My little dog Lucy (left)
WARNING GRAPHIC pic below.
Dogs are man's best friend, except when they aren't. I have a small French Bulldog named Lucy, who by the way did not attack me. She is more likely to have you chase her than her chase you.
Much younger, around the age of 6, I was bitten by a dog. It was quite traumatic as things like that are when you are young and small. So for many years, I was very much afraid of dogs. Then as time progressed, I got more used to them or at least a little more comfortable around them. Then my sister got a dog which I would see when I was home from college. My parents inherited said dog, along with another one that my sister also got but became a bit too much for her and her trio of kids to handle. Anyway, I got over the fear of dogs and finally in Dec of 2012, convinced my wife to get a Frenchie.
Fast forward to this past Sunday. Common in Boulder is the Green Dog Tag. If a dog has a green tag, which means that owner says they can control the dog with just their voice, then the dog does not have to be on a leash in Boulder. This works out great for 98% of the dogs. Its that other 2% that you have to be careful about. Most run ins with dogs on trails is more of a nuance than an issue. A friendly lab runs up next to you or tries to jump in front of you to play while you are running along.
But then there is the other dog. The one that looks all innocent right up until you get near them and their butt pops up in the crouch position. Then you know in a split second, there is going to be trouble. Thats what happened Sunday. I was running along the Boulder Res trail (near Coot lake) when it happened. The lady walking the dog (turned out to be the owners neighbor) saw me coming and moved the dog to the left side of the trail as I ran along the right edge of the path. A distance of 10ft from side to side, but not enough time for me to react. The dog sitting on the trail seemed innocent enough until that last second when it sprang up. I was just even with the dog when I felt something was amiss. It jumped and lunged at me. Paw up on my left thigh and CHOMP with the teeth. Right through one of my good pairs of running pants too. A few swear words were let loose and a demand that the lady grab the dog before he had a second chance to get me as I wallow in the snow.
We walked the half mile back to the parking lot and exchanged contact info. This is where I learn she was the neighbor and not owner. I also took a look under my pants and saw a thumb sized chunk of thigh missing and the quickly bleeding and bruising gash that was the cause of my pain. Then my chief concerns became that the dog was not wearing its tags, so I had no proof that the dog had its rabies shots.
Off to home to get in some dry clothes then asking my wife to cut her treadmill long run short by 4 miles to drive me to the urgent care. Fortunately she said no problem and she would finish it up in the afternoon, ha. 2hr urgent care wait then into the back to hear the prognosis. During this time, the owners did contact me and send me the proof of vaccinations. And has offered to cover my medical costs when I find out what the "damage" is. Sitting with the doc, he took a look and knew right away a few (5 total) stitches, a tetanus shot, and a course of antibiotics to ward off any infection, would all be needed. After about 45mins from start to finish, I was finally able to get on with my day. A day which included a second bummer with the Denver Broncos losing the Superbowl.
Most dogs are good dogs. Some just need a bit more training than others. Now time for 4-5 days of rest and no swimming till the stitches get removed in 10 days. Its a bummer, but at least it is a good week to do it as Boulder is projected with a foot of snow in total this week and temps in the single digits.
GRAPHIC PIC BELOW-Click READ MORE to view. Gash is size of adult male thumb.
WARNING GRAPHIC pic below.
Dogs are man's best friend, except when they aren't. I have a small French Bulldog named Lucy, who by the way did not attack me. She is more likely to have you chase her than her chase you.
Much younger, around the age of 6, I was bitten by a dog. It was quite traumatic as things like that are when you are young and small. So for many years, I was very much afraid of dogs. Then as time progressed, I got more used to them or at least a little more comfortable around them. Then my sister got a dog which I would see when I was home from college. My parents inherited said dog, along with another one that my sister also got but became a bit too much for her and her trio of kids to handle. Anyway, I got over the fear of dogs and finally in Dec of 2012, convinced my wife to get a Frenchie.
Fast forward to this past Sunday. Common in Boulder is the Green Dog Tag. If a dog has a green tag, which means that owner says they can control the dog with just their voice, then the dog does not have to be on a leash in Boulder. This works out great for 98% of the dogs. Its that other 2% that you have to be careful about. Most run ins with dogs on trails is more of a nuance than an issue. A friendly lab runs up next to you or tries to jump in front of you to play while you are running along.
But then there is the other dog. The one that looks all innocent right up until you get near them and their butt pops up in the crouch position. Then you know in a split second, there is going to be trouble. Thats what happened Sunday. I was running along the Boulder Res trail (near Coot lake) when it happened. The lady walking the dog (turned out to be the owners neighbor) saw me coming and moved the dog to the left side of the trail as I ran along the right edge of the path. A distance of 10ft from side to side, but not enough time for me to react. The dog sitting on the trail seemed innocent enough until that last second when it sprang up. I was just even with the dog when I felt something was amiss. It jumped and lunged at me. Paw up on my left thigh and CHOMP with the teeth. Right through one of my good pairs of running pants too. A few swear words were let loose and a demand that the lady grab the dog before he had a second chance to get me as I wallow in the snow.
We walked the half mile back to the parking lot and exchanged contact info. This is where I learn she was the neighbor and not owner. I also took a look under my pants and saw a thumb sized chunk of thigh missing and the quickly bleeding and bruising gash that was the cause of my pain. Then my chief concerns became that the dog was not wearing its tags, so I had no proof that the dog had its rabies shots.
Off to home to get in some dry clothes then asking my wife to cut her treadmill long run short by 4 miles to drive me to the urgent care. Fortunately she said no problem and she would finish it up in the afternoon, ha. 2hr urgent care wait then into the back to hear the prognosis. During this time, the owners did contact me and send me the proof of vaccinations. And has offered to cover my medical costs when I find out what the "damage" is. Sitting with the doc, he took a look and knew right away a few (5 total) stitches, a tetanus shot, and a course of antibiotics to ward off any infection, would all be needed. After about 45mins from start to finish, I was finally able to get on with my day. A day which included a second bummer with the Denver Broncos losing the Superbowl.
Most dogs are good dogs. Some just need a bit more training than others. Now time for 4-5 days of rest and no swimming till the stitches get removed in 10 days. Its a bummer, but at least it is a good week to do it as Boulder is projected with a foot of snow in total this week and temps in the single digits.
GRAPHIC PIC BELOW-Click READ MORE to view. Gash is size of adult male thumb.
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