my dog bit my daughter’s face
dogs + ppl don’t always work
my dog bit my daughter’s face.
we were sitting on the couch. the dog was near us. my older daughter who is only three was kind of petting the dog, but maybe pulling at her ear or her fur. the dog apparently didn’t like this. i didn’t notice and i slid my baby daughter down next to the dog, like i had done several times before. she wanted to sit on the floor. this wasn’t a good idea. this was my fault. the baby surprised the dog and the dog bit my 11-month old baby daughter.
in the face.
across the eyes.
by the ear.
a scream. a wail.
i cried. my wife cried. we called the pediatrician who said “ER.”
my wife took my daughter to the ER. i had a bible study or something to go to, to lead actually. people were waiting on me, and my wife would be waiting at the ER.
so she went and i went and the babysitter came as planned.
we kept going, but didn’t.
i talked to the people at the bible study about {I FORGOT} and then waited up until midnight for my wife to return.
five hours at the ER.
the result? a fussy baby, stitches and some cream.
that was it.
no permanent eye damage.
no permanent ear damage.
thank you God.
we have to give the dog away.
that’s what the doctor said.
we’ve already tried our friends once when we moved. nothing.
we call shelters. they won’t take her. the county is full.
we call other shelters in other counties. we don’t live there. they won’t take her.
my wife doesn’t want to take her to a no-kill shelter.
i suggest taking her to the woods in Kentucky or something.
this causes an argument.
my wife calls another shelter, in johnson city, three, maybe more hours away. “that’s a bite of fear, not one of aggression,” the lady on the phone says.
she tells us she will call around. she hasn’t called back.
we get a gate.
the dog on one side, the children on the other.
this has worked for the most part.
sometimes the little one clings to the bars of the gate, like in a bad prison movie and the dog gives her a slight nod with a low murmur.
i grab my daughter and tell the dog to stop murmuring. kids are more important than dogs, fyi, though that seems to be controversial or something.
my older daughter, who is three, asks if the dog will eat her.
we tell her no, the dog won’t do that. but honestly, we don’t know.
