I feel awful

Lisa

Lisa

Moderator
Location
Alberta, Canada
Once again, Simba has bitten someone. Once again, not entirely his fault. But I feel horrible. Awful.

We had a friend for supper. He is a Ukrainian refugee. He was petting Simba after dinner. He leaned down and started to blow in his face, don’t know why? I was about to say “That’s not a good idea” when Simba bit him. Got him in the lip. Blood everywhere.

OH has taken him to the hospital as I imagine he’ll need stitches.

This will be the second time in about 3 months that someone has gone to the hospital because of a bite from my dog. Super. I feel awful.
 
HAH

HAH

Moderator
Location
Devon, UK
Oh @Lisa , how wretched for you and Simba. And for your poor friend - how was he after being stitched up?
I do wonder what on earth he was thinking, and my immediate reaction is that poor Simba is not at fault here. Blowing in any dog’s face seems a really odd thing to do (I guess he maybe knew a dog where this was an okay thing to do??) and getting low and close over any dog and into their space is very high risk - particularly one that you don’t know and doesn’t know you. I’m also not sure how you could have anticipated this, since it is such a strange action with any animal, but particularly an unfamiliar dog.
I guess none of this is any real relief since it’s ended in a bite and a hospital trip, but I don’t know how it could have been avoided. I am so sorry it happened.
 
Lisa

Lisa

Moderator
Location
Alberta, Canada
They have just got to the hospital so still waiting to hear. It’s really our fault. Should have been quicker on saying “Don’t do that!” I thought he was just petting him but he did have his arm around Simba, too, which I should have also said not to do that. We were sitting at the table, Simba was being friendly, Valera (the guy) was petting him and leaning over, Simba had his head under the guy’s arm, muzzle up to look at him, and Valera leaned over a bit more. His back was to me so I couldn’t tell what he was doing but I thought he might be blowing in his face so I was about to say “don’t” when Simba growled and snapped.

I was apologizing profusely as they left, he was saying, “It’s my fault”, but STILL….

Just feel sick.
 
HAH

HAH

Moderator
Location
Devon, UK
Eurgh, how horrible for everyone. That’s a clearer picture, and hindsight is a wonderful thIng. Let the dust settle, give yourselves a break to calm down and you can look at strategies with a clear head.
Hoping Valera is okay and you get to talk it through soon. Are you alone? Do you have anyone you might call? It’s a horribly upsetting thing to be sitting with by yourself x
 
Lisa

Lisa

Moderator
Location
Alberta, Canada
I decided to join OH at the hospital because he had left his phone at home and I figured he might need it. Also couldn’t stand waiting at home. Valera is in with the doc. I think they are looking at whether to stitch him up here or take him to a bigger center for a plastic surgeon to look at.

We were having such a nice night up to that point. I wish I could go back in time and change it all. 😕
 
Kelsey

Kelsey

Oh I’m so sorry :hug: as @HAH said
HAH said:
hindsight is a wonderful thIng
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I’m sure Valera is being genuine when he says it was his fault. So try not to be beat yourself up about it, how you are handling it now is what matters, you’re being there for him and making sure he gets proper care. Poor Simba was clearly taken by surprise, it’s not a common thing to be blown in the face, as innocent as it was by your friend.
 
Lisa

Lisa

Moderator
Location
Alberta, Canada
I ended up going to the hospital as I couldn’t stand it any longer. We were there for a couple more hours. He decided to get stitched up there. About 20 stitches.
It’s so awful. Just want to crawl under a rock.

Do I have a dangerous dog? That’s what I have to wrestle with now. I know this wasn’t unprovoked, but it seems like we are always making excuses. I just can’t have this keep happening. We let our guard down and our friend was injured. Just feel so crappy.
 
Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
I feel for you and your friend and can entirely empathise with that desperate feeling of of wanting to go back in time and do things differently. Once it did happen though, getting your friend to the hospital and ensuring he was in the right hands shows how much you care, that’s important too. I hope he’s being made comfortable now and you can have some time to come to terms with what happened.
:hug:
 
SwampDonkey

SwampDonkey

I'm so sorry. Your dog was provoked by your friend knows he did a silly thing. You don't do things like that with dogs you don't know. You didn't know someone would do something like this. You reacted well and looked after him he will be ok even if he's embarrassed. It's a shock for you, but all dogs are dangerous they have teeth just most are very tolerant of our stupidity. Simba from what you have said had a horrible time before he came to you. He's not as tolerant as some dogs are because he's scared. He's learned to makes things go away with a bite. Maybe you could have rules for visitors and explain that Simba needs to be approached in an appropriate way. This could happen to anyone if the the dog in question is pushed.
 
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Granca

Granca

I’m so sorry, Lisa. You’ve done all the right things - and no, it wasn’t Simba’s fault or yours. It’s just not the sort of thing to do to any dog and must have been scary for Simba.
Take a deep breath and get some sleep. I hope you all feel more positive tomorrow. :hug:
 
Jacqui-S

Jacqui-S

Moderator
Location
Fife, Scotland
Oh Lisa, I agree with the guys above.
Simba is a big softy, but he is a dog, with baggage, which you have dealt with wonderfully.
People are unpredictable, just like dogs.
This is an unfortunate accident.
Sadly, your friend is going to have to take some responsibility for this, and it sounds like he knows this, I hope he still feels this in a day or two.
I hope you are ok. We are here for you. (Particularly Harriet who never sleeps and is a wise owl)
 
Candy

Candy

Biscuit Tin Guardian
Location
West Yorkshire, UK
Oh Lisa! Poor you, poor Simba and poor Valera.
I'm so, so sorry this has happened, but I can't imagine why someone would think it was OK to blow in a dog's face, it seems a strange thing to do.
You don't have a dangerous dog, you have a dog who, due to previous mistreatment by humans can feel frightened and threatened by behaviour he doesn't understand. I think Sarah @SwampDonkey made a good suggestion when she mentioned maybe mentioning to future guests that he needs to be treated gently. Please continue to post and keep us updated, we are all here for you.:hug:
 
HAH

HAH

Moderator
Location
Devon, UK
Lisa said:
Thanks for being here to hold my hand.
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Sorry to leave you in the lurch, but I’m glad you did what you needed to and went to the hospital. I was up settling Kipper from a nightmare so it was serendipity. I hope you’re feeling okay in yourself and the adrenaline’s started to dissipate.

The only other thought I had about this overnight was whether there might be a link with his episode in early December where he was off his food and behaving uncomfortably. You mentioned that this and the previous bite were in the last three months which made me wonder if he might have something else going on under the surface in terms of physical discomfort. There may be nothing, but it might be worth seeking out a pain consultant if you have one in the area? Just to clear that possibility. Sorry to add more thoughts, do discount as needed x
 
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