OT: DH just rescued me and our dog from two pit bulls
We just got back from the park and I am still shaking. DH, DH's dad, and I took SS2 and SS5 and our collie, Domino, to the park. I was following the boys over to the playground. They were quite a bit ahead of me (thank God) because they were racing DH.
Two pit bulls ran all the way across the park (about 500 yards) and attacked Domino. I started yelling at the dogs, but they didn't stop, so I pulled Domino around behind me. They probably circled me three or four times before I kicked one of them and, embarassingly, yelled "MOTHER F*CKER!!!" in front of like ten kids at the playground.
I kicked it hard enough to knock it down, but it just got up snarling and went after Domino again.
Then DH appears out of nowhere, dives into the mess, and punches the snarling dog (he says he missed, but it didn't seem like it). Then he tried to grab one of them by the neck, and they both took off running.
This is going to sound ridiculous, but he was like a knight in shining-freaking-armor. I am totally in awe of him right now. I thought our dog was about to get killed, but the second I saw him I knew everything was going to be okay. I feel like the luckiest wife on earth right now.
So there I am, standing in the middle of the park with a full grown collie in my arms (apparently I'd picked her up at some point) and a dozen little kids staring at me. I literally carried Domino over to the nearest table, checked her out for injuries, and then held her for like ten minutes. I think I was more shaken up than she was.
The owners came over and apologized and said that "both dogs broke free of their leashes at the same time," which is complete and utter bullshit. We'd seen them running around off their leashes earlier in the day and assumed they were mellow dogs. We told them the Domino was fine and went on our way. I'm half convinced we should have called the police. There were kids and other dogs at the park and who knows what could have happened if it had been a child walking their dog, or one of the boys walking Domino.
BEFORE I GET FLAMED ON BEHALF OF PIT BULLS: I had a pit bull before Domino and LOVED HER. However, she was extremely dog aggressive and I knew it and I therefore did not put her in positions where she would not be able to control herself. The breed was bred specifically to be dog aggressive for a long time, so any owner who does not take responsibility for that SHOULD NOT HAVE A PIT BULL, or any other kind of dog for that matter. As a matter of fact, another couple with a nice pit bull at the playground saw what happened and immediately put him (Hershey) back into their van until the other people left the park entirely.
Anyway, my DH is amazing. I have never been so impressed by a human being in any situation in my life. I just wish I had been smart enough to call for him right away instead of alerting him with a bunch of swear words.
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Comments
People like this are the
People like this are the reason why I will never get another pittie. I am mom to a beautiful pitbull who I have shared my life with for 11 years. She is the most amazing dog I have ever known. I adore her, she is my best friend. But, I am so tired of hearing stories like this, and I don't want to live in fear of my dog being taken from me because of her breed-because of STUPID people who breed and mistreat these animals. My baby is not aggressive with animals or anyone. She is afraid of rain and bugs.
I have had her since she was a baby and I can't imagine being without her.
I am glad you are all ok, and I am sorry this happened to you. Those owners are morons.
Give your DH a hug from me and my baby!
This makes me so angry as a
This makes me so angry as a fellow Bully breed lover. I have an American Pit Terrier and a staffordshire terrier. Both are genuinely harmless. Not dog agressive, and not people aggressive either. HOWEVER. I would NEVER EVER EVER let my dogs (bully breeds or not) run around off leash in a park, unless it was a fenced in dog park. Its just asking for something to go wrong. My dogs have never gotten into a fight with other dogs at the dog park- our house even got broken into last spring, and neither of them did anything to stop it.
Bully owners like this infuriate me. They just make thing worse for the breed. If you are going to own a dog breed that has a reputation for being aggressive (pits, rottweilers, dobermans, dalmations, chows, german shepards) you need to be responsible for them at all times, and not do stupid things like that them run around in public off leash. Unless you are 100% confident that they have been 100% call back trained... and even then I would be hesitant to risk it. Even though both of my dogs are very mellow, and non-aggressive-- the fact of the matter is that they have the strength to seriously injure someone if an out of character incident did occur. It is unfortunate that such generally good natured dogs get branded as "mean" because of poor dog ownership.
So happy that you & Domino
So happy that you & Domino are okay!
I'm sorry that the two of you had to suffer (even if it was only anxiety) at the hands of ignorant dog owners!
Yep yep yep. I think the
Yep yep yep. I think the problem is exaggerated by the area I live in. Most of the people here who have pit bulls have them as "protection" or as gang related nonsense. The pit I had was actually slightly cross-eyed due to the bad breeding in this area.
My best friend actually has a little pit she picked up from the shelter and he is the coolest dog ever. He is slightly dog aggressive, so she makes sure to keep him under control in those situations, but he is one of my favorite dogs on earth.
I just can't believe they would let those dogs loose IN A PARK WITH CHILDREN. I have the dorkiest dog on earth who lived with a two year old and goes down the slides with the kids, and I had her on a leash because that's the responsible thing to do.
Seriously, what would have happened if our oldest (ss5) would have been walking Domino? Or if he had even been walking with me when it happened?
