About a months ago, amongst all the holiday rush our family had to deal with an unexpected issue. Our dog (who we rescued from a shelter) unexpectedly bite our two year old daughter. It was an entirely unprovoked incident that happened about a foot away from where I was sitting.Like any parent, I was horrified to see my daughter in tears with blood dripping down her face. Though it felt overwhelming at the time, I realize there were only two things I had control over.
Tend to your child- The mess and dog can wait. Clean the area well, but gently. If the cuts are wide or deep, go to the hospital. Your child may need stitches. I instantly rushed her to the bathroom where I cleaned her face and applied medication. In our case, we were lucky, though there were multiple cuts none of them were deep. However, we did take her to the doctor for piece of mind. I asked dozens of questions and left feeling a little more confident.
Deal with the dog- From the time we had him with us, we’ve been training him, and trying to earn his trust. For nearly two years we taught him (along with our child) what we could. And for a time he seemed fine. But we knew our dog had a rough past. And for some reason even after being with our family, he appeared to grow more unpredictable at random times. And the bite was the tipping point. Though there were many options we decided to surrender our dog.
I called the shelter, the same one we had rescued him from, and explained what happen. They wrote a report and advised me that because he had broken my daughter’s skin, he would have to be quarantined for 10 days before further steps were taken. We could choose to keep him at home in a crate (and only allowed out to do his business) but otherwise, no connect, or we could pay for the shelter to hold him…which of course cost. The reason they gave me for the hold was fear of rabies.
When a dog acts out of character aka dangerous animal control wants to make sure that is ruled out. And it was our bad luck that our pet’s vaccination were passed due. So we waited the 10 days watching him like a hawk. But there were never any signs of rabies. When animal control returned,our pet was cleaned, and we were allowed to move forward. Returning him to the shelter was a painful experience, but for my girl’s safety, there was no other choice.
I love dogs and grew up with rescues as pets for must of my childhood. And though this isn’t a situation I’d ever want to be in again I wouldn’t detour others from adopting from a shelter. However, I would suggest that you do research beforehand. Anyone can fall in love with a big eyed pup whose trapped behind bars, but not everyone is meant to be that dog’s owner.
As a family, we’re taking some time off from being pet owners for now, but this will in no way keep us from welcoming a furry family member into our homes in the future.
Note: Our two year old daughter is doing well and is still a huge animal lover.