My dog was attacked by an off leash dog :(

[Stella]

I went hiking yesterday with my two doodles. One of my doods (Chase) can be dog reactive so I only hike on trails where dogs have to be leashed, this gives me time to get off the trail if I see someone coming the other way with a dog. I have worked for a long time with Chase and as long as I can give him enough space he is fine.

My friend was holding my boys while I stepped off the trail for a bathroom break - we hadn't seen anyone on the whole hike so I figured this would be ok. While I was gone they were approached by an off leash mastiff / bulldog type dog which ended up with one of my dogs (Hartley, who is the most dog and people friendly dog ever)) being attacked. I heard the noise and ran, when I got there Hartley was curled into a ball while the other dog stood over him. The other owner pulled his dog off while I was yelling at him about not having his dog leashed.

We checked Hartley over and found a puncture on one of his legs, at this point I realised the other owner was a vet from my town (how ironic is that?). He figured that it would heal on its own and to call the clinic if I was worried. We finished our hike and when I got home and checked him again I wasn't happy with how it looked and called my vet clinic (that he owns). There a vet and I checked him more throughly and found several more punctures which they flushed out. So today he had surgery to clean everything out again and for stitches, they thought he might need a drain putting in but luckily they didn't have to do that. Now he is on painkillers for the next few days and antibiotics for two weeks.

Because of the location of the wounds we can't keep a dressing on and he has to wear the cone of shame. He can't drink with the cone on, so now I have to try and approach my boss to let me bring him to work because I need to keep an eye on him.

The vet covered all the bills, and accepted full responsibility. But then pissed me off by saying, well dogs will be dogs. He apologized for what happened to my dog, but never apologized for having his dog off leash where he wasn't supposed to. My poor friend feels terrible, she's not used to dogs and didn't know what to do.....so that is on me, I could have taken my boys with me on my 'bathroom break'.

I live in a very small town, so don't want to make trouble and take things any further. He covered the bills which I am happy about. Hopefully he won't be walking his dog off leash there again, but that is the last time I take my dogs hiking in that park.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

What a dreadful experience for you and your poor boy. I hope this won't have changed his happy disposition around other dogs at the least. I suppose you were unlucky and lucky. Unllucky that it happened in the first place and it obviously should never have happened but lucky that it was a vet and that all the bills were covered. I honestly don't know what to say only that if that had happened to me I would be very shaken and very angry though I don't know what you can do about it except to vent here. You shouldn't beat yourself up at all really it was such a rotten thing to happen but you did nothing wrong that I can tell. Your friend must have been shaken up too. I think the nastiest thing this vet  person did was check Hartley over and tell you there was nothing much wrong when what he should have done was accompany you immediately to his clinic to have him thoroughly checked over. Just goes to show that vets don't necessarily make good dog owners!

[Stella]

Yeah, I definitely needed to vent somewhere!! I think I ran on adrenaline for about three hours, then when I crashed I spent the next three hours crying! He had an e-collar on his dog, which clearly didn't work, so I'm really hoping he gets some good training advice about his dog.

[F, Calla & Luca]

How sad. This vet was totally in the wrong and his covering the bills, which actually cost him very little, doesn't change that. I would think he should know his own dog better and not let him loose even if it was allowed. Wishing Hartley a speedy recovery.

[Stella]

Thanks F, fingers crossed for a trouble free recovery. He's still pretty out of it from the anaesthesia. I live in a raised bungalow and practically had to carry him up the stairs into the house - he weighs 70lb!!!

[Amy and Annabelle]

I am so sorry to hear about this, poor guy. The sad thing is, it shouldn't have happened in the first place if the owner had been following the park rules. He doesn't sound like a very good vet or responsible dog owner. I hope you have an understanding boss and can bring him to work.

[Stella]

Thanks! I think my boss realised that if I couldn't bring him I would be taking the day off, so he's coming to work with me for the next few days. I'm a physiotherapist, so I have to hide him in the staff room so the clients don't realize we have a dog in the clinic!

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

So sorry to hear you and your doodles had this experience.  We were attacked 3 years ago by two pit mixes, so I feel your pain  It is so maddening that some pet owners feel they are above the rules.  He should be fined at the very least!  I hope Hartley heals quickly. 

[Stella]

It's a difficult situation. We were hiking in a privately owned nature reserve, so I don't think by-laws (and maybe even leash laws) would apply, although the park rules are that your dogs are leashed. I loved hiking there, it is a beautiful place, but sadly I won't be going back.

[Wendy and Myla]

That's so awful!  I really hope that this vet realizes that his dog could cause permanent problems for your dog - you're lucky if all Hartley needs is stitches - the long term effects could be awful!  I know how good you are with your dogs and that you will do all you can to make this traumatic experience not affect his overall personality, but he has to know what happens when a dog is attacked - and to know that if his dog does this, he definitely has to be leashed!  So sorry for Hartley, your friend and of course you!

[Stella]

That is what sucks, Harltey is such a happy go lucky dog and generally rolls with the punches so to speak. So, I hope that this doesn't affect him. He is an agility dog so he is used to being in environments with lots of other dogs and is well socialized. But, the next time I take him to agility I'm going to spend some time walking around with him and rewarding with treats like crazy every time we walk past another dog. I'd hate for this to affect his behaviour around other dogs. I already have one reactive dog (genetic fear issues), and really don't want another one.

[Wendy and Myla]

He's very lucky to have you look out for him! 

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

What an awful experience for you! And, poor Hartley! I hope he heals quickly and isn't too terribly traumatized by the experience. I think it's strange that the vet didn't admit that he was in the wrong. I have to wonder if he was maybe too embarrassed to admit that he had allowed it to happen. Or, he made more of a "business decision" to not admit he was at fault and felt that monetary compensation was enough. Either way, it was a cop out in my opinion.