it could have been worse.
that’s putting the best face on yesterday morning’s events.
and, yes, i know the rules. never stick your hand in a dog’s mouth. and never get in the middle of a dog attack.
yesterday i broke both rules, and ended up spending nearly six hours in the Queen’s emergency room as a result.
But what was the option?
i’m typing this post with my left hand. the big bandage wrapping the thumb and first two fingers on my right hand, and part of my forearm, make two-handed typing impossible, for now at least.
here’s a short version of the tale.
yesterday started normally enough. we launched our walk just before dawn, and got down to the beach right on schedule. we were just past the restrooms at kaaawa beach park when i noticed Big Dog trotting alongside her person and a friend about 50 yards ahead, walking in the same direction as we were. Big Dog isn’t her real name, but will do for this description. she is one of the many dogs that we’ve gotten to know along the route we take most days as we walk the back streets of kaaawa.
suddenly Big Dog stopped, looked back in our direction, and came charging back towards us. when it became obvious she was going to barrel past us, i turned and saw Small Dog and her person, both friends, just toodling down onto the beach.
in a flash of muscle and speed and intense focus, Big Dog had small dog by the back of the neck and had locked down, trying to do further damage by violently shaking her prey. i was right behind, trying first to pull her off, and when that proved unsuccessful, to keep her from dragging Small Dog away, while still trying to pry her jaws open. Small Dog was yelping and crying in fear and pain, Big Dog’s people had gotten there, bystanders were rushing over to help, everyone was trying to do something.
it was chaos.
I think Small Dog was ultimately saved by her harness, which interfered just enough with Big Dog’s bite. BD kept trying to get a better bite. periodically loosening her jaws slightly while trying to get a more deadly hold.
BD was in a zone, some kind of deep-in-the-dna, biochemical attack mode, suddenly transforming her into a terribly efficient killing machine, wholly focused, for whatever reason, on poor Small Dog.
i’ve seen our cats access a similar place in their inherited ancestral feline brains. something just takes over and they are driven by forces we can’t see or fully appreciate.
but i did not want Small Dog to be killed, so it didn’t occur to me to just step back and get out of the way.
then, in one of those moments when Big Dog tried to shift and get a “better” bite, we were able to pull Small Dog free and pass the terrified pup back to her person, who immediately set off for an emergency run to VCA in kaneohe.
that’s when i looked down and saw blood, my blood, it turned out, and i saw the injury and knew we needed to get to the ER, but first i had to walk home. that was a very, very long walk, although it certainly took less than 15 minutes.
with morning traffic we were at the ER by a few minutes after 8 a.m., and i finally got out of there just around 2 p.m.
“when was your last tetanus booster?” one nurse asked pleasantly. “not in living memory,” i replied.
at the end of the day, Small Dog was bloodied and chewed pretty well, but escaped without life threatening injuries. i’ll recover, but one finger will be a tad bit shorter than previously. Big Dog? i don’t know what has happened to her.
meanwhile, i’ve got pain meds to get me through the next few days.
i’ll just have faith that a slightly shortened finger won’t interfere much with my typing, once it heals up.
and i tell myself again, it could have been worse.
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So glad that this ending was relatively good.
Totally agree that all dogs should be on a leash AT ALL TIMES unless they are in their own fenced yards or in a dog park. Voice control cannot always overcome DNA.
The same type of sudden attack by an unleashed, hostile dog happened to me at least 5-6 times while walking my leashed dog. Without fail, every time, the other owner said something along these lines: “Oh, I don’t understand it, s/he’s NEVER done this before now…”
Wishing you a speedy recovery!
Yeowch! (is that even a word??) Anyway, guess it could have been worse (for both of you). BD’s owner needs to be held to task over the incident, that’s for certain.
As far as the shortened finger – it will burn and hurt a bit for quite a while until the damaged & sensitive nerves get used to being banged upon. Sometimes things grow back rather strangely after being mangled a bit. I’d tell you some stories, but not here… take care!
