When Bad things happen to Good Dogs

This is a picture of Raven, a rescued greyhound who belongs to a friend of E.Rabbit's. They live in Azrizona, near Joey and the Doofus .

Briefly, Raven and her mom were out walking earlier this week and they were attacked by an unleashed pit bull. It took Raven's mom and a couple of strong men to break the hold the pit bull had on Raven. Raven has a broken jaw and has lost a tooth, her mom has had several surgeries and a skin graft. Raven was kind enough to agree to an interview for this post. She asks that you forgive any misspelled words, because her mom is having trouble typing.

So here is my first attempt at being Bob Edwards.

So, Raven...it is great to see you looking so good after your bad experience. Thank you for agreeing to answer a few questions for my blogging friends. I hope we can all learn from your experience, and perhaps avoid similar situations.

I understand this happened at a dog walk. Is it a place you visit often?
The incident happened on the bridle path in N. Phoenix. We've walked there twice a day, ever since we moved here in October. It's a really pretty area with lots of old trees and full of people.

Do you have many friends there?
We see a lot of the same people/dogs walking, but