THE FIGHT

Well, the inevitable finally happened! Grump had a serious tussle with the neighbour’s two vicious dogs, the ones I am constantly chasing from my yard, the ones that provoke so many complaints in this area, with even police visits to the idiot owner. This time though, Grump was the initiator, and went to attack them when they were tied together in their own yard. Yegads!! Can you imagine if an innocent child had wandered close to those brutes?

Grump has never gone there on his own, but on Saturday my grandson’s four-wheeler bike stalled in front of the neighbour’s house. My friend, who was doing yard work here, went to give him a push in the hopes of the motor turning over, and Grump followed him. The neighbor’s mouthy animals were barking, barking, barking (they do the same if we even shut a door here at home), and I guess my pit is just so thoroughly fed up with them....who knows? When Grump went running to them, both the boys called for him to come back. Grump listens well...to me...but I was not there, and he ignored their calls, and the above is the result. They both outweigh him, but it was a wicked fight before the men could break it up. I don’t know in what condition the other dogs are, nor do I care at this point.

Being in full throes of insomnia, having only slept a couple of hours Friday night , I had returned to bed and had just been lulled to snooze with the sound of the lawnmower and the smell of fresh cut grass. Helen woke me with “You had better get up! Grump’s been badly hurt!” I think my heart stopped. The first thing that came to mind was his being hit by the lawn tractor, or a car coming into the yard. But no. My doggie had been flexing his muscles and, in spite of numerous bites, was showing every sign of wanting to go back and finish it.

We finally had him quiet. After checking that none of the gnashes were too deep, we washed his wounds with antiseptic, then watched as his adrenaline was replaced by pain...much pain. There is no 24 hour vet service in this area for domestic animals, so I decided to keep a close eye on him and wait until Monday to take him in.
Saturday was a long night. He was not moving. He couldn’t get up onto his couch, of course, so I put a blanket on the floor beside it. I gave him an extra-strength aspirin to dull the pain, then spent the night next to him, encouraging him to drink water, talking to him, fondling his ears. Whenever I’m hurting, this doggie doesn’t leave my side; I wasn’t about to leave his. On Sunday morning it seemed worse, so we loaded him into the car, and I went to the Emergency clinic in the city. They shaved and cleaned and gave me antibiotics and more antiseptic and a bill for $368.00. It seriously dented my bank account but, as anyone who loves a pet knows, I’d have begged, borrowed or stole to get him the care.

The vet warned me not to let Grump (nor his buddy, Smooch) lick the wounds, as dogs are prone to do. She didn’t give me a cone for his head because she was quite sure that Grump, being so massive and in such pain, could not twist enough to get at the abrasions. She obviously has something to learn about pits. By this evening he was hopping around, nearly back to himself, and concentrating on cleaning the areas he was not supposed to be able to reach. Tough mutt!! I can’t watch him constantly, so I dug out an old T-shirt and put it on him to discourage the action. His picture shows exactly what he thought of such an idea! Maybe it’s the powder blue color; a Black Sabbath T is probably more his style. Tomorrow I’ll have him fitted for a cone with the local vet.

An unpleasant business, but it could have been so much worse. Most of the other neighbors, unanimous in their dislike of his two opponents, came to see how he was faring. Everyone loves my Grump, and that thought makes me SMILE.

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.

Sorry, Readers - for some reason the pictures won't post on my Blog. They are on Facebook if anyone cares to take a look.