Saturday, September 30, 2006

I was SCOOPED up....

I lost all my Airedale dignity today....

We had some rain early in the morning, and then it was cold and overcasting for the rest of the day. Mum didn't feel like freezing her butt off at the beach, so we had a fairly diplomatic discussion about where to go for my afternoon walk. Mum suggested to drive me somewhere new and do a long leash walk around the area. I, being the cooperative dogter, agreed to her suggestion. You all might think how nice of a mum I have, but I hate to tell you this, you are all wrong - she did this for herself!

You see, the reason why mum suggested to leash walk me in an unfamiliar place is because she hates to walk me around my neighbourhood. Why? Well because I know my neighbourhood very well, so I like to go to places that I want to go. This means when we're out on our walk, I'll walk if I think mum is going in the direction that I want to go. If she isn't, then I'll stop dead on the leash, and wait 'til mum walks in MY direction. This works on my mum because I know mum doesn't pull or jerk my leash to force me to move. So everytime mum takes me out for a walk around the neighbourhood, it always ends up being at least a 90 min walk!

Oh, and the route usually goes something like HOME -- SCHOOL 1 -- PET STORE(to watch guinea pigs) -- SCHOOL 2 -- SOCCER FIELD -- PET FOOD STORE -- MUM BEGS AND PLEADS -- HOME. Now, this doesn't happen in an unfamiliar place because the smells, the houses, the area, everything is new to me. So I will happily follow mum whichever way she wants to go.

Ok, back to my story,

Mum and I drove to this new neighbourhood and started our walk. Everything was fine at first, met a few dogs on leash, said hi, and moved on. Then we turned a corner and saw a woman a little ways (~30 ft) up the sidewalk with her dog walking in the same direction that we were. Neither mum nor I thought much about it until we got a bit closer to them and realized the woman was struggling to keep her Pitbull X Rottweiler moving. The dog kept turning around, trying to pull towards us, snarling at the same time. As soon as mum saw this, she decided to cross the road.

I am usually fine with dogs on leash as long as they are not showing signs of aggression. Unfortunately, if I sense that you don't like me, I will gladly return a few words to let you know that I don't like you either. Mum doesn't like this behavior because she wants me to be a polite girl, so she usually tells me a firm "LEAVE HIM" before I have the chance to exchange words with the other party. I respect what mum wants out of me, so I usually just cock my tail way up in the air, walk proudly pass the other party (while doing some heavy exhales as I pass), but I keep my mouth shut and not a word of rudeness comes out.

Back to the story,

Mum told me to "LEAVE HIM!" (which turned out to be a her) and proceeded to crossing the road. As soon as we stepped off the curb, we heard the woman yell "Ally NO!" The next thing I knew, mum was screaming "NOOOO" and I was up in the air, swearing and cursing in mum's arms...

Ally, the dog, had pulled so hard that her owner couldn't hang on to her and she came after me. There was no hesitation from her whatsoever. Her eyes were fixed on me, and me only. She snarled aggressively with her teeth all bared and ready to kill. Mum didn't know what to do, so she just SCOOPED all 63 lbs of me up as if I were a piece of feather or something. Ally came really close as mum was lifting me up, and she ended up taking a chomp on mum's leg. Thank doG mum was wearing her baggy sweat pants, so other than a bruised calf and a ripped pant leg, she's ok. The owner eventually caught up to Ally and got a hold of her.

The owner was in tears. She said this had never happened before in the 1.5 yrs she's had Ally since she was adopted from the SPCA (I don't know if I believe this). Because Ally's owner was very apologetic and obviously in shock, mum decided to cut her some slacks and walked on. Mum did tell the owner that she needed to muzzle, and get control of Ally if Ally was gonna go after other dogs like that.

We continued with our walk, but I could still sense the shock and anxiety in mum so I decided to warn the next few dogs we met to stay away from us.... However, mum was much better toward the end of our walk, so I let my guard down and politely said "hi" to the few other dogs we met before heading home. Mum and I are very in sync with each other, so we are able to read each other to the tee!

