Dog Bites Man!
Maybe not so important to you, but quite important to at least one of those involved
My brother-in-law brought his good looking Husky to our place on the water. Greg has cared for Rio for for 2 months, and this was our first meeting. On a pretty short leash, Rio sniffed around the place and eventually sniffed me.
“You’re a wolf!” I exclaimed. The absolutely beautiful dog gave the impression that domestication can only do so much.
The order of the day was a boat ride out on Canada Lake, a relatively small, but big-enough body of water in the Southern Adirondacks. The ride was enjoyed by all 4 humans, and Rio showed his gratitude by face-licking the captain.
After a tour of the shorelines, we put in at “The Bahamas,” a slightly submerged strip of state-owned sand where people often park their boats to enjoy a sunny day. Wading, swimming, floating and just hanging out with a view of Kane and the rest of the surrounding low mountains is a great way to spend an afternoon.
It was also a great place to let Rio run. Though huskies have a propensity to explore, he couldn’t get far off the sand bar due to the swamp behind. So he had a great time running through the shallow water.
Eventually, he wanted to get back into the pontoon boat. Stretching to climb up, he was struggling, and appeared to need assistance.
The desire to help overruled caution. Rio interpreted the grab of his midsection and lifting from behind as a threat. He growled and before I could get my arm out of range, he lunged and clamped down, hard.
The world stopped for a moment. I bent over, grabbing my right arm with my left hand while a wave of nausea washed over me. If a Doctor had been on the boat and asked what pain level had been achieved, I wouldn’t have been able to answer. The world had not only stopped, but it had also shrunk down to a size that included only my bitten arm and some low percentage of my consciousness.
As the intensity and nausea waned somewhat, and I looked around for something to help the pain. I could only think of immersing the arm in the lake to cool the bite site down. Thoughts of microorganisms lurking in the water did not occur at the time.
Denise had a fully functioning brain, and a better idea. She handed me the beverage-cooling ice pack. Shortly after, the world expanded to normal size even though significant pain persisted.
Mood disrupted, our relaxing stay at the Bahamas was over. My wife Mary drove the boat back to our dock, and she and Denise convinced me that a trip to Urgent Care was in order even though the long-sleeved “rasher” I was wearing had not been torn by the bite. There was a well-through-the-skin puncture on the topside near my wrist, a lesser but also bleeding wound on the bottom, and a lovely parabolic bruise documenting the outline of Rio’s teeth.
Off I went. One handed driving is nothing new.
Five hours later, I returned, antibiotics in good hand, to enjoy a nice dinner with Mary and Denise prior to heading off late to a previously scheduled commitment. Greg and Rio had opted for lower stimulation back home.
The neighborhood board meeting went longer than expected. Thankfully, the story of the mishap preceded my arrival, and my host provided Scottish general anesthesia.
Now I’m in quarantine for 10 days so we can be sure the dog won’t get some horrible disease. Friends at the lake have sent numerous well-wishes, and sincere hopes that Mary will not have to put me down.
