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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Nailed...

We've sure received our fair share of moisture during the month of April. It was a very snowy hike last night.
We awakened to yet another foot of snow.
It was very hard snowbiking this morning. Even Shyla looked a little unhappy with the state of affairs. The snow kept sticking to her eye lashes, which looked very uncomfortable.
I was also dragging because I was bitten by a dog yesterday. Yesterday, we met a group of dogs who we know (with their human). Understandably, since their pack is 8-strong, Shyla is somewhat afraid of them. To help Shyla, I was trying to get the eight dogs to pay attention to me instead of to her. As I trotted away from Shyla hoping to attract the dogs to follow me (and leave Shyla alone), one of them nailed my calf with his teeth.

It was a pretty deep puncture so I had to get antibiotics and a tetanus shot. The worst part is that strong antibiotics make me feel so very tired... which is part of why I was dragging this morning as I tried to pedal through the fresh snow.

It seems ironic that I, who love dogs so very much, was bitten by one. I guess that they can't tell friend from foe.

I was very careful not to freak out when the bite occurred so that Shyla wouldn't be scared by the whole incident. Shyla didn't seem afraid on the trails today so I think that I succeeded.
I am looking forward to the spring thaw because, after the snow melts, Shyla and I can stick to the seldom-traveled trails where we never see anyone else. Then, worries about other dogs can fall by the wayside.
Please, it's time for spring! Poor Shyla doesn't want snow on her eyelashes anymore (look closely at the photo above).

32 comments:

  1. I don't like that pack-mentality. I am nervous sometimes when I bring Addie to my Uncle's, who has 4 male black labs, one of them 'intact'. So far they are sweet and accepting of Addie, and maybe always will be because they knew her pre-puberty, and now she's spayed. But they make me nervous sometimes because they are my Aunt and Uncle's "children" and treated as human children would be expected to be. Addie's my love and my fur baby, but I'm aware she IS a dog :)

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  2. PS- I've also noticed an odd number of "Anonymous" spam comments coming through lately as well..

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  3. Yikes, that's not good. What do you think caused the bite? Does the Health Unit, etc have to be involved now? Hope you are feeling better!

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  4. Ouch! I hope you get feeling better soon and the antibiotics do their job.
    And YES I think you are due for Spring. Sending warming thoughts your way.
    Blessings,
    Goose

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  5. Yikes. Dog bites hurt. It could be so scary. Can't believe all that snow
    Benny & Lily

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  6. Ouch. Hope you're alright. Was it over-excitement? Some sort of guarding? How odd for a dog to just nail you like that out of the blue.

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  7. Ouch! I'm sorry and I hope you heal quickly!

    We're feeling the same way about rain here as you are with the snow. We have had enough! Here's to sunny days!

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  8. I'm feeling so bad for you with the dog bite. I've never been bitten. It sounds extremely painful. I hope you heal quickly.

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  9. It is amazing how quickly we can stuff pain or fear out of our eyes and down our throats so as not to upset our four-leggeds! Sending White Dog healing energies that you heal quickly and that you have no lasting scars--physical or mental.

    We wish you the warm kiss of Spring and the cinnamon smell of earth coming back to life. We love white better than most, but green is nice, too!

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  10. Wow,hope the bite heals Ok, must have been fierce to go through bike/snow/ winter pants or thick leggings, just as well it wasn't summertime.Is this snow unusual to last and fall so late in the season. Greetings from Jean

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  11. We hope you're much better by now. Can't believe one of those dogs...that you know...bit you. Wonder what the problem was.

    XXXOOO Daisy, Bella & roxy

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  12. Uhg. I LOVE all dogs (own three and foster others) and have NEVER been fearful of them, but a couple of years ago, my good friend's elderly Jack Russell (who is notoriously mean and has bitten MANY people) bit me while I was visiting her home. I was avoiding him as advised - ignoring him and not trying to touch him - but when I reached out to pet her sweet dog who sitting next to him, he jumped up and just about took the tip of my index finger off. It became infected (extreme pain and red streaks up the arm the next day), so after my plane flight home, I had to go to the emergency room. The nail turned black and fell off, and it was many months before it looked normal again. Ever since then, I am MUCH more leery of unknown dogs - I hate it, but I can't seem to help it :(

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  13. So sorry to hear about your incident with a dog. You just never know what will happen when they get in a pack. Having had a dog killed in such a situation I would be like you and would have rather been bitten.

    Hope the snow ends soon. We just got rid of the last of ours.

    Lee and Phod's Lady

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  14. So sorry to hear about your incident with a dog. You just never know what will happen when they get in a pack. Having had a dog killed in such a situation I would be like you and would have rather been bitten.

    Hope the snow ends soon. We just got rid of the last of ours.

    Lee and Phod's Lady

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  15. So sorry to read about the bite. Painful and sad in equal quantities...

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  16. Oh Poor little Shla does look a little "Snow Miserable" on that last photo but she is clearly pushing on.