MY THOUGHTS:

I don't know why my crazy mum decided to SCOOP me up because "I" really do think I could have won the fight if there was one!! I'm an AIREDALE - KING OF THE TERRORS - RULER OF THE WORLD! We Airedales, are normally happy- comical creatures, but should you decide to piss us off, doesn't matter what size or what strength you have, we will NOT back down until we die (literally).

(The above statements were taken directly from the mind of one particular Airedale, does not necessarily represent others of the same breed.....)

I have to admit though, I am very surprised and impressed that mum was able to SCOOP me up just like that and actually hold on to me while I was struggling my hardest to get down to protect her from Ally. It's amazing what adrenaline can do for ya!!

I guess this story can just make the list of "What Makes a Good Doggie Friend"??

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

You just lived out one of my worst nightmares!!!! I'm sure glad this story had a happy ending. Whew!

Sue

Sunshade said...

Hi Sue, yeah it was VERY scary, the owner had NO control over the dog whatsoever, and the dog was in for the "kill", was going right for the neck.

Sunshade's mum

Opy - the Original GruffPuppy said...

Oh dear Miss Sunshade - what a horrible story ! I am so glad that you and your mum are okay - to scoop you up just like that shows how much your mum loves you - you should be very proud of her. I know you could have "taken" that doggie - but best to let your mum think that she alone is your protector :-)
I am glad that we live on 30acres - we don't go outside our property for walks - I guess we live a kind of sheltered life, but it suits us fine - besides, I don't think mum could pick my big lardo up if I got into trouble !
Once again, I think it is a case of blame the owner, not the breed. She really should have had her doggie under control alittle better.

So glad you are both okay.

Love
Opy

Anonymous said...

A-hem - not meaning to sound rude, but a big girl like you coulda hurt your Mommy's back!

I get the scoop whenever my arch nemesis Sammy is out as he rushes us barking and snarling and snapping! Not that he could hurt me, Mommy does it to save him as he is a chihuahua!

Bussie Kissies
Buster

Isabella said...

Wow, Sunshade- what an awful story! I have had a couple of experiences with aggressive dogs and that is why we don't go to dog parks anymore. The dogs owners seemed to think it was funny, but it wasn't funny to us at all. I find it hard to believe that the bad dog had never acted aggressive before and suddenly out of the blue went after you. You got a great Human, Sunshade! Bless her heart for protecting you. You can't be getting in fights (even though we all know you would win) and taking a chance of being scarred- it might hurt your acting career!
Big Wags,
Isabella

jaffeboy said...

Kisses for your mom, Ms Sunshade. Hope her bruises are gone now.

You gotten over the shock, I hope. Thank goodness you are not hurt.

I wasn't that lucky. I lost a small piece of my ear to this big dog when I was a puppy growing up. Both my PaPa & MaMa went into shock.

Anonymous said...

Well Sunshade I know you could have put that dog down.

Many years ago Shama and her two humans went to an off leash dog park in Berzerkly, Calif.

We all should have known "something" was up, because all the mom's and dad's had their wee little ones and themselves sitting on top of the pinic tables.

We came in and sat down and Shama being the good citizen sat by her mom.
Immediately a Great white Prynesess ( sp?) run up to us growling, snarling teeth barred.

Not thinking Mom grabbed Shama's collar to get her out of the way of those teeth that were aimed at Shama's throat.

The great white dog moved so fast from Shamas throat to mom's hand....
but not quite fast enough.....

Shama had turned her head away, at first ( knowing mom wanted a good dog at all times), she was even willing to take a bite on the neck ( to just be a good girl).

But when the dog was going to bite her mom's hand instead.....

Nobody even saw Shama move her head it was soooooooooooo fast. She nipped the great white on the lip...

and that eneded it.

It was not a terrible wound, but the dog decided it didn't want to push her any further.

And her owner was also very appologetic.

But when she left, the other dog owners said that great white dog had been terrorizing all the dogs in the park ( thus they were sitting on top of the table).

