[sarge_257]

Duke the Dog and Sarge had a real bad day a week ago. (Oct. 25) We were out for a walk and the sky turned dark so we cut our walk short and on the way home we stopped at a friends house just up the street from ours. I knocked at the door and his wife opened the door and in a flash a Pit Bull came charging out and took ahold of Duke by the throat. I grabbed at the dog and so did the the lady, we both could not pull him loose. I finally grabbed the Pit Bulls nose and tried to rip it off his face. That got his attention and he let lose of Duke and turned on me. He grabbed my right hand and started eating his way up it. When Duke was dropped he didn't run off with his tail between his legs, he attacked the Pit Bull from behind and made it let loose of my hand. As he whorled around to get Duke again the lady grabbed Duke and held him up. I told her to take my dog and put it in her car that was sitting in the drive way.The wife of the dog owner managed to get the Pit Bull into the house. I asked the lady to find the Rabies tags (he had none on) or some certification that he had his shots. And then I carried Duke home (he couldn't walk on one of is legs) I got Pvt. Trent and he drove Duke to the Pet Hospital. While the Doctor was working on Duke, Trent bandaged up me.
The total of it all, Duke had his right leg pulled out of the shoulder socket, his skin on his throat was torn loose, he had a cut on his leg about5 inches long, and multiple puncture wounds on both front legs and one of his back legs. More puncture wounds on his head and shoulders. The Doc wasn't sure he would make it through the night. As Trent and I left to take me to the Emergency room we could hear poor Duke moaning in the other room.
Man that tears you up.
When we got to the Emergency room we must have got the newbies or just plain stupid. I asked them how long it would take for a human to show rabies sign and what can they do for me to prevent it. Duhhhh they didn't know. I took a deep breath and said as politely as possible. "I was bitten by a Pit Bull which is why I am bleeding all over your floor. And I want to know how long it takes for a human to show symptoms of the disease, because I want to make up a list of people that I am going to bite and you are on the top of the list if you don't do somthing fast! That got their attention and I had immediately two very cute nurses caring for me. But that was just to attract my attention, while one of them took a hypodermic needle and stuck it down into each and every puncture bite and then squrted some burning liquid in the hole until it washed out the dog saliva and germs. After that was over they Xrayed my hand and told me that I had no broken bones but most of the bites went clear through to the bone. Great I feel like a living dog bone now.
The good news is that Duke is healing well and he can walk now as the shoulder popped back into place by itself after 4 days. He still has to be carried around so he doesn't injure anything. Which means I carry him out in the morning so he can do his thing. I draw the line at helping him hold his leg up tho. Today he brought me one of his toys to play toss and retreave. He is a tough little guy and a fighter when it comes to his family. He sure doesn't like that medicine he has to take and I sympathize with him on that, I got my own meds to take. Yesterday I got my bandages off, Duke will be a couple more days for his bandages, He has some shunts inserted to drain out the infections and he wants to get at the cuts and lick them. So he is wearing one of those clown collars. Looks funny and he doesn't like at all.
Great my hand healed up just in time for me to shovel 8 inches of snow.
See you all again,
Sarge and the Brave Duke the Dog.

[russ]

Very sorry to hear about the misfortune you and Duke had. But glad that both of you are healing up well. Pits, like any other breed, are no better or worse than the people who own or train them. My sister is the hospital director at a vet clinic over here on the good side of the mountains. She has two pits that were rescues, and both are the sweetest, most loving dogs you could ask for. It's almost like they understand that she saved them from the needle.

Again, very sorry to hear about your ordeal, and best wishes for a continued speedy recovery, to you and Duke.

[roscoguy]

It's great to hear that you are both recovering from the attack! Did you ever find out whether or not the pit bull was vaccinated for rabies? If it wasn't, I thought the normal procedure was to lock the dog up for a week or so to watch for symptoms. Also, I'm no medical professional for sure but I didn't think that flushing out the wounds was a cure/preventative for rabies.

