Yesterday

So d'Artagnan and I had a bit of a harrowing afternoon yesterday. He had early out day at school, so I allowed him to play with a neighbor kid named Dakota. They were out in the front yard and came to the back when the neighbor's pitbull puppy came into the front yard, bringing her with them. She is very playful and cute, and LOVES to be with people. The neighbor is 17 and doesn't have a LOT of time to spend with her, so being a puppy, she is lonely any time she isn't around people.

Anyway, we don't know how she got out, but she was in the front yard and the boys wanted to play with her. So I told them that they needed to be very careful with playing with her, because this is not only a breed they didn't know, but also a dog they weren't particularly familiar with, and the breed is known to turn on people who were playing with them - so be careful, and if she starts seeming to play rough, to come inside.

Anyway, they got her a drink of water, and she downed it in a few seconds. So they played with her a little more and Dakota came in for some more water. Within seconds after he came in the door, I heard d'Artagnan screaming bloody murder, like I have never heard him scream before in his life, calling for me or Dakota or SOMEONE. Of course I knew what had happened, the dog had ahold of him from behind, and I went tearing after her yelling and told d'Artagnan to get inside. I tried to get the dog out of the yard, and she started to jump up on me, teeth bared and snarling. I had my arm up to protect my face and body, and she got down. I grabbed her by the neck and dragged her out of the yard, closing the gate behind her. Then when I got back inside, went in to assess the damage.

She hadn't broken the skin on any of us, but she sure had scared us all. Apparently she and d'Artagnan were "playing", and the boy who owns her plays with her differently than an 11 year old will, and when he does, she can snarl and nip and get up on her hind legs and he knows that she is playing. d'Artagnan didn't, and she had ahold of his pant leg, not his leg, as I had thought I had seen. It scared him pretty bad, and after all was said and done, I couldn't get my hands to stop shaking for about 20 minutes after. I also had myself a good cry, as it occurred to me (once I was thinking again, and not reacting instinctively) that if the dog HAD been attacking, both of us would likely have serious problems at that point, because I did act instinctively. The dog outweighs d'Artagnan, and while it probably wouldn't have taken me down completely, it could have been really bad for both of us.

Anyway, I was going to blog this last night, but it kept making me freaked out again, and I wanted to wait until it didn't feel so traumatic.

Hope everyone is doing well, and mom - don't freak - we are all fine. "No blood, no foul, right?"