Intuition…
You know that “gut” feeling you get that points you in one direction more so than the other? I like to think I’m aligned with my inner guidance system, but this past Sunday I did NOT listen to the signs I was getting… which bit me in the a**, literally.
Taz and I were attacked by a german shepherd late Sunday night. Thankfully Taz is perfectly fine and unharmed, but I took a beating. If you saw my snapchat (follow: glowingfridge) you would have heard the story and seen what had happened but basically, Taz and I were taking our usual stroll before bed, a time when many other people with dogs on my street take their nightly walk before calling it a night.
While walking in the city at night, I’m VERY aware of my surroundings, always looking behind me and scoping things out, because YOU NEVER KNOW. Anything can happen, no matter where you live, but I’m especially careful living in Chicago. On this particular night, it was pretty quiet and not going to lie, things felt a bit eery. I decided to think nothing of it, to stop being a weirdo and just speed up our walk a bit. Halfway down the street, I notice a girl from my building behind us, walking her german shepherd, and scrolling through her phone at the same time. We’ve seen them a handful of times before and each time, her large dog is foaming at the mouth with vicious barks in major KILL mode, so we try to avoid them at all costs.
I felt they were walking far enough behind us that I didn’t have to worry. Just stay calm Shannon… but something kept telling me to cross the street.
Cross the street. Cross the street now. Shannon. CROSS THE STREET NOW. My heart is racing just thinking about it.
Nope, I need to have no fear and stop being a weirdo, remember? Everything is fine – just continue on your usual walk. All was well for about a minute, until Taz stopped to pee, looked behind us and saw them walking… then little Taz let out ONE bark.
Big mistake Taz.
All hell broke loose.
Since she was on her phone, not really paying attention, her grip on his leash was not enough to hold the monster back when he decided to charge us. She starts screaming and I immediately knew what was happening when I could hear the huge german shepherd barking and charging toward us (is this really happening right now?) I quickly scoop up Taz in my arms and am in the street before my life flashes before my eyes.
Within seconds my leg was being attacked like a chew toy.
This dog was in KILL mode for my precious Taz. There was no way I was letting him get my little guy. Everything is kind of a blur from there… I just remember wincing and screaming in pain, in utter disbelief that I was actually being attacked. After what felt like minutes, she finally arrived at the scene and I yelled at her to grab her dog and GET HIM THE F*** away from me.
She tied him up to a fence THANK GOD and I was already across the street in tears. She ran over and was hugging me, very apologetically and said he had never done that before, which I find hard to believe. She couldn’t believe he bit me, so I pulled down my pants (yep, I could have cared less at that point) and even though it was dark, we saw puncture wounds, teeth marks, scratches and lots of blood… enough to make me queasy and speechless.
You know when an injury doesn’t feel real until you see it? Yep, I immediately connected the pain with the bites and went into shock.
At this point, she was crying too and offered to drive me somewhere but all I wanted was to get inside my safe apartment and away from the scary world. I know where she lives in my building and knew I could easily find her if needed. Limping back, I was shaking and sobbing but realized things could have gotten a lot worse. Better my leg as a chew toy than my tiny 7-pound chihuahua who stands no chance to a 100+ pound male german shepherd…
Dogs are precious animals to me and I’m sure to many of you too. I’ve never felt any fear towards dogs because my experiences have been only positive, up until this point. When I see “mean” dogs, I wonder what might have happened to them in the past, to make them that way. What have they been through that they feel compelled to show their teeth at everyone passing by? Anyways, that girl has no business owning a german shepherd in a studio apartment, in my opinion. They need space and a yard and a proper environment. Now I have the wounds to show for her lack of responsibility and awareness.
My leg will heal with time and with what I’m sure will be a solid few scars as well as a lesson learned:
Follow your intuition when it is screaming at you.
One little bark was all it took to provoke this dog. You just never know.
Now I’m scared to walk outside and feel traumatized but thankful that we are okay and I know it could have been a lot worse. I felt the need to share this story because that “gut” feeling we get is very much a real thing… it’s also a tricky thing because I went against it from wanting to have no fear, but I guess it depends on the experience.
Now, walking alone at night in the city and following my intuition definitely wins over the “having no fear” mentality.
There’s a major difference that is now, crystal clear.
Have you ever been bit by a dog? What are your natural tips for quick healing with minimal scarring? Some of you on snapchat have mentioned coconut oil, aloe vera, tea tree oil and goldenseal. I’ve been using coconut oil until it heals further and then will try the others but it’s still very raw and painful!
Feel free to let me know your tips and tricks below!
Hi,
I’m so sorry you had a bad experience due to a dog owner in need of training! Hopefully, you’re well healed by now. Just want to pass along that Manuka honey (which you mentioned in your face mask article) is great for healing wounds.
Hope you won’t hold your experience against German Shepherds. They are great dogs when they have a responsible human to guide them!
Hi Shannon!
I’m so sorry that happened to you! I hope you’re feeling better. I used Bag Balm for ALL of my scars. It’s all natural & you can find it at any major drug store. It literally made my scars from years ago fade dramatically!
whew! That sounds awful! I am glad you are alright (and taking good care of yourself) and that Taz is unharmed. Yikes! Little dogs are so vulnerable. It will take some time to get over this probably, but it isn’t a bad lesson to trust your instincts. I need to remember that! Give Taz a scratch for me!
As a dog bite victim myself (more on that in a minute), get yourself to the doctor and have the wound exams, make sure you are up to date on tetanus shot or get a booster, and really watch the wound. I had to massage mine to reduce scar tissue.