I am so upset. I should have gotten their license plate number and reported them, but I was so shaken up at the time I just wanted to go home.
Wow, I am glad you got
Wow, I am glad you got saved!! Honestly some people I know would just shoot a dog that attacked their dog like that ... so those owners are extremely lucky too!!
I just got my very first dog a couple years ago .. she is my love girl, a hound dog, with a very easy temperament. I was mauled, or at least bitten, and have always been afraid of dogs, but we rescued mine and now I hate that it took me so long to love a dog and appreciate them.
If anything ever happened to her like that I would be shaking too!!!! I do confess that we, and a lot of people let their dogs off leash at our neighborhood park, but we are very careful with any dog we don't know, and some I avoid completely!!
Yeah. We had Domino off
Yeah. We had Domino off leash earlier, but we made sure there were no other people or dogs in sight first and she's extremely reliable with call-back. The park is like six miles long, and we made sure to get to a secluded area first so we could play fetch for a while. Then, to go over to the playground where there were kids and people, we put her back on leash and that's when we ran into those pits.
I am sorry to hear you were mauled. I actually got mauled by my uncle's pit when I was four or five. It bit me across the face from my right temple to the left side of my jaw. I can actually still remember that dog's mouth crashing into my face.
It was extremely frightening and I was prejudice against pit bulls for a long time. Then I met several nice pits and realized that any dog that was chained up in the back yard all day with no socialization probably would have behaved the same way.
Part of me does wish I had been able to pick up a stick or something and seriously injure one of those dogs. It's not a nice thought, and it's not the dog's fault, but I am so angry about what just happened. Even if the kids hadn't been hurt, if DH hadn't reacted the way he did, it was pretty likely they were about to witness their dog being killed.
Oh gosh yes, I was about 3 or
Oh gosh yes, I was about 3 or 4 and got bit by a german shepherd, but apparently I looked it in the eyes, you know, whatever!! but now I do understand.
I know once we were walking our dog very early in the morning on the street before work so she can potty, it was still dark and 2 dogs came up and were growling and circling her etc. and would not go away until finally DH cracked one on the head with the flashlight we were carrying . . .
it ran away yelping, but I was glad it did . . . we saw it later and it was fine but still. I like to carry a big Maglite when I walk my dog!! sorry I am evil after that experience! :evil:
Yeah. I used to carry pepper
Yeah. I used to carry pepper spray, but then I never would use it because I was afraid of hitting my dog as well. I've been thinking about getting a fog horn, but again, I'm worried about blowing out Domino's ear drums.
So, maybe I will start carrying a walking stick or something. This is just getting too ridiculous.
I was actually attacked by two large dogs while walking Domino last month. They looked like lab crosses but they were HUGE.
Anyway, I scooped Domino up and threw her in the back of a parked truck and then stood there and yelled at the dogs until they left me to go after a couple walking a baby stroller (I am not kidding). The husband/dad/boyfriend somehow managed to grab the larger one by the collar before it could get too close.
People are complete jerks about their dogs in this area. I am so sick of this nonsense. I just want to take my dog for a damn walk!
Carry a spray water bottle.
Carry a spray water bottle. Works like a charm. Squirt guns are great but may cause alarm if you whip it out in public!
me too, lol. I had no idea
me too, lol. I had no idea how much of a dork she was until today. She really just looked at the other dogs like they were crazy. She is such an idiotic sweetheart.
Oh goodness, I know how
Oh goodness, I know how frightening that is. I was walking our dog about 2.5 years ago, when she was just a puppy. It was me, puppy, BD6 and BD3. Some damn off-least pit bull (I know, I know) charged us. I am not nervous and not worried about dogs in general, so I decided to let it ride and see how it played out. The dog immediately took a tense, aggressive stance and began circling me and our puppy, with my kids just ahead of us. After it had "stalked" around us for about the third time, I could see it was about to do something, so just as it charged I kicked it a good one in the ribs and yelled at it. This was a really hefty pit bull, and it hardly phased it. Just as it was about to have a second go, the owners called it. It didn't leave, but it stopped charging and reconsidered, and that gave me enough time to gather myself and reassure my kids and the puppy, and then the owner came and got it.
If your dog has ANY aggressive tendencies, keep it on a leash, damn it. Glad your hubby was there to help you out and everything turned out OK!
wow! You have totally been
wow! You have totally been there. I was so worried about the boys. I reall cannot imagine what would have happened if the boys had been walking with me instead of ahead of me.
How AWFUL!!! I am so glad
How AWFUL!!! I am so glad that you and your dog are okay! I am very fearful of pitbulls, not really for any good reason except that when I was a child, there was a pitbull in a yard on the way to the bus stop and everyday I would have to walk by it as it tried its very best to knock down the rotting wood fence it was contained in. I was convinced that it was going to get out one day and kill me (which I do not think was that far fetched) anyway, I do not like them.
I also own a cockapoo, and he is my life! I love him to pieces, and would be absolutly terrified if anything like this were to happen! I am shaken for you! I am so happy that you are both okay, and your husband sounds like a saint!