    I know that you want spring and i want you to have spring, I can't wait for all the beautiful spring shots you will have, but on the other side of this.....the longer you have snow, the better for us lowlanders for a cooler summer.

    My wish is that you get rain thru the night and warm (not hot) spring days and that it is a very long spring.....(not a Summer fan myself)

    Sorry about the bite and the anticeptic reaction. They must have really taken a toll on you to get you to admit you were struggling through your ride.

    Oh my gosh, I have to stop writing now. I have already taken up half a blogs worth.

    later
    Bert adn MY Vickie

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  17. OMD! Just what the heck was that dog thinking? To bite you? Obviously that dog doesn't know who you are! We're so sorry to hear that happened to you (or to anyone for that matter.) How did the owner react when it happened? Just horrible!

    You sure are getting a lot of snow still. But pretty soon you'll be looking at the beautiful flowers popping thru the wilderness and we'll enjoy all your pictures of them.

    Hugs,
    Lily Belle

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  18. Oh what an accident!! Good it didn´t Went worse...this should not happen.
    Hope you recover soon...
    Tyra is now proud Mom of four qute puppies

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  19. My jaw dropped when I read this post! I can imagine the scene when you had just been bitten, but were still trying not to let Shyla be frightened or upset. Glad you got medical treatment right away, even if it is slowing you down a bit. Your "slower" is probably a lot faster than most people's "full of beans"!

    I was bitten by a dog once, a tiny poodle that bit my calf. The owners thought it was hysterically funny that their little dog was so ferocious. Enough said about that, I guess.
    And once when I had one of my Irish Wolfhounds on a beach (on a lead, and standing quietly), two people with a small dog (loose) thought it was hysterically funny when their dog raced up, snarling, and leapt at my IW's throat.
    I know neither of these scenarios is anything like what happened to you and Shyla, and aggressive pack behavior is very different from idiotic human behavior. But your story reminded me vividly of both these incidents, which happened many years ago. Dog aggression of any kind really triggers a visceral response once it's been experienced firsthand, I think.
    Take good care of yourself!

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  20. Oh no, we are so sorry about the bite. We so hope you heal well and that Shyla will continue to be
    OK. Meeting up with a pack of 8 would be very intimidating for me.

    About that snow, enough is enough. We did not get any yesterday although some areas not too far west of us did. The pups would love some snow, but I am excited about the sunshine I see today.

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  21. That's awful about the bite. I hope it heals quickly. What did the owner do when that happened?

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  22. Oh no! This is not good about the bite but we are happy that Shyla was unaffected. What a good mommy you are, KB!
    We think you've finally had enough snow for the year!

    Love ya lots,
    Mitch and Molly

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  23. Gosh, I hope the owners of those dogs at least paid for your medical care! I'd definitely be reporting the incident to the authorities, just in case; it's so important to make sure in dog bites that the aggressor dog has had all its shots (no matter what the owner says -- vet records are the best way to verify it!). Here's hoping you heal quickly and without any problems!

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  24. Oh no...KB, sorry to read about the dog bite. Please be ok...

    We are hoping that the weather will get better for all of us. Less snow and more spring there. While we are hoping for a bit cooler summer days here.

    Better days ahead =)

    Love,
    Piappies Fudgie, Princess, Frappie, Mocha, Sugar, Wai-Max, Wai-Pai & Forgie

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  25. Goodness - bad news about the bite. I hope the owner paid your medical expenses. Cold here on Evergreen this AM - 23 when I walked kids to bus. Had to bundle the baby. UT, here I come! Great snowy pics.

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  26. Woof! Woof! Oh No! but glad to know everything is alright. Well you got more beautiful snow photos. We heard on the weather channel that this is it ... hope they are correct. Be safe. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar

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  27. Oh no, sorry to hear about the bite and hope it heals very quickly. Your photos are wonderful as usual but we hope you have some warm weather soon. Take care and rest that leg if you need to ok? No worries, and love, Stella and Rory

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  28. Shyla-- the snow flakes will stop soon and you will have sunny days to play in.
    KB- we hope you heal fast.
    love
    tweedles

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  29. Oh no.....that is terrible! I do find it ironic that you got bit :(:( I wish that drugs didn't have side effects. Come on spring...come on sunshine!

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  30. So sorry you were bitten! There is a person in our area who goes horseback riding with her own four dogs, plus three other dogs she picks up along the way (Pied Piper of dogdom?). She has absolutely no control over any of them and I dread running into them. Fortunately, it doesn't happen often. I hope you feel better soon! Aside from the antibiotics, I imagine your leg is quite sore.

    Susan and Wrigs

    Susan and Wrigs

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  31. Wow, what a waker-upper. Who would have thought! I'm so sorry that happened to you, but glad you were able to keep Shyla calm and hopefully not influenced by the experience. Wonderful closeup photo of her...

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