09/19/2013
How Dogs Impacted My Life - (one story of many)
It was New Years Eve, 1988, and my mom's birthday. I had just turned 9 the month before, and at that age I still believed it was a special day when everyone celebrated my mom being born. We were visiting a family friend's house in our hometown of Augusta, Georgia and my mom was getting ready to go out for the night, I'm pretty sure. Someone bought Krystal's for our dinner, so I don't think the adults planned to party it up where we were staying. If they were, we would have surely cooked food or grilled burgers and hot dogs with all the fixin's. We tore through most of the sack full of those little Krystal burgers, but had a few left over, so I decided to take them to the dogs in the backyard. I only remember two of the dogs, for reasons you will learn shortly, but there might have been one more. I gathered the dogs near me and began giving each one their very own burgers, feeling like a god handing out little pieces of heaven. I loved their excitement and attention and felt good giving them those special treats. I remember thinking how awful dog food must taste and how lonely they must feel outside.
I believe there were three dogs because I had 5 burgers left to dish out. I gave each dog one at a time, then gave the first dog another, then the second dog got the last. I looked at the third dog and told him I was sorry but my bag was empty, and turned to walk back inside. Just before I reached the door, the third dog jumped up, sunk his teeth into the back of my head and took me to the ground. I don't remember much about the pain, it was so many years ago, but I do remember screaming.
My mom was in the bathroom when she heard the first scream. Initially she thought my little brother and I were fighting again. We are 20 months apart, and used to fight like....well cats and dogs. Soon she realized something was terribly wrong and came to find me.
I don't remember who came outside to get me, but I do remember who pulled the dog off of me. It was the second dog in my treat line-up. He had just come home from the vet after sustaining an injury from, if I remember correctly, being hit by a car. He's the one who saved my life that night.
All I can recall from my hospital trip was crying at the thought of the doctors having to shave my head to give me stitches, and them telling my mom if it had been a few inches lower my neck could have been snapped.
I do remember talk of potentially putting the dog down who attacked me. That made me extremely sad and I felt guilty. I thought it was my fault for not having an even amount of burgers, and he felt left out. When you're 9, you might believe that dogs can count. It wasn't my fault though, it wasn't his either. He was unsocialized and didn't like kids too much, and I went out there unsupervised. This could have been prevented.
My attacker did eventually have to be put down. I was the second attack of three kids, one before me and one after me, and I was the lucky one though mine was nearly fatal. One kid lost an ear and the other their nose. So sad all the way around.
I think I understood enough then that I never developed a fear of dogs, not even the slightest fear of the breed of my attacker. In fact, I believe it had the opposite effect on me. I felt bad for the lonely dogs in the backyard and wanted to spend time with them. What I could offer, as a 9 year old, wasn't nearly enough. The only anger I ever felt toward the dog who bit me was because I awoke the following morning with chickenpox, and I thought he gave them to me. There I was with my head wrapped up, and I was mad because I was full of bumps and itchy all over. Go figure...
The moral of my story:
If you share your life with dogs, respect them. Give them what they need. Socialize them, train them, and teach your kids to respect them. Make your dogs a part of your life, whether they live indoors or outside. They are pack animals and need you. I don't remember if I asked permission to go outside and give out the leftovers, but I was so strong willed and independent that I might not have. When you have company visiting, especially with children, watch them closely and make sure your dogs stay safe too. All situations like these can be 100% avoided.
(*I don't mention breeds here, and I did that on purpose. If you're thinking either was a Pit Bull type dog, you'd be wrong. It really doesn't matter what breed of dog it was who bit me or who saved me. I didn't care about that when I was 9, and I still don't to this very day. A dog is a dog is a dog, none of them 'snap', all are very predictable, and they all need the same things, no matter the breed. Adding a dog to your family does not make them human, they already come with their own set of rules that you must learn. Respect your dogs and their needs, educate yourself on those needs, or don't have them. Please.)
