Not A Quiet Weekend

Post 250

As I went to bed Friday night, I pictured my weekend doing some usual house and yard work, watching my OSU Buckeyes play, and getting a lot of writing done. This is not what happened!

✅️ Laundry done in the morning

✅️ Bills/banking done in the morning

✅️ Dog got walked in the morning

After eating a little lunch, I thought hmmm, I could start writing now for a couple hours then watch the game at 3 pm, but then realized I still needed to take food out to and “turn” the compost. I keep a little silver can in the kitchen, then take that to the actual compost bin, right off our back deck, once a week. The weather was sunny and beautiful so I decided to quickly do the composting first. I probably wouldn't be writing this at all if I’d just started writing instead. Ugh.

As usual, my dog wanted to be out there with me. I hooked her up to her lead and did my thing. Just finishing up, the neighors’s dog, a pit bull, bounded into our yard. She has had this dog for over a year, adopted from the pound, and it has always been skittish to come near me. We’ve seen it in our yard on our security camera footage every so often, usually very early, like 430 in the morning.

I didn't want our camera taking clip after clip after clip of me while I did that composting chore, so I’d disabled it temporarily. The dog was bold this time and stood at the bottom of our deck and my dog came down. They had their heads side by side and my dog’s tail was wagging, but the moment I realized Squid’s (stupid name) was not, was the instant it attacked Kk. It clamped down on her neck. I started screaming bloody murder and can hardly recall what I did. I must have been kicking or hitting it with no success and I think I then pulled my dog’s lead and they ended up on our deck. I’m screaming my lungs out. I presume it was the neighbor's oldest adult son, visiting from out of town, who I’d never met, ran over and tried to get Squid off of Kk, but no luck. I noticed my metal kitchen compost container and was going to whack Squid on the head with it. The man stopped me, but then grabbed it and actually ended up doing it himself. That did the trick.

I was hyperventilating and my adrenaline was sky high. The man’s wife and brother had also been on the scene by then. We looked at Kk and could not see even a drop of blood on her anywhere! It was shocking! How was that possible? I caught my breath and angrily said, “This is not acceptable” of all things. They had apologized a couple times already but then he got rude after I said that.

I went in with KK, called the friend I’d been texting with while I ate, and vented, and continued to check my dog out. She seemed 99% fine. It felt like a miracle had just occurred. (Hubby was at the pool) KK continued to act completely normal the rest of the day.

✅️ Watch the Buckeyes/dozed

❌️ Writing

Today when I awoke I thought she was still mostly fine, but I saw some swelling beneath her loose fur and fat and realized she kinda smelled. I washed her neck, she ate breakfast, but not quite the usual gusto. She was a bit different, but we were still not alarmed and thought we’ll take her to the vet to be sure on Monday.

Hubby left for his swim workout. Then she started licking her pillow. She isn't a licker, so I looked that up and it said it was a way some dog’s soothe themselves when they are in pain. I thought, well, the smell, the hanging bag of pus under her skin which was now more pronounced, and this symptom is enough to just take her to an emergency vet now.

Nearly $700 later due to vet fee, surgery to drain and clean one hidden puncture wound, and the antibiotics and pain medication, here we are. I’m so glad I took her today. This vet place was excellent and I already even wrote a review. If you live near Huntsville, it is called Animal Critical Care on South Memorial Parkway near Stand Up Live.

Hanging pus sack between collar and mouth.

Back home. No stitches so it can continue to drain. She was pretty drugged up here.

I’d texted hubby so he’d know when he got done swimming. He called while she was in surgery but for a different reason. He hadn't even read my texts yet! He called to tell me our car had been side-swiped in the YMCA parking lot. But, but, but…the perpetrator actually left a real, apologetic note, with two phone numbers! (It was a teenaged girl apparently) I told you the people of Huntsville are top notch!

As we were discussing the days events over dinner, hubby told me he had one more scare today. When he stopped to get his hair cut on his way home, he heard his phone go off a couple times, and told the stylist he needed to check it real quick. He saw it was one of my son's best friends. His heart sunk because this is not a person he normally talks to. But thankfully, hubby himself had apparently butt-dialed him, and he was merely returning a “missed call.”

So. Here’s the kicker. Having your dog attacked enough to require emergency vet service, and having your car sideswiped all in one weekend should make a couple extremely upset. Angry? Perturbed? Except for the actual attack I had to witness, I still feel almost nothing. I’m loving on my dog and taking care of her, but I am doing it with a shell already over my heart. The car? It’s just a car. I know that nothing can possibly ever compare to the worst thing that could happen. It already happened. Nothing else will ever be that bad again, unless of course my son were to also lose his life. I just don't expect that to ever be the case, but it is in the realm of possibilities.

I took my laptop with me to the vet knowing I’d be waiting, so today, yes, a little editing got done afterall. I shall persevere!

It is unlikely I’ll post again until after Thursday. Hubby and I will have our Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday night the 22nd, with our son calling in from Ohio. I just can’t celebrate it on the 23rd, the 11-month anniversary. I hope you all have delicious food and special times with family and/or friends and thank He who gives only good gifts.