Side note: this isn't meant to be a pitbull rant. I know lots of people with sweet and wonderful pits. I think that poor training and abuse of these dogs leads to this terrible aggression.
I was very worried about Hyde-- he was favoring his right leg and was bleeding from several bites. He seemed able to walk, so Alison and I walked him to the vet, which was thankfully only a few blocks away. It wasn't until I got to the vet and the adrenaline started to wear off that I realized a) I hadn't gotten ANY information about the pitbull and b) I had been bitten myself.
Adrenaline is a funny thing, isn't it? I knew I was bleeding when I left the dog park, but I thought I was just scraped from the gravel or something. It wasn't until my body calmed down a bit that I remembered, quite clearly, the pitbull latching onto my leg. And sure enough, I had a few pretty deep punctures on my leg.
Exhibit A: (this is on the top of my leg-- the other punctures are on the underside of my calf. Basically the dog had a huge jaw)
The vet was wonderful. They were so sweet with Hyde, and gave me gauze and alcohol to clean myself up as well. Thankfully Hyde's injuries were very minor-- only a few small surface bites and some scrapes from the gravel. The leg he was favoring was just fine. I, on the other hand, was told repeatedly by everyone in the office that I needed medical attention NOW. $250 later, with doggie antibiotics in hand, I was ready to take care of myself. Man, the vet is friggin' expensive.
Hyde was in relatively good spirits-- a little freaked out still, but happy to be getting so much attention.
I made sure Hyde was safe with Deb, stocked up on my reading material, and took myself to the ER. Seven hours later I saw a doctor, who determined that since I didn't know the dog or get any information on him, I would have to get the rabies inoculation. Sigh. The hospital didn't have the vaccine on hand, so now I'm trying to figure out how to start my inoculation and still visit home like I was planning next week. Aargh.
All together, it could have been so much worse and I am very grateful to Alison, everyone at the vet's, Lori and of course my wonderful and caring girlfriend.
And in political news, I was able to watch portions of the vice presidential debate last night while waiting at the ER. It was a surreal and funny experience-- I was in a room with a girl who had been hit by a bus, a custodian transfixed by the debate, and various doctors and nurses who would pop in to watch a few minutes and then hurry off to their patients. It was a big Obama crowd, and it was pretty awesome to experience it with a group of people so diverse in their backgrounds. The comments were pretty priceless-- at one point, after Sarah Palin made a point about the economy, the custodian burst out with:
"Girl, PLEASE. Wall Street about to close it's doors and you is PLAYIN' with me!"
I couldn't have put it better myself. I must say though, that I was quite disappointed with both of the candidates only finding one thing to agree upon: their disapproval of gay marriage. I certainly wasn't surprised by Sarah Palin's views, but I expected more from Joe Biden.
It sure was an interesting day. I'm currently limping about-- damn, punctures to the muscle sure do hurt! But Hyde and I will be up and running again soon, thanks to all of the awesome animal and human medical attention we received.
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2 comments:
Get those rabies shots. It's a nasty way to go and they're not done with horse needle in the stomach any more.
Black Jack got into a fight at the dog park a couple of weeks ago.
Him and another dog (3 times his size) were playing one second and then the other dog had, had enough and freaked.
Even if the pit isn't aggressive, sometimes something just sets them off.
Also in reference to the expensive vet bills. I suggest looking into pet insurance for Hyde. We're in the process of getting it for Black Jack. It covers things like shots, accidents, surgeries etc. And you can get it through the ASPCA for as low at 15$ a month. Which seems annoying but its better than 100+ for shots and then 250$ for the vet when he gets hurt at the dog park.
Its worth at least looking up.
I hope you and Hyde are doing well. I know after Black Jack got hurt (His little nose and behind his ear) he was hesitant to play, and quite melancholy, like he didn't understand what he had done to get bitten.
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