with these scenarios before, and let's hope it stays that way.

Poor sweet little Dottie did not want to be chomped, but it happened anyway.