This is NOT a rant against pit bulls! What some owners of the breed don't seem to deal with is that they were originally bred for fighting, and many of the 'built-in' traits that made them good fighters are the same things that cause unwarranted attacks such as yours. If they have been raised in a way that socializes them properly, they can be as wonderful a pet as any other breed. Otherwise these bred-in tendencies may take over when the dog perceives a threat. I know that not everybody will agree with this & there will be exceptions.

I have read about some 'similar' things with other breeds, too. They say that some working dogs, such as Border Collies, get bored & may look for a "job". I've heard stories that they may even herd children or other pets. All I'm saying I guess is that not every breed makes a perfect pet, unless you invest the time & effort to overcome some of their inherent tendencies...

All that aside, I hope both you and your buddy Duke pulls through with no lasting problems. You can't buy loyalty and love like that.

[fmj]

Its good to hear you and the beast are recovering well!

I prefer the company of a bad dog to that of a good human ANY day. The thought of Duke getting attacked for no good reason bothers me to no end. (as i pat the fat head of my Champ the yella wonder dog)

The pit (and its owner) should be put down!

[BenLuby]

Glad to know both of you are recovering. Some people should not be allowed to have pets or children!!

[Boyerracing343]

I am sorry to hear this. I am glad you both are recovering. Prayers on the way.

[IGETEVEN]

Good to hear you are both on the mend. Hope the owners of the Pit bull are picking up the Vet and medical bills.

I hate Pit bulls. They are a very unpredictable and dangerous breed, especially around children.

A knife to the neck would have ended the conflict quickly and no court would have held you responsible for the action.

[MrWray]

Im glad you and Duke the dog are ok, i wouldnt blame the breed of dog for what happened. The dog was obviously not raised right. Any large breed dog can show aggressive tendancies and attack but whenever its a pitbull people go lynch crazie on the breed. I have 3 large red nose pitbulls and they are the biggest babies that ive ever seen.i have never seen a violent tendancy from any of them. I also have two young children and never have concerns about my dogs turning on them. I live in a rural area and i own 40 acres and we let the dogs play quite often in our yard,they even get along with the outside cats. Any dog is only as good as you raise it. I do agree though that once a dog randomly attacks a human that it should be put down. Again, very glad you guys are doing better. Duke is an awesome dog for protecting you!

[sarge_257]

My son made the comment as he bandaged me up that Pit Bulls are bought by Bullies and Cowards. They train the dog to be their alter ego. And he does have a point I also agree with those that say a animal (dog especially) is only as good as the owners treat and train it. I have taken in stray dogs that were so afraid of humans that they would not even accept food from them even though they were obviously starved. It takes a long time to train a dog and using a club or whip or stick is not the way to train any animal.
I thank you all for your thoughts and concerns of our health and injuries, and especially for the prayers. Duke has one more Doctor visit next Monday and if all is alright he will get the tubes taken out of his neck and chest. He is already impatient to go for a walk again. Every time I get a coat on he is standing there waiting for me to get his leash. As for me I have been staying in for the last week. My loading press has the a reversable handle which makes it work for the left hand so I just swithched it over and have been loading ammo all week. ( About 500 rds. of .38 Spl and Rem. 223.)
Hope to get back to posting more stories soon.
Sarge

[Vikingdad]

There are no bad dogs, only bad dog owners. Having said that I do take extra caution around pits. You do have to watch them.

I have a Coonhound mix that is incredibly protective. She bit a bicyclist a few years ago (no big deal, thank God) and ever since then she is only out of the house on a leash. We live in the country so that is really tough on her but it needs to be done. OK, I cheat every night and let her out off leash when its late and no bikes are out. But I'll be damned if I would open my front door without securing her in another room or having her on leash with a control collar (the latter for strangers and the in-laws).

Rabies can be transmitted immediately through the saliva, washing out the wounds will not do you one damned bit of good. That dog should have been put into immediate quarantine and if it wasn't you should probably consider the rabies shots. Not something to mess around with.