Two weeks ago, my husband and I were walking with our beautiful retired racing greyhound, Babalu, along the marina in Alameda, CA. Our dog just loves to be with us and always enjoys an outing, tolerates sailing for that purpose and is in general, a wonderful, calm sweet pet.
We noticed a woman lightly holding the leash of her large, shaggy dog that looked part Great Dane, Airdale and a little German Shepherd thrown in. If it had been a pit bull or rotweiller, I would have walked well clear but it looked harmless enough. As we approached a 15 foot walkway, the dog bolted from its owner and launched an attack on our leashed greyhound. It took several seconds but that was enough to deliver three vicious bites that, due to the nature of her thin skin, bled profusely and proved to be life threatening.
We rushed her to the hospital and in so doing, did not get an accurate number or name for the woman and her dog. She left before the police arrived.
Our dog survived but it has been a rough two weeks. She suffered imensely, as have we. The lesson learned is to never trust another dog and if someone is not paying attention, never go into a bottleneck where your dogs are confronting each other. My neighbor carries a taser and I am looking into that, but it happened so fast I may have shocked my own dog had I one. Also, unless the dog is dying, get ID and have one of you wait until the police get there. The vet bill would buy a new set of sails, if you get my drift. I will never walk with nonshalance again. Marinas are popular places for dogs and owners. Be careful with your precious pets and if you have a dog with agressive tendencies, please muzzle.
We noticed a woman lightly holding the leash of her large, shaggy dog that looked part Great Dane, Airdale and a little German Shepherd thrown in. If it had been a pit bull or rotweiller, I would have walked well clear but it looked harmless enough. As we approached a 15 foot walkway, the dog bolted from its owner and launched an attack on our leashed greyhound. It took several seconds but that was enough to deliver three vicious bites that, due to the nature of her thin skin, bled profusely and proved to be life threatening.
We rushed her to the hospital and in so doing, did not get an accurate number or name for the woman and her dog. She left before the police arrived.
Our dog survived but it has been a rough two weeks. She suffered imensely, as have we. The lesson learned is to never trust another dog and if someone is not paying attention, never go into a bottleneck where your dogs are confronting each other. My neighbor carries a taser and I am looking into that, but it happened so fast I may have shocked my own dog had I one. Also, unless the dog is dying, get ID and have one of you wait until the police get there. The vet bill would buy a new set of sails, if you get my drift. I will never walk with nonshalance again. Marinas are popular places for dogs and owners. Be careful with your precious pets and if you have a dog with agressive tendencies, please muzzle.
