The other afternoon while on the phone patiently trying to upgrade some service with my satellite company, I heard some screams from the backyard. At first I ignored because I have girls and girls scream...a lot. But then the screaming grew louder and my gut told me something was wrong. I ran outside to find a young yellow lab pouncing on my young girls and biting at them. We do not own a dog, if any of you know my #2 daughter you will know why...the child was born with fear of dogs. Anyway this k9 friend had wandered into our backyard apparently had wanted to play along with the kids, but his 100 lb plus frame was a little intimidating for my girls and he scared them and they started screaming. The dog must have sensed their fear and in turn, started acting up. When I appeared on the scene, he had my little 6 year old by the hood of her sweater and was flinging her around while she is screaming bloody murder. I wedged my adrenaline filled body between her and the dog and tried to get him to release his grip. He would not and I started to panic. I didn't know how I was going to get my little girl away from this dog by myself and I could tell the dog was getting more and more worked up. The dog was pulling on the hood of her sweater so hard that it was choking her and the fear on her little face was one of the worst things I have ever seen. I told my oldest to call 911, because I needed another adult to help me get this dog off of us. Finally the dog let go of the sweater and we ran in the house and shut the door just in time...that dog didn't want to give up. I had to explain to the 911 operator that I had panicked and that we were all OK (except for emotional trauma, that will likely be with my #2 daughter now for life who never was even outside but watched the whole event screaming from the sliding glass door.) and I was sorry to have bothered them. She said that she still had to send out an officer, and so after a report to the Pasco Police I sat down and tried to relive in my mind what had just happened. I am amazed at how our bodies react when we see our children in danger. The amounts of adrenaline that ran through my body for that 5 minute episode must have been high, because my body shook for an hour after that. My muscles in my arms were sore all night because they must have tensed up so tight. All of this trauma over a stupid dog. I'm so glad my girls were all OK, only the sweater was ruined, but it made for great stories to call grandma and grandpa and aunts, and uncles and neighbors and random people who stop at our house and anybody else who will listen. Phew! I'm tired just thinking about it again!
the poor little pink sweater, drenched in dog drool and ripped apart.
the "rug burn" around my brave little one's neck after being yanked around by a dog for 5 minutes.
