As soon as we got out of the truck Sitka started barking at a dog that was twice her size. I got her leash on her collar and took off, leaving Mike behind to talk to the woman that had the other dog. Soon enough I was at the off-leash area and I could see dogs and dogs and more dogs.
I had brought Sitka’s giant, red Kong (weird shaped toy that she loves) to entice her to stay close by. But guess what. Her beloved Kong meant nothing to her. She was off and running and there wasn’t a chance that she was going to respond to me calling her. So I took off running until I finally caught up with her. I leashed her again and decided that was safer than losing her.
There were several dogs and owners milling around in one area so we wondered over there to check them out. Sitka sniffed and sniffed and sniffed some more. There were big dogs, small dogs, purebred dogs and Heinz 57 dogs…and they all seemed to be getting along.
Finally I saw Mike and we went to greet him. Mike disagreed with me about leaving Sitka leashed so I unleashed her and watched as she began to play with 2 blue healers. It seemed like as long as she had playmates she would stay close to us. We chatted with the healers’ owner, Amanda, and the dogs chased balls and the Kong.
All was going well until the pit bull came over. While he was pretty friendly, he went after the healers’ ball and a fight ensued with the pit bull and the healers. I quickly grabbed Sitka’s collar, leashed her and moved back. There was biting, blood, the whole works. And poor, pregnant Amanda was having trouble separating them. I wish I’d had my camera ready because I can’t believe what I saw next. Mike did a horizontal flop into the middle of all 3 dogs! He slugged the pit bull in the mouth and he ran off, but by now the healers were attacking EACH OTHER!!! Everyone was watching. Somehow Mike separated them and they began to calm down. I looked at Mike and wondered how in the world he had the strength (or huevos) to jump into that mess. He said it was instinct from his high school days as a wrestler…hahaha…He had blood on his jacket and shirt. But his skin wasn’t punctured…it was a miracle that he had leather gloves on. I wiped the blood off his face and knew that he was okay. Amanda profusely thanked him for his help and he said no problem.
It’s only been a few hours, but the Old Mike is back. Having brain surgeries and taking very strong meds has taken it’s toll on my baby…but today I saw the Mike I fell in love with. Let’s just hope our next visit to the park has less drama!
5 comments:
Wow! What a day. Good show, Mike. I am not the least surprised. THat was the "go-to" guy I had dinner with last Friday.
How did Sitka react to all the commotion?
Jiggs and I used to go out to Minto Brown as often as we could -- until he had trouble getting in and out of the truck. He loved it out there. The people more than the dogs.
I've never been comfortable with that many dogs mixing together uncontrolled. It only takes one bad owner (not bad dog!) to start a feeding frenzy. Mike was very lucky to get out of that fracas in one piece. What if that pit bull had taken the punch to the face as a reason to really attack! Nope, not the kind of place for me.
Wow! That is a crazy first visit to the park. In all my years of taking Gracie there, I've seen maybe three real fights. But you also learn which dogs & owners to cut a wide path around. I don't allow Gracie to mix with large packs of dogs - usually located closer to the parking lot. I also try to steer her away from the more intense dogs - like blue heelers and border collie - who don't always understand how Labs like to play.
I hope you'll be back. Gracie and I are usually there Saturday mornings around 9, Sundays around noon. As it stays lighter longer will start going in the evenings again as well. Look for a big brown lab carrying a tennis ball in her mouth who loves to be patted. That'll be Gracie.
Wow! Mike - you're a brave guy!
We take our greyhound to greyhound-only runs. These are held in someone's completely enclosed, huge backyard. It gives all the digs a chance to stretch their legs and play, as greyhound rarely have a good enough recall that you can trust them to be off-leash. This is probably different with AKC hounds because they've never learned to chase (other than instinct), but with retired racers, they're easily miles away by the time you've realized he's missing!
Anyway - all hounds MUST be muzzled for exacly the reason you've described. Apart from the fact that greys have extremely thin skin, when they're running and playing they easily hurt each other unintentionally.
I'm always REALLY nervous taking him to any other leash free park, as other dogs are never muzzled.
Call me nervous-nelly, but I'd rather he be safe!
Yikes, where was the pit bull's owner during all of this? They should have been reported and banned from the park. What if there had been a little kid in the mix? Hope your next visit is uneventful. And good going Mike!!
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