On Saturday, we dressed up for dinner reservations at our favorite restaurant for our anniversary. We dined there the night S proposed and we had one of the best meals of our lives. We brought in our last bottle of wine that we brought back from France and we tried foie gras for the first time, paired with coffee crumble, pistachio paste, and zuchinni bread. Together, it created a flavor I've never tasted before.
Before we left for our dreamy meal at the restaurant this weekend, we took Mordechai for a walk, like we normally would. We didn't get more than five houses away when a neighbor's dog, off leash, ran straight for Mort. There was barking, biting, snapping, yelling, neighbors yelling, a second off leash dog, and finally, the dogs owner came out to assist in getting the dogs off and away from our dog. Inside our home, we see a little red spot on the side of Mort's ribs. Not that bad, a bite the size of a staple. We clean him up, he stops bleeding, but I run my hands all along him in case there's something we missed. I touch under his chest and he flinches, no yelp, no growl, just a flinch. I look at the blood on my hands and under his chest and it's an open wound 3-4 inches in diameter. I grab his folder of every medical procedure he's ever had and we're headed to the emergency vet.
In the car, he can't get comfortable. He's sitting up, which he never does because normally that's uncomfortable. Not sure why, but I made sure to grab his treats on the way out the door, which I'm feeding him from my hand during the car ride. Normally, I don't want him eating out of people's hands, but he's bleeding, and uncomfortable, so you know, yolo.
We wait at the vet maybe an hour before we see the doctor. The vet techs check on him, he's doing okay. He lays down on the floor and I slip a paper towel under his wound so it doesn't touch the ground. When the doctor comes in, Mort's tail is wacking against the metal table, echoing a decent beat in the small room. The doctor rubs his ears, tells him loving things, becomes his new best friend. The doctor says he needs stitches, and that he needs to be put under anesthesia. It will be a few hours, we should go get something to eat.
One of the main reasons this was all so scary is that greyhound's skin is super thin; the tiniest nip from another dog can cause huge damage. This is why they wear muzzles when they race. Something as simple as a dog running next to them, teeth bared, grazing the skin at 45-miles-per-hour could spill the hound's intestines. The other scary part is going under anesthesia. It's scary when anyone's dog (or family member, of course) goes under anesthesia, but for greyhound, it's common for them to never wake up. It's something to do with their naturally low blood platelet levels. Of course, we drove a little farther to a specific emergency vet near the greyhound track, one that we know has seen greyhounds before. In case we are ever out of town and have to take Mort into a vet that we've never been to before, one that may have never treated a greyhound, I carry this little card with me in my wallet with all of his vital information that the vets will need to know to treat him.
We're sitting at the bar of a decent chain restaurant that was less than 10 minutes away from the vet and I debated whether it was the "right" motherly thing to do to get a cocktail. S assures me, it's okay, it will most likely help. On my second one, we talk about things we could have done in the moment to avoid it getting that bad, things we can do next time. The bartender forgets to put in our food order, apologizes, offers us something in the meantime. We shrug it off, we have no where to be in a hurry.
The vet calls, they say he's ready. We bounce and I'm so excited to see him. When they bring him out he's wagging his tail and walking circles around us, just like when we come home from work. A little parade. He's all shaved up, it's the worst hair cut I've ever seen, but he's still pretty cute. They give us all his meds, we check out all his gross stitches, and we pay the bill.
As soon as we get home, he hops up on the couch, I help him get comfortable, and he passes out. I put on Netflix, thinking, if I was a dog high on drugs, what would I want to binge watch on Netflix?
Before we left for our dreamy meal at the restaurant this weekend, we took Mordechai for a walk, like we normally would. We didn't get more than five houses away when a neighbor's dog, off leash, ran straight for Mort. There was barking, biting, snapping, yelling, neighbors yelling, a second off leash dog, and finally, the dogs owner came out to assist in getting the dogs off and away from our dog. Inside our home, we see a little red spot on the side of Mort's ribs. Not that bad, a bite the size of a staple. We clean him up, he stops bleeding, but I run my hands all along him in case there's something we missed. I touch under his chest and he flinches, no yelp, no growl, just a flinch. I look at the blood on my hands and under his chest and it's an open wound 3-4 inches in diameter. I grab his folder of every medical procedure he's ever had and we're headed to the emergency vet.
In the car, he can't get comfortable. He's sitting up, which he never does because normally that's uncomfortable. Not sure why, but I made sure to grab his treats on the way out the door, which I'm feeding him from my hand during the car ride. Normally, I don't want him eating out of people's hands, but he's bleeding, and uncomfortable, so you know, yolo.