Now on to other things, OMG, you did the absolute right thing protecting your pouch. One shake of the head and the story ends differently. I was bit in the face by a lab mix. Usually lab mixes are very friendly. Not to mention it was my in laws dog, feel free to make any joke here. Her fang missed my eye by half an inch and ripped my upper lip in half. 70 stitches in my upper lip later, i was feeling no pain. It healed fine and you can’t tell it ever happened thanks to a great plastic surgeon.
I like you would do anything to protect my little pooch too.
I’m sorry to hear that you went thru that! So scary. I am a big fan of using Frankincense oil as an antiseptic and for healing. I use a therapeutic grade oil from DoTerra, but if you have access to some it works wonders!
Hi as an owner of a K9 training business I’ve had that happen a few times. I wear cowboy boots when training so a good kick and yelling NO worked. I also carry pepper spray for the dog owners who have no control of strong breeds. The key to dogs is to be alpha if there running after you …stop get big like a bear yell they should back down if not pepper spray.
Good luck to you and you pup
Raffaella
Paws Off Canine Training
Shannon,
I am so sorry you had to go through that! I am a huge dog lover as well, and haven’t had any bad experiences with dogs (yet) so I know how you feel. I have 2 small dogs, a maltipoo and maltese, and I try to be cautious when I walk them or even take them outside. My maltipoo is very sassy and thinks she is a big dog so I try to be aware of who is walking their big dog outside, or even other animals (mama raccoons will be in my yard and even the squirrels try to mess with my dogs) so you just never know! When your leg does heal I recommend using Bio Oil to help with scarring. I use it all the time and love it, plus it’s cheap and you can get in anywhere. I’m glad you and Taz are okay!
I admire your courage and resolve to follow natural healing, but dog bites are nothing to fool around with. I was bit by a teeny, tiny Boston terrier a few years ago, chose not to get initial medical attention and regretted it a couple weeks later. I too prefer more natural, holistic approaches to healing, but allopathy is ok for things like dog bites and gunshot wounds. If your leg starts to hurt, please get it checked out. Stay well! Glad your little puppy is ok.
OMG this is awful! when I was younger we used to have a German shepherd as well and they have a tenancy to act that way… ours was never mean to us but anytime someone came in the front yard she got really angry and territorial…
I have two dogs now and the one definitely has more of an attitude problem than then other, he doesn’t like anyone coming into his “territory” while the other dog is more than happy to play with anyone who will offer him a ball or run around with him… dogs are very complicated beings lol
BUT!!! for the healing girl, the BEST BEST BEST thing I have ever found is Shae butter I’ll attach a link below of the one that I use but seriously it is amazing on ANY kind of open wound, cut, burn, scar, literally everything! I always tell everyone about it when they ask because I have used it a billion times… my fiance gets huge open wounds at work all the time and he uses it too, I even put it on my dads stitches! its like magic!
what you do is take a chunk of it in the palm of your hand and rub it till it melts (because its solid) and then you smear it on the wound and usually I put a bandied or gauze to seal it over night and let it work its magic! re-peat until it looks better!
this is what I have always used but if you get a different kind make sure it’s only shae butter without any other crap in it! 😉
http://organic-essence.com/organic-shea-butter.html
another thing is, using distilled water with some sea salt (not table salt)… soaking it for like -5-10 minutes or even dabbing it on a towel and dripping it into the wound I have done this a bunch of times too (even on my dogs toenail I soaked it when he stubbed it and it got swollen and oozey)
also when I got my ears pieced and lip pierced they got infected and I soaked then in the salt water…
basically the salt pulls out any infection in there!
I hope you feel better girl! xoxoxo sending love your way!
You are so right, dogs are complicated beings ha. You just never know… but ahh thank you so so much for the recommendations, especially love the shea butter idea and will be getting some in the morning. Thanks for the support!
xoxo,
Shannon
You need to file a report with animal services and the police. Like others have said, the dog may not be up to date in his shots. Go to the hospital and have yourself checked out (you should have done this already). Talking from a different but similar experience (I was feeding some feral kittens and this dumbass decided to pick one of the kittens as he was eating, making him lose the grip on the piece of meat and going instead for the meaty part of my middle finger), I ended up having to get ALL the shots, which were not fun at all. I still have the scar on my finger, white now because it’s been A LOT of years since it happened, but still.
And next time something tells you to do something because it feels weird, DO IT.
Feel better soon!
Hi Maria – Ouch! Sounds like a nasty bite. Scars are unfortunate but better than losing a finger, or a leg on my end. The dog is up to date with his shots and I have been in contact with the police. I’m all taken care of and thanks for the support!
Shannon
Are you going to contact someone, the police, animal services? Did you go to a hospital?! That dog could not be up to date with his vaccinations. I follow you on Snapchat and those wounds look deep, you don’t need stitches? Please get yourself checked out even if you feel okay.
Thank you Dorothy, I’m all taken care of and have been in contact with the police. The dog is up to date with his shots and I’m keeping a close eye on my wounds – working on the more natural route rather than a conventional one – I do appreciate your advice.
Shannon
Wow, this is horrific. (Though like you I would have thought first to save my own dog.) I hope you will heal soon and be able to walk around happily again.
The other dog’s owner is truly a questionable person. It may be the first time he has actually attacked, but it sounds like she doesn’t pay enough attention to control him anyway. Which is sad for the dog. She needs to step it up and actually deserve to have a dog.
Take care of yourself, and give Taz a kiss from me.
Thank you Bridget! Taz has been getting lots of extra love the past couple days. The situation is sad for the dog and makes me wonder how many owners are like this… dogs are a lot of work which is something people don’t realize, especially a german shepherd!