Sunday, March 20, 2011

Me vs. Random Yellow Lab

     Ah, the joys (ARRRRGH!) of city life.  One of those joys being the random wandering dog.
     I love dogs, and I, like most dog owners, have at one point or another lost track of my dog for a very brief period of time. 
     These things happen.
     It also happens that some people are very inconsiderate and let their not-entirely friendly labs wander aimlessly through the neighbourhood on a regular basis.
    
     Nivek and I were coming out the back door yesterday, my very own back door, into my very own backyard, which is unfortunately not fenced in, only to find a large yellow lab, hackles raised, charging toward us.
     It is no small miracle that Nuka was still safely contained in the house.
     Before I could jam Nivek back in the door, said lab was up on my back porch, nose to nose with my elderly dog looking none too impressed.
     If I had never run into this particular dog before, it might be a different thing, but I have, and to be frank, I'm scared of him and don't trust him.  No doubt he knows this, because he doesn't take me very seriously.  I tried to shoo him off, to no avail, my only concern to see Nivek safely back into the house.  He would not go away, so I had to preform an interesting maneuver where I jammed Nivek back in the house and did not let Nuka out of the house.  I managed to do this, and, received a bite in the ass for my trouble.
     My cry of distress must have alarmed him, because he backed off enough that I could get back in the house, anyway.  Thanks be to the god of denim, because he didn't break the skin, however, I do have two very nice canine-teeth sized bruises on my left butt cheek.  Thanks, buddy!
     As if all of this wasn't enough fun, it all happened during a visit by my parents, who were stressed out about it, and our entire afternoon quickly became about what to do about my butt bite.  After a lot of stressing out about the situation, I did finally go over to the lab's house to let them know what had happened.  In the end, I decided that if someone had a problem with one of my dogs, I would hope they would try approaching me first before more strenuous measures were taken.
     I hope I did the right thing.
     The woman was very nice, apologized, and seemed to genuinely appreciate my concerns for my very elderly, unable-to-defend-himself dog which is my foremost concern.  She assured me that the yellow lab, who is named Bailey, is not aggressive (????) and at my request, I was formally introduced to him.  In his own home, of course, Bailey was what I expect a yellow lab to be, nothing but a big, wiggling ball of joy and affection.
     This rouse serves him well, no doubt, but I've seen Mr. Hackles before and he's not quite as innocent as he looks, my ass can attest to that.  Did I do the right thing?  I don't know.  Will they keep a better eye on this yellow terror?  Only time will tell. 
     I am not ashamed to admit that around dinner time, long after the morning bite and a few hours after going to Bailey's house, I balled like a baby in my office for a few minutes.  My ass will be fine and hopefully Bailey won't be charging my back door again in the near future, but I cried about it anyway, like a big suck.  Getting bit by dogs I work with is one thing, getting bit by my own dogs is one thing, but getting bit by a strange dog on my own back doorstep is quite another.  And for some reason even though the bite was no big deal, it hurt the most.

5 comments:

  1. Your tears are understandable. Alas, most every neighborhood has a marauding Bailey Hackles. Bless you for taking a bite for your precious old dog.

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  2. Thanks, Lynn. I would do it again. And let the lab be henceforth known as Bailey Hackles. It suits him, perfectly.

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  3. I am such a baby when it comes to strange/stray dogs. It doesn't matter how big or little they are. They freak me out. I don't know if I would have been as brave as you taking one for your friend. That takes courage and love. I admire that.

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  4. It's rather refreshing to hear a story about a crazy, two-faced biting dog that's not a pit or pincher (what a tough lab!). Glad you and Nivek are okay and you did the right thing going to the owner. We'll see if it helps though, huh? BTW, totally relate with the parents being there and the whole thing becoming an overwhelmingly stressful situation!

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  5. Yes, if anyone still needs proof that it's not the breed, any dog can bite, Bailey Hackles is it. When I see him again, and I will, I'll try to get a picture of his innocent little face from a safe distance. I was going to take a picture of the bite, but, well, it's on my butt.

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