My sister’s dog ” Bear ” was the first dog we ever put thru ” puppy school”. It later saved his life. He was the star of his class and one thing they taught us is if you are ever charged by a loose dog put your dog into the ” down ” position. Years later I was out walking him aroung the neighborhood when we got charged. I screamed ” down ” and even tho he was still attacked Bear’s injuries were minor compared to what they could have been. The owners were there within a minute but it seemed like forever. The whole thing was so scary. You are my hero for jumping in to save little dog. Thank you Ian !
I have been involved inbreaking up many dog fights on beaches. The best way is to grab both dogs tails and hold on. If you can only get one tail. Remember that it puts this dog at an extreme disadvantage mometarily so be prepared to let go and repeat as necessary.
Did you stop at the fire station on the way home for first aid? They are very good at that?
Unfortunately, I didn’t think about that until later.
Ian, sorry about your injury and the incident on the beach. Since “big dog” owners didn’t seem to have him on a leash, they may be feeling the same concern that lady at Kahala beach had when her unleashed dogs attacked some kids a few years ago. Civil and criminal sanctions could result and they should be calling their home insurance carrier and a good attorney, too.
As for the actual attack, next time you want to mix it up with a dog, especially a big dog, a very solid punch on the nose will normally get them to release anything they have a grip on.
When dealing with a dog chewing on you hand, counter to natural instincts to pull your hand a way, shove your hand as deep as possible down their throats really, really hard. The dog will immediately start to not only choke, but the airway will fill up with saliva as well. This also prevents the dog from trying to continue to chewing on your hand which can be damaged more than your forearm by a dog’s bite.
Normally, the dog will in 10 to 15 seconds understand that to continuing an attack will kill him and you mean business. I have seen dogs even come back the person they were attacking and lick the hand they were chewing on, asking for forgiveness or acknowledging who the boss was.
Here’s to a quick recovery. I’ve heard eating ice cream speeds the healing process. At least it’ll make you feel better. #rockyroad
I hope you recover quickly. Thank goodness Big Dog attacked another dog – and not a child. I am personally opposed to allowing dogs on beaches unleashed under any circumstances. They are, at their very core, still wild animals and always unpredictable enough to be dangerous. The vast majority of human deaths and maulings by dogs result from unleashed dogs. Children, in particular, do not know how to defend themselves.
What is the history of the dog? Has it always been on Oahu. If not, has it had rabies shots?
Wow! What an ordeal. You’ll laugh (and wince) about it someday.
Sorry about your encounter. Scary… While I lived in Reston, Va. my yellow Lab had two encounters, one with another Lab, which I got right in the middle of and got bitten on the hand, I think by the other dog, nothing serious and the owner assured me his dog had all his shots and visited the vet regularly. The other fight wasn’t a fight with an attacking half wolf mixed dog, I was later told by the owner. I guess it’s instinct, but my dog immediately went on her back in a fetal position, and the dog stopped attacking and just sniffed a bit and thankfully the owner came to retrieve his dog. I wonder if a type of walking stick or cane, etc. might be useful in an emergency on those walks? Mail carriers use pepper spray. It seems Hawaii has more than its share of dangerous dogs and pit bulls seem to be a favorite here.
Both the owner of small dog and you should sue the owner of big dog. Dogs aren’t supposed to be off leashes on the beach, particularly vicious ones.
One of your attorney viewers, and dog lover.
Kudos for not thinking of yourself and saving Small Dog. I can tell both from your description of the events, and from your site of course, that you are an animal lover. I grew up with Big German Shepherds, and I understand when you mention primal instincts, which can be scary.
I don’t do this type of work, but many a lawyer does. As mentioned by another comment, any suit would be seeking compensation from Big Dog Owner’s homeowner’s policy, not necessarily Big Dog Owner, to the extent that helps you in your decision-making.
But first things first; good luck on your recovery.