So it didn't take that dog long to learn NOT to mess with an Airedales mom.
Shama would tolerate ANYTHING
but anyone hurting her mom! She was willing to die for me!! But she used just enough force to make that dog back off.

And really I shouldn't have grabbed her collar but like your mom, I instinctively tried to protect Shama.

And I know you could and would have done the same. Airedales will put up with most anything. but someone or some dog trying to hurt their Alpha humans.

ranger said...

i know my mom would have done the same thing! when i was really little i met an older chocolate lab lady. she was kinda cranky, but i didn't know it. anyway, i went up to her and she WOOFED in my ear. it scared the ba-jeezes out of me and i yelped for a long time.

mom scooped me up and put me in her lap and held me. i can remember my body shaking for ten minutes.

other dogs can be scary!

-*w00f*

Chelsea said...

My Mama was nearly in tears reading this to me! Mama is so terrified of this happening to us. That is why Mama does not take me to dog parks also. Mama has scooped me up in the past also but, being a supermodel I am only 15 lbs so it is quite easy for her. Although, I suspect if I weighed a lot more Mama could handle it. It's the Mama instinct.

How scary for you. You were so brave!
Hope your mom is ok??

XOXOXOOXOXO
Chelsea

Anonymous said...

luckily no such thing happen to me until now. i hope nothing such incident will ever happen to me. if it does, mom can easily scoop me up! thank DoG, i'm just a small boy boy! :-)

so, did you take your mom to see a doctor about her wound? but if the bite never get into the flesh, i guess it is ok then!

licky wet wet licks

boo

Jay said...

Wow, that's scary! You see, your mummy loves you so much that she took the big dog on your behalf.

Hope her leg is better now.

Boo Boo said...

Wow Sunshade ... Good that you were not hurt.

I was not so lucky, I got part of my ears ripped off by a bull terrier ......

Ouch Ouch

Bogart H. Devil said...

Whew, Sunshade, what a scary story! Mom told me about her old dog, a German Shepherd named Schnuff, who had part of his ear taken off by a pit bull mix years ago that charged at her... tell your mom that we're all happy she's ok!!!

And that she's STRONG!

Love,
Bogart

T-man Angel said...

My mom gets scared reading your story too. There used to be killer pit bulls living near us, but they have moved, thank goodness!! Mom always thought if they attacked, she'd drop to the ground with me under her to protect me. Of course, I'd have got crushed since Mom is a heavyweight (way over 17 pounds!!) Your poor mom...I hope she didn't get hurt.

Freda said...

Wow, Sunshade!

I'm glad that you and your mom are okays.

What's goin' on here? Walkies and dog parks are becomin' reeeally dangerous. What happened? If the humans could be taken out of the mix I bet we could straighten things out. But I think the problem started many, many long times ago when our peeples lived in stone holes and stuff.

Several of my Paw Pals have barked about their humans and themselves bein' attacked on walkies or on 'dog' big cat boxes (beaches). I was attacked on a big cat box once and have the scar to prove it.

You are sooo lucky that your mom loves you reeeeally reeeally a lot and saved you. And I know you would do the same for her.

Lookin' for sites about dog attacks and dog parks I found this site, (http://www.leerburg.com/dogparks.htm). I haven't read all of the human's stuff but his talk about dog parks and other humans comments was interestin'. I want Dad to read more.

'Be careful out there.'

Woof!

Freda said...

Hey Sunshade,

Freda here again. I like your bold word in your comment at my place. I have learned a lot about bloggin' from the reader Blogging by Biz Stone. And then I found a good site, http://werbach.com/barebones/, in the reader Creating Web Pages for My Dad (I mean Dummies), that has a lot of HTML tags and stuff. For different colors of letters and stuff I use http://oreilly.com/catalog/wdnut/excerpt/
color_names.html
to find what color I want.

But sniffin' around your place I can tell you know what you're doin'. Ruff!

Keep on bloggin'!

Woof!

Charlie said...

