Bad dogs, my story from both sides of the fence.

      I read Scalzi's entry about dangerous dogs  yesterday and looked at the photo of his beautiful, trusted family friend Kodi (an Akita). It reminded me of Nike ...

     My sister has a Doberman named Angie, an extremely gentle soul, I can honestly say there is not an aggressive or even protective bone in her body. Nike on the other hand was the Alpha female in the house, actually of the close neighboring vicinity as well.

       This beautiful, sweet, fun loving Dalmatian was a gift I gave to my niece Brittney for Christmas one year. She grew up with our kids, she loved to swim with them and was always up for a game of catch.

     Nike and Angie both lived inside the house and without a fenced in yard were very use to hanging out on the screened in patio by the pool, taking long walks on the leash or being tied out in the front yard when my sister was outside doing yard work.

     On her chain near my sister is exactly where Nike was on the day the new next door neighbor was in the process of putting her two Akitas on there chains out side as well. If all had gone well, she and my sister would probably have taken a moment or two to chat and to speak to each others dogs. The couple was new to the very friendly neighborhood and were already becoming a part of it.

     Unfortunately that's not what happened this day. She did get the Male Akita chained up OK but as she was chaining up the female she broke loose and headed straight for Nike, her owner following closely behind her.

    Maybe if there were not so many screaming people and chaos involved they may have been able to work it out between themselves but that's not what happened.

     The dogs owner did her best to pull her dog off Nike, she already had a deadly grip on her and had no intention of letting go. Nike screaming, my sister screaming, the neighboring kids screaming the owner of the Akitas  screaming and then the male Akita somehow broke loose and showed up on the scene in the middle of it all.

     The Akitas owner was injured pretty badly during the brawl and we feel fortunate that the dogs did not turn on one of the kids in the midst of all the confusion.

     The other owner of the Akitas came home and they finally got control of their dogs. It was to late for Nike, she lay there on her chain in her own yard, ripped to shreds.

     The dogs were taken home and locked in a room, the wife drove herself to the emergency room to get her injuries stitched up and the husband did the right thing, he stayed with my sister and Nike and tried to get her into the van so they could rush her to the vet. She wouldn't let them touch her but eventually picked herself up and stepped into the van on her own, no small task in her condition.

     Nike's injuries were so severe that there was nothing they could do for her, she was humanly put out of her pain and there was complete silence between the new neighbors and the rest of the neighborhood for several days.

     These dogs had been sweet, trusted family friends to these people for a very long time just as Nike had been to so many of us. I'm sure this was an excruciatingly painful time. The fear, the guilt, the very deep love for their well trained and very socialized dogs. No doubt there emotions were running ramped.

     In 3 or 4 days there was finally a knock at Theresa's door, they came to say that they had made the decision to have the dogs euthanized. It was best to leave them alone to make the right decision themselves but I seriously doubt that the other neighbors would have stood for anything less.     

     The point to my story is to remember Nike, she was truly loved. She came and stayed with me at my house for 18 months once when I found myself living completely alone for the first time in my life.  Nike I will never forget you for that.

     My point also is, these people loved their Akitas as much as we loved Nike. They took extra precautions and were very responsible pet owners of very well trained and most times obedient, socialized dogs. These things are going to happen occasionally when we have these large sometimes unpredictable and dangerous animals in our lives. If the shoe was on the other foot and Nike would have been the offender, I hope that we would have had the same courage as the new neighbors did.

     We miss Nike, and I am sure the Akitas are missed as well.                                                 

                                         *** Coy ***