02/15/2024
PSA - Dog walking
I have a new accessory I'm carrying now on my neighborhood walks: Gel Pepper Spray.
While my neighborhood is situated among lots of hustle and bustle, it's sort of tucked away behind the trees and is really relatively quiet. It feels safe. It feels comfortable. It has 120 houses among 5 cul-de-sacs and a main entrance, so it's a really lovely walk in several directions. My house is pretty much smack-dab in the very center, so I can venture out in any direction and back and it makes for about a 0.5 mile walk.
I take 2x 0.5 mile walks with both of my dogs every weekday before I head into the office with Loki, and generally 4x or more walks on weekends. Sunday afternoon the unthinkable happened. :'(
Now I want to say upfront that it WAS an accident. The owners took responsibility immediately and paid for everything.
The mother came home, opened the garage door to pull in, and didn't close the door before entering the house. That's when their GIGANTIC Rottweiler bolted out of the house and straight for us, as we were walking by on the other side of the street.
The dog attacked Obi, and knocked me off my feet. Obi was hindered by being attached to his leash (which was secured on my wrist and I couldn't get it off while on the ground, trying to get back up and having my arm yanked), so he couldn't defend himself properly. Loki was going crazy, too, but my most traumatic memory is just being on the ground, screaming my head off, seeing this Rottweiler with Obi's back leg in his jaws.
The owners were there likely within 10-15 seconds and pulled the dog off us. It feels like it was much longer, but I'm sure it couldn't have been more than that. We took both dogs to the E.R. and everybody is okay. I've got some bruises from the fall, but that dog wasn't getting anywhere near me, my protectors made sure of it! Obi sustained several scratches on his leg and one serious puncture wound. He's on antibiotics and painkillers for a week - no stitches. Loki managed to only get a broken toenail, likely from digging into the concrete to protect me and/or her big brother.
So here is my PSA: It doesn't matter how safe and comfortable your neighborhood is, do NOT walk your dogs unarmed. I'm not saying you have to carry a pistol, and I know I would struggle with shooting an animal, even in a situation like this, but it is CRUCIAL that you have SOMETHING that can fend off another animal should you be attacked. This isn't the first time an unleashed animal has come up on us, but it is the first time that the animal wasn't going to back down, no matter how much Obi or I yelled at him.