Sunshade,
You're such a good dog to "LEAVE HIM" just like your mom said, and your mom is awesome for scooping you up and protecting you! Wow!
- C

Sunshade said...

Opy gal: I'm with you here, it's not the breed, it's the people. Unfortunately, people get certain breeds to do certain bad things..... and then if you breed those dogs, then the bad cycle just keeps going. SIGH.. Mum has no problem letting me play dogs of any breed as long as they are well socialized and well, don't try to kill me LOL!

Buster: I KNOW and I told mum that. But you know, that woman sometimes is almost as stubborn as me, she was dead set on SCOOPING me up!!! Shouldn't Sammy be on-leash and not allowed to run at you and your mama??

Isabella:Most dogs at the dog beach that I often go to are well socialized and we all get along. If we dont' like each other, we simply just move on or ignore each other, we don't try to attack each other. Sigh... I guess you're right, it was a good thing my mum scooped me up, I really can't jeopardize my acting career hehe!

Zach:Pepper spray is a great idea. Thanks. We've never needed it before, but might be a good idea after what happened yesterday. Mind you I doubt mum would've had enough time to get out the spray and spray the dog even if she had the spray yesterday...

Jaffe:OH NO, your poor ma & pa... it must have been awful. However, you're still very cute even with a little piece of ear missing!

Good girl Shama!!

Ranger:we have great mom's!

Chelsea:I think you're right, it is the mama instinct, and I'm sure your mama would have done the same even if you weighed a lot more!

Katsu:Thanks Katsu, I was fine right after the incident, it was my mum who needed some recovery time LOL. So I had to watch her for her while she was recovering ya know..hehe!

Booboo:You're back!!! I missed you. Yeah mum's ok, the bite didn't break the skin thanks to her old baggy sweat pants (she was considering throwing it away..).

Jay:I know my mum loves me very much, but I wish she would have just let me "take care" of that rude dog you know. It's my job to protect my mum...

Boo Boo:Oh no you too lost a little piece of your ear?? Sigh.....

Bogie:another missing ear piece? You be careful too ok, Bogie? No kidding my mum is STRONG!!

T-man:I glad that mean dog from your neighbourhood is gone. Why do people think it is ok to let their dogs roam around the streets free?? Doesn't matter if it's a chihuahua or a pitbull, does should be under controlled at all times!

Freda:Thanks so much for the link, I'll make my mum read it too!

MUAH!

Love nibbles to all,
Miss Sunshade

Sunshade said...

Hey Freda, thanks again for those links! Trust me, I know what I'm doing, but I'm often too busy so I have to bark for mum to type, and she really has no idea what she's doing most of the time, so thank you so very much!! Hehe...she knows how to bold now!!

Charlie!! I try to be good most of the time, but "LEAVE HIM" only works if mum tells me before I start to talk back if you know what I mean...hehe!

MUAH!

Love nibbles to both,
Miss Sunshade

Anonymous said...

Miss Sunshade, How very scary. You are very brave. I bet that is not a neighborhood you'll be visiting again anytime soon.
I am glad you and your Mum are OK.

Fu Fu said...

Oh no.. Sunshade, you and your poor mum. I hope your mum's ok now.
That must have been painful. Your mum is so brave to protect you.
That bad dog definately needs muzzle. Glad you're ok...

~ fufu

Unknown said...

Oh my!! What a very scary thing to have happen. You are so lucky your Mama saved you! Tell your Mama she should carry a STUN GUN! Then the dogs won't be able to bite her either. We sure hope her leg is going to be ok. They opened a small dog park 20 miles from here and Papa wanted to take us. Mama said NO WAY! Our yard is bigger than this dog park. Mama says you can't trust the other hoomans that bring their dogs. We have a much better yard anyways.
Luv & Wirey Healing Hugs!
Butchy & Snickers

Herbie said...

That's horrible! I'm glad you and your mum are all right! I don't think my M can carry 25kg of me up in the air, coz there was once she carried me and she sprained her back. I think I better go for self defense lessons.