FEATURE
After what seemed like hours but was probably a few minutes , the dogs abruptly stopped the attack . Were they tired of trying to get Apache to succumb ? Had they had enough of the kicking and hitting and yelling ? Was it divine intervention ? Luck ? My eyes darted around for Emmie , and she and the third exceedingly small dog , the one wearing the jangling collar , were by the edge of the woods , sniffing together . A strangely serene moment amid intense trauma .
Apache recovers after he was attacked by two larger unleashed dogs . Apache was muzzled at the time of the attack . His veterinarian lost count of the number of stitches it took to put his wounds together .
T he vet who operated on Apache had worked numerous abuse and dogfighting
cases and said his was one of the worst wounds she had ever seen . Several layers of skin and tissue protruded from his chest and neck and had to be stitched , one by one , back together . She said she could see his arteries and veins pulsing , and had the injury been even a fraction worse he would not have survived : he would have bled out before I could ’ ve even gotten him to the clinic .
Like so many Sundays before , we ’ d headed out for our morning walk . Sunny and mild , as many summer mornings in northern Michigan are , we had several different routes we ’ d take depending on which way Apache and Emmie lead me . That Sunday morning they ’ d pulled me toward the multiuse trails . We meandered through the neighborhood to the trail-head , and I saw a car parked in the grass on the playground , which was unusual , but I figured it was a cyclist or another dog walker who had the same idea we did . No sooner had we headed the opposite way when I heard the jangling of a single collar , yet out of the woods came three unleashed dogs unaccompanied by a human .
Within a single deep breath , they closed 100 yards . I tried to speak calmly , but before I could squeak out , How is every-body today ? or something like that , the 60-pound female and 80-pound male were both nose-to-nose with 45-pound Apache . All three dogs were stiff and staring . No ritualized aggression : in a blink the male had Apache by the neck and chest area , clamped down , shaking his head , ripping , while the female simultaneously mauled Apache ’ s head and the other side of his neck . Apache wears a muzzle : he couldn ’ t defend himself . His only defense was to not go down . He was screaming .
I was also helpless . Panicked , the only thing I could think to do was kick the male in his ribs as hard as I could and stomp on his back , but I felt like I was kicking a cloud with twigs for legs . To me he appeared unfazed . It was just me and the three tangled dogs . I ’ d completely lost track of Emmie ; at some point I obviously dropped her leash because she wasn ’ t involved . An eternity passed before a woman appeared , running toward us repeatedly yelling Stop ! She then started hitting her dogs with the leashes she ’ d been carrying .
The woman managed to corral her dogs over to what had been her car in the grass and left saying she ’ d be right back , that she just lived around the corner . Apache took off , loping . I didn ’ t remember taking off his harness , leash , or muzzle and had no idea where they were . Frozen with shock and indecision I was petrified to see him completely naked , injured ( to what extent I had no idea ) unmuzzled and running away . I sat down on the ground , scraped my voice out of my stomach and called to him as calmly and softly as I could . He turned and came to me in what seemed like slow mo-tion . It was the first time I remembered breathing .
He had a cantaloupe-sized gaping wound on his chest and neck area and numerous Level 4 bites to his head , nape and crest . Immediately I called the emergency vet . I had to trust the stranger would be back . I had no one close by to call , and I was too far away from home to carry him even if I could have . And there was Emmie . Apache seemed calm and extremely cooperative but not in shock .
The woman did come right back and drove the three of us the half-mile home . I quickly wrapped his chest , put both dogs in my car and met the vet at the clinic . The main wound , which spanned his neck and chest , was much more seri-ous than it first appeared , it was more like two cantaloupe ’ s worth of a tear and deep . So very deep . She told me these types of wounds “ can go either way ” and we ’ d need to monitor for necrosis . She was amazed he was alive and said how “ tough ” he was .
Chances are you and your clients have come upon unleashed dogs , perhaps quite often . Maybe the humans have been responsible and leashed their dogs or successfully called them off . But more likely than not you ’ ve heard the “ Oh , don ’ t worry , he ’ s friendly !” line or seen frantic owners scrambling , chasing , grabbing and yelling attempting to corral their dogs with varying degrees of success . Or
38 Building Better Trainers Through Education Photo by Rachel Brix .