It's not always easy

So, I just read a quote the other day about how the right path is often the most difficult.  I didn't really expect to be able to feel the truth of that quite so soon.

My best friend used to live across the street.  We walked most nights, first a round with her dog, Jade, then another round with mine.  We walked our dogs separately because they didn't get along at all.  That's an understatement, really.  Jade is a sweetheart, a full Pit Bull who does great with people but isn't very fond of other dogs.  Cody is half Pit, half Heinz 57, and he's been intimidated by Jade since their first meeting.  The walks started not long after Jordan was born and continued until she and her husband separated, not long before I had Connor.  My girlfriend is the one who moved out, and they decided the dog would stay with him.  Sadly, I haven't seen him walk Jade but a few times in the last year and a half.  I see him drive off with her in the truck sometimes but don't really know what he does about giving her regular exercise.  I hate this because I know what she was used to, and I know that she needs to have that daily outing.

I don't know if it's the lack of exercise or the lack of proper attention or just a combination of that with bad luck, but Jade has managed to get out a few times in the last year and has attacked other animals.  When we got home from our Thanksgiving trip my neighbor told me that her dog was attacked when they came to let Cody out Thanksgiving morning.  It was, apparently, a pretty bad attack.  She said that she couldn't get Jade off her dog despite bloodying her hand punching her and bruising her feet kicking her.  It required another neighbor to pull Jade off the other dog's neck.  This helpful man was extremely pissed because Jade had recently attacked their cat.  My girlfriend's ex husband reimbursed them for the vet bill and apologized and that was that.  Of course, neither of these neighbors filed a report.  In the one neighbor's defense, she thought the vet was required to file a report when a dog was brought in that had been attacked.

All of this brings us to yesterday.  Chase and Jordan took Cody out to do his business and a minute later I heard the awful sounds of dogs fighting.  It was horrible, the snuffling and snarling along with the growls and the yelps.  I don't understand the sadistic nature that actually enjoys dog fights.  Anyway, Jade had gotten out and was in the bushes next door.  When Cody went over there she raced out and attacked.  Chase said it was all incredibly fast-she came out of nowhere.  He said he didn't waste much time with the punching and kicking because it wasn't doing any good.  Instead, he let go of Cody's leash and grabbed Jade in a choke hold and lifted up to try to get her to release Cody's back leg.  He said as soon as he pulled her off she quit fighting completely, like she just said, "Okay, I'm done."

By the time I got outside it was pretty much over.  I got Cody (and a relatively hysterical Jordan) inside and went to let the owner know his dog was out.  Of course, he wasn't home.  Still, I had a key to his house from when I used to take care of Jade so I gave that to Chase and he took her home.  The doors were wide open.  The door to the screened in porch has no latch, Chase says, and was flapping in the breeze, and the door to the inside was open as well.  He put Jade up and came home to help assess the damage.

Cody was hopping around on three legs and moaning and groaning but didn't seem too bad off.  The vet agreed.  He was concerned at first about the limping and thought the leg might be broken, but it's not.  They stapled the wounds and gave him some medicine and sent him home.  I took him to his regular vet today because the leg was so swollen I was concerned, but they assured me it's somewhat expected and showed us how to try to reduce it, though it's supposed to get worse before it gets better.  The toughest thing is watching him hesitate and cower when he needs to go out; we have to coax him to go potty and then he tries to get back inside as quickly as possible.  While he's out there you can see his whole body trembling.

After much thought and waffling I decided we had to call animal control and report the attack.  It was the third in a year and, no matter how much I love my friend and Jade, I can't let that stop me from doing what's best for my family.  Still, it was so damn difficult because I figured they would tell the owner to put Jade down.  We also waited because we didn't know what the owner was going to do-if he had her put down then reporting the attack was a moot point.  He had called us to find out what had happened (we managed to track him down and leave him a message) and then he called again to ask us what we wanted him to do.  He tried to force us to take responsibility for the decision of whether to put her down or not.  We told him it was not our decision.  We heard her barking last night so he obviously opted to bring her home.

This morning, bright and early, we had a visit from animal control.  We told them the full story and about the other attacks.  I wasn't too surprised when they said they were going to talk to the owner and ask him to have her put down.  The other option is to go to court where we would testify and the dog could be found to be a dangerous dog.  He would be able to keep her only if he abided by the regulations for a dangerous dog, otherwise he would have to have her put down.  I'm not sure yet what his decision will be though I think he'll probably not fight this.  He did try to get animal control to agree to let him take her to someone outside of the city with some land instead of putting her down, but they can't do that.  In my opinion, the time to do that would have been after the last attack.

I had to call my friend tonight and update her.  She knew what all had occurred yesterday but didn't know about any of today's news.  She had to let me go because she was so upset, and I understand that.  My fear is that she will feel we are somehow responsible for the death of the dog she loves because we are the ones that reported the attack.  Logically she knows it's not because of us, but emotions rarely walk hand in hand with logic.

I am sad.  I am sad for my own dog who's hurt and scared.  I'm sad for my friend, and I'm sad for Jade.  I am even sad for Jade's owner, my friend's ex husband.  He may have been an irresponsible pet owner for the last year+, but I know that he does love Jade.  This is going to be difficult for everyone.  I'm also thankful.  I'm thankful that Cody is not hurt any worse than he is.  I'm thankful that it occurred on Chase's watch because I'm certain I wouldn't have handled it as quickly or as well.  I'm incredibly thankful that Jordan was completely unhurt even though she was standing right there for the whole thing.  Ultimately that's what it comes down to: I have to do what's best for the safety of my family, even when it's hard.

This is the pitiful look he keeps giving us when it's time to go out or when he's feeling needy and wants us to reassure him.  This leg isn't too bad.  We've found only a couple of minor cuts on his side.

This is the leg that's causing him the most pain.  I'm not sure how deep the punctures are.  This picture was taken last night-by noon today it was double the size due to swelling.

And just because we need one little bit of happiness...

Connor in a tutu.  I am betting I can cause some embarrassment with this one later on, maybe high school?