We wait at the vet maybe an hour before we see the doctor. The vet techs check on him, he's doing okay. He lays down on the floor and I slip a paper towel under his wound so it doesn't touch the ground. When the doctor comes in, Mort's tail is wacking against the metal table, echoing a decent beat in the small room. The doctor rubs his ears, tells him loving things, becomes his new best friend. The doctor says he needs stitches, and that he needs to be put under anesthesia. It will be a few hours, we should go get something to eat.
One of the main reasons this was all so scary is that greyhound's skin is super thin; the tiniest nip from another dog can cause huge damage. This is why they wear muzzles when they race. Something as simple as a dog running next to them, teeth bared, grazing the skin at 45-miles-per-hour could spill the hound's intestines. The other scary part is going under anesthesia. It's scary when anyone's dog (or family member, of course) goes under anesthesia, but for greyhound, it's common for them to never wake up. It's something to do with their naturally low blood platelet levels. Of course, we drove a little farther to a specific emergency vet near the greyhound track, one that we know has seen greyhounds before. In case we are ever out of town and have to take Mort into a vet that we've never been to before, one that may have never treated a greyhound, I carry this little card with me in my wallet with all of his vital information that the vets will need to know to treat him.
We're sitting at the bar of a decent chain restaurant that was less than 10 minutes away from the vet and I debated whether it was the "right" motherly thing to do to get a cocktail. S assures me, it's okay, it will most likely help. On my second one, we talk about things we could have done in the moment to avoid it getting that bad, things we can do next time. The bartender forgets to put in our food order, apologizes, offers us something in the meantime. We shrug it off, we have no where to be in a hurry.
The vet calls, they say he's ready. We bounce and I'm so excited to see him. When they bring him out he's wagging his tail and walking circles around us, just like when we come home from work. A little parade. He's all shaved up, it's the worst hair cut I've ever seen, but he's still pretty cute. They give us all his meds, we check out all his gross stitches, and we pay the bill.
As soon as we get home, he hops up on the couch, I help him get comfortable, and he passes out. I put on Netflix, thinking, if I was a dog high on drugs, what would I want to binge watch on Netflix?
Oh no!! Poor Morty, and poor you guys! That must have been terrifying, from start to finish. I am SO glad he's okay now and that everything went as smoothly as it could've given the circumstances. Fitz was attacked by an off-leash dog a few years ago, and since his coat is so dark we didn't notice right away that he was bleeding from his thigh pretty badly. We rushed him to the emergency vet at UPenn, and they had to shave him down and take blood samples, and they sedated him. He ended up not needing stitches, but his wounds were pretty intense, and the bruising was just awful. Those hours of not knowing what's going on, not having your baby, essentially, in perfect health, are so awful. I'm so sorry you three had to go through that! I will say, though, that the people whose dog attacked ours got our bill the moment we came home, and they paid it immediately. If you haven't already done so, find that owner and give them your vet bill!! I don't know what the leash laws are like in Florida, but in PA they are really, really strict about them, and it is easy enough to have the SPCA seize a dog that has attacked another dog/person, especially if they were off leash. I know it was a fluke situation, but that owner is probably grateful you haven't reported their dog yet, so the least they could do is pay Mort's expenses. I hope you guys can re-do dinner soon! Happy Anniversary!! xoxo
ReplyDeletethank you so so much for sharing, it always reassuring to know that other pups get through it just fine too! and thankfully, they took care of mort's expenses no problem :)
DeleteOh my gosh, I'm so happy he is ok! This is one of my nightmares with Willow, other dogs + careless owners + so friendly it's silly greyhound = scary situation. I hope you guys get to re-do your anniversary dinner! Xo!
ReplyDeleteit was so so unexpected, and definitely a nightmare. we have yet to redo our anniversary dinner, but i'm excited to!
DeleteI am so sorry that happened to you. It's great that he's okay and you are such a good dog mom jumping into action. Just last week we had a dog off leash come bounding out from a yard and attack our leashed boy. It would be really reassuring if people would follow leash laws and we could so simply avoid these accidents. So glad Mort is okay.
ReplyDeletethank you for the kind words alli! sooo many stories i have heard could have been avoided if people obeyed the leash laws!
DeleteOh my goodness! How scary ): So sorry to hear that happened, but I'm so glad he's okay. <3
ReplyDeletethank you dear! he has healed so quickly!
DeleteWe've had our share of emergency pet visits and rushing home from fun plans to take care of our beloved (&^#%$%) pups. My heart was in my throat reading your story, but dinner plans can be changed, right? Whew!
ReplyDeleteoh my! and yes, dinner is absolutely something easy to reschedule. a night of cuddling on the couch and bed with my pup making sure he's good was a night well spent too :)
Delete