who could hurt a k-bear???

A big brutish pitbull, that's who. Not that I'm saying all pitbulls are bad. But, I am saying it IS bad to have an aggressive one off-leash in the dog park.

On Thursday evening I was walking into the off-leash area with Zeke (my dog-sit pal, and spottiest man about town) and Caleb. I'd just taken off Zeke's leash, and was bending down to take off Caleb's when he was charged and attacked by the aforementioned pitbull. And, then pack mentality took over, and several other dogs got into the mix. I thought I'd been bit at first, too, but only got a couple scratches and bruises. Caleb, on the other hand, sustained some bad facial injuries. A couple milimeters higher and he would've lost his eye.

Here's a link for the post-attack photo. I'm posting it as a link so you don't have to see it if you don't want to. It actually looks worse in person, but you get the idea.

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb286/ehrrinkeenan/IMG_6995.jpg

I rushed him to the vet, and they gave me two options--to have surgery right then, and take the chance that his organs could handle the anesthesia (he's over twelve years old), or to try cortizone, antibiotics and neosporin first, and then reevaluate if it's not healing properly. Option 2 results in a slower healing time, and bigger scar, but also didn't potentially risk his life by putting him under anesthesia without the blood test to see if he could handle it (the test would take overnight to come back, at which point the surgery option would be moot; if he has to have surgery later, they'll have to "trim" the tissue first).

So, I opted for Option 2. And, it actually seems to be already starting to heal. He was pretty sore and stiff for the first couple of days, but seems to be pretty much feeling back to normal now. It was just a really scary experience for both of us.

I found the owner yesterday, and she agreed to pay the vet bill, but still seems to feel it's okay to take her dog into the park. I'm relieved about the first part, but bummed about the second part. I'm not going to take Caleb to that dog park anymore, and am considering whether we should possibly just avoid dog parks from here on out. This stinks because dog parks are his favorite spots. (It was in West Park, in the North Side adjacent to the Mexican War Streets, fyi).

[This is the second time Caleb has been attacked by a pitbull. The first time was ten years ago, right after we'd moved to Pittsburgh. That time his arm (right front leg) was fractured. That time it was a dog in the neighborhood with an owner, but off leash].

I wish dog owners would be more responsible--especially when they have a dog that powerful in their care.

If you're a dog-owner, please be responsible, and also be cognizant about the other dogs around you and their demeanors. And, please wish the K-Bear a speedy recovery.