Mama Bear Instincts

If you know me personally or have been following my blog or Tumblr you know my love for our little pup, Claire.  We recently spent 3 months without her as a by-product of my hubby’s Air Force training–we weren’t permitted to bring her to live on base with us at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery because the lodging is more like a hotel or dorm style than homes for the temporary students.  It made us sad to be away from her but she spent that time hanging with my parents and their Yorkie Emma and had a grand ol’ time playing/fighting constantly with “Auntie Em”.

Mom and Dad flew out here just a couple of weeks ago and they brought Claire with them!  We’ve been so glad to have her back.  She’s been my companion at home and “forced” me to get outside and enjoy the beauty of our new home in California.  Gary’s even taught her a new trick: the Army Crawl.  It’s adorable.  Believe me. ;)

This weekend we were walking Claire around our neighborhood and passed by a guy who appeared to be moving out of his place by himself.  He was carrying a heavy headboard out his door when we passed, not 15 feet or 15 seconds later a Pit Bull came charging out his open door and went right for Claire’s face with his strong teeth.  Milliseconds later Claire was making a horrible screeching cry.  All I remember was scooping her up off the ground (I was the one walking her with the leash and was closest) and kneeing the pit away as he jumped for her again.  Gary chased the dog away angrily and we assessed the damage.  Poor Claire had bright red blood collecting just underneath her nose the size of a ping-pong ball.  We were totally freaked.  The guy rushed over to us apologizing and offering to pay for the vet visit etc. and gave us his number.  As he rattled off his area code we realized he’s from the same town as us back in FL (how weird!) . . .

We got her back home and I had a good look at her in the light and it appeared that the dog’s teeth had given her a good scrape inside her nose but there was no severe damage and that seemed to be the worst of it.  I thanked God that it hadn’t been worse.  That neither Gary or me had been bitten.  That our pup’s precious eyes hadn’t been damaged.  We were very fortunate.  Aside from sneezing a good number of times (I can’t imagine how that felt), Claire acted pretty normal afterward.  She didn’t whine or whimper.  We decided to take her out of the house with us for the day and went on some adventures including the local PetSmart for some new treats and to mingle with some nice dogs and to our dog park.  I was wary about the dog park since you never know who/what kind of dogs will be there but we met two really nice pups and a generous little girl with a bag of treats who gave Claire so many I don’t think she ate dinner that night :)

On our way home from the park:I think the experience was nearly as traumatic for Gary and me as it was for Claire . . . we really got a glimpse of what we’ll be like with kids!  He was on the phone with his mom immediately for advice and with his dad too, as soon as he could reach him.  We all made it through though.  And I don’t know if it’s possible but I think we’re bonded even more now.

Thanks for listening to this dog mom and her story.  Have you ever had this type of experience?  We’re just glad that Sam and his dog are on their way out.  {Deep sigh}

I hope you had a more uneventful Saturday!

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