For Dixie, all that space translates into one thing: RUN. That's all she does. She ran there, and then over there, then across there and back through there and then she'd stop for a moment and look for where I was. When she found me, she'd run to me for a nose rub, and then she'd take off again.
There are actually two dog parks. The other park, smaller but still sizeable, is for little dogs, 20 pounds and under. There are signs at the entrances of both parks, Large Dogs Only, and Small Dogs Only. But sometimes, those with little dogs opt for the large dog park. It doesn't raise as many eyebrows as I'm sure it would if someone were to bring their 80 plus pound dog in the small dog park, but I always sort of cringe nonetheless. There are big dogs in the big dog park. In addition to all the Labradors and Pointers there are German Shepherds, Rottweilers, Great Danes, Boxers, American Bulldogs, Akitas and Mastiffs. I wouldn't dare bring a small breed dog into the park designated for big dogs. What happened yesterday is exactly why.
A man and his small Beagle walked into the park as Cheyenne, Dixie and I did. I thought then, hmmm, that dog is small and Beagles are barkers. I hope he doesn't go after a big dog. And then I didn't think about it again.
Because of Cheyenne's recent surgery, I wanted to keep her away from the pool and the temptations to run and jump, so we instead walked the winding path through and around the area. A lot of people do this, they get their exercise and their dogs get to roam around here and there while still being in site.
I heard the barking first. Then I heard a loud aggressive growl. Then I stopped in my tracks. Ahead of me I saw the beagle. The focus of his barking, and source of that aggressive growl was an enormous American Bulldog. The Bulldog lurched for the Beagle, got it in its mouth by his back and lifted that little dog straight into the air. The beagle was yelping and the Bulldog's owner and Beagle's owner were trying to separate them. They did so almost immediately. While the Beagle's owner was checking him and the Bulldog's owner was apologizing profusely, a crowd began to gather. I stepped closer and saw the bloody drool from the Bulldog's mouth.
I wonder what you would have done at this point. Me? I would have immediately put my dog in my arms and carried him to my car and driven him to the vet. But for some reason, even though his dog was injured, the Beagle's owner did not do that. Instead he and the others who had gathered around him began verbally attacking the Bulldog's owner.Why isn't your dog on a leash? You've trained him to be a killer! Who the hell needs a dog that big? The Bulldog's owner kept apologizing, saying, he's never done anything like that before, I'm so sorry. Those words were not heard, or they were ignored. A woman was yelling at him, the Beagle's owner was yelling at him. The man did not raise his voice, just kept apologizing.
Cheyenne and I walked past them, leaving a wide berth between us and the scene. I sat on a bench at a distance and watched the commotion going on, still wondering why the Beagle's owner was not seeking treatment for his dog. The Beagle was standing and obviously frightened and it seemed to me uncomfortable but I could not see any bleeding. Still, I wouldn't take any chances if the dog were mine.
Cheyenne and I got on our way again but I couldn't shake what I had seen. Why did the Beagle owner take his dog to the big dog park? And when he did, did he not consider the risks? Why didn't he grab his dog when it started barking at the Bulldog?
Later, when Dixie was sufficiently run down and Cheyenne had sniffed her fill, we headed to the car. At the gate were the Beagle owner and two other people, seemingly waiting for something. When the police arrived, they approached the car. I shook my head at it all, mainly because the Beagle still had not been taken to the vet, so how concerned was this guy really? I put the dogs in the car and then watched the police approach the Bulldog owner who was sitting on a bench inside the park. Another crowd gathered. One policeman walked away with the Beagle owner and, it seemed to me, asked him to stay there, while they spoke with the Bulldog owner.
I do not know how it all turned out because I couldn't stay anymore and watch. But I do know this: If you have a small dog, don't bring him or her to the large dog park if there is a small one available to you, especially if you have an aggressive small dog. The entire episode was completely avoidable.
I wonder if that Beagle was ever taken to the vet.
3 comments:
OMG!!! So many thoughts, my head is spinning! The Beagle owner was DEAD WRONG! He chose to bring his dog in with the big dogs... enter at your own (dog's) risk dude! I feel so sorry for the Bulldog owner... that dog reacted the way it should!
I get SO angry when I hear about some poor dog that is going to be put down for attacking a child. I always ask "what was the kid doing before it got attacked??? and "Where were the parents?" People never take responsibility for themselves or their kids or dogs and it's the poor animal that has to pay with it's life! It makes me wish we could put irresponsible parents down! GRRRR!
And on a big dog / small dog note... the dog park by my old house has three sections. Big / Small and TIMID. The timid section might as well be small dog section #2 but every time we visited... there was a rottweiler in there! He was apparently was raised by some jacka$$ to be a fighter and was mortified of big dogs. He would shake and shiver until some of the other timid dogs would make him feel welcome. Then he would lie down to be on the level of his friends and eventually roll about and play (very gently) with his small friends!
You hit a nerve with this post!
Being responsible for your child or your dog seems to be an art lost on many of us. Sorry about that. Happens with kids all the time. It's not the kid - it's the swing, or the bike, or the other kid's fault. Shameful.
seems like a sypmtom of a bigger thing in this country. no one wants to take responsibillity for their own choices, and when one of them ends up being wrong, they invariably wanna blame someone else.
i'll use a similiar human scenario. friday i was early to pick up the kids from school, so i sat in my car and watched them play on the playground. i saw a boy trip my son as he ran by, playing some game with another group. when my boy got up, the boy who tripped him said something to him, and my son said something back. i was getting out of the car because the teachers seemed unaware of what was happening, when the other boy shoved my son. my sons reply was a slug to the boys temple.
when i went in to pick up the kids, the teachers and the other parent wanted to talk about the incident. i told them there was nothing to talk about. if the other boy didnt want to be hit in the face then he should not trip my son and he shouldnt call him names.
the other boy, like the beagle, should have kept his mouth shut and his hands to himself.
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