Murphy's Law tells a funny little story about his dog, Murphy's total dislike of the UPS man.
I've written about my blue heeler, Patch and how he would herd hermit crabs and about how he was pretty darn aggressive, as was his nature. In fact, he was very difficult to keep under control as he was constantly wanting to rise to the dominant position in the house. He didn't stand a chance with me or the hubby, but we were constantly having to assert OUR dominance over him in subtle ways such as not letting him go into a room before us, or eat before us, etc. etc. occasionally, subtle would not work, then we would have to use more aggressive techniques.
For the most part, Patch was a very sweet and loyal dog. I could look into his eyes and see the love and devotion there which admittedly sometimes would borderline obsession. If I was in the front yard working in the yard, I could see him watching me out the window, or if he was in the backyard, he would peek through a knot hole in the fence at me..... I digress.....
So, ML's story about Murphy's dislike of the UPS man reminded me of the scar that I have on my leg from Patch.
The UPS guy had come to the door and Patch was going nuts as usual.... typically I could keep Patch back by simply saying 'stay', but this particular time was different. The UPS guy needed a signature and when he was handing me the electronic clipboard to sign, my protective, loyal companion took that as the UPS guy grabbing at his mommy.
Patch was having NONE of that. Nope! So in a valiant effort at protecting me, Patch lunged at the door, barking and baring teeth..... unfortunately (though better me than the UPS guy, I would not want a lawsuit on my hands), my leg got in the way and as he was barking, he ended up with my calf in his mouth. This resulted in him sinking his tooth into my skin.
I looked down at him and it was really surreal..... when he bit, he realized that he screwed up and he immediately opened his mouth and 'spit out' my leg as if he had bitten into something that tasted really bad.... he then sat back on his butt and looked up at me as if to say, "I'm so sorry mom! I didn't mean to do that!"
As for my reaction, it was in slow motion... I could see him let go of my leg and has his teeth exited my leg I could see the flesh slide off his tooth and I could feel my stomach churn as I was thinking, "This is going to be bad." I looked down at a single hole in my leg (luckily he only got me with one upper canine and the lowers and the other upper only scraped my skin) but there was no blood......
I handed the UPS guy his tablet and shut the door.... Patch was still sulking and then I looked down and blood was beginning to flow. I bled for a little while but I was okay. It was sore for several days but I didn't get an infection or anything like that. I didn't need a tetnus shot because I had one less than five years prior to that incident thanks to a car accident (but that's another story).
I'm not sure what it is about the UPS man, if it's the brown uniform or the big truck they drive or what, but dogs really don't like them. Patch and Murphy aren't the only dogs that I've heard that hate guys in brown uniforms.
Moral of the story, don't let your leg get in the crossfire of an angry dog and the UPS guy!
Here's a pic of Patch
I miss you buddy.... you were loved every bit as much as you loved me.
I've written about my blue heeler, Patch and how he would herd hermit crabs and about how he was pretty darn aggressive, as was his nature. In fact, he was very difficult to keep under control as he was constantly wanting to rise to the dominant position in the house. He didn't stand a chance with me or the hubby, but we were constantly having to assert OUR dominance over him in subtle ways such as not letting him go into a room before us, or eat before us, etc. etc. occasionally, subtle would not work, then we would have to use more aggressive techniques.
For the most part, Patch was a very sweet and loyal dog. I could look into his eyes and see the love and devotion there which admittedly sometimes would borderline obsession. If I was in the front yard working in the yard, I could see him watching me out the window, or if he was in the backyard, he would peek through a knot hole in the fence at me..... I digress.....
So, ML's story about Murphy's dislike of the UPS man reminded me of the scar that I have on my leg from Patch.
The UPS guy had come to the door and Patch was going nuts as usual.... typically I could keep Patch back by simply saying 'stay', but this particular time was different. The UPS guy needed a signature and when he was handing me the electronic clipboard to sign, my protective, loyal companion took that as the UPS guy grabbing at his mommy.
Patch was having NONE of that. Nope! So in a valiant effort at protecting me, Patch lunged at the door, barking and baring teeth..... unfortunately (though better me than the UPS guy, I would not want a lawsuit on my hands), my leg got in the way and as he was barking, he ended up with my calf in his mouth. This resulted in him sinking his tooth into my skin.
I looked down at him and it was really surreal..... when he bit, he realized that he screwed up and he immediately opened his mouth and 'spit out' my leg as if he had bitten into something that tasted really bad.... he then sat back on his butt and looked up at me as if to say, "I'm so sorry mom! I didn't mean to do that!"
As for my reaction, it was in slow motion... I could see him let go of my leg and has his teeth exited my leg I could see the flesh slide off his tooth and I could feel my stomach churn as I was thinking, "This is going to be bad." I looked down at a single hole in my leg (luckily he only got me with one upper canine and the lowers and the other upper only scraped my skin) but there was no blood......
I handed the UPS guy his tablet and shut the door.... Patch was still sulking and then I looked down and blood was beginning to flow. I bled for a little while but I was okay. It was sore for several days but I didn't get an infection or anything like that. I didn't need a tetnus shot because I had one less than five years prior to that incident thanks to a car accident (but that's another story).
I'm not sure what it is about the UPS man, if it's the brown uniform or the big truck they drive or what, but dogs really don't like them. Patch and Murphy aren't the only dogs that I've heard that hate guys in brown uniforms.
Moral of the story, don't let your leg get in the crossfire of an angry dog and the UPS guy!
Here's a pic of Patch
I miss you buddy.... you were loved every bit as much as you loved me.
That's how 90% of dog bites happen. Not the specific details, of course, but the "oops" nature of it. I've investigated literally 1000's of dog bites over the years and its usually not a "viscious intentional dog attack".
ReplyDeleteThe compression of the bite is what does the most damage. The fact that Patch realized his mistake and reversed the bite mid-stream saved you some grief - even though it still hurts like a mutha' :) Also, not getting stitches is almost always a good idea. One of my (many) dog bites, the Doc insisted on stiching it closed. Infection set in and my hand swelled up like a boxing glove before I cut the stitches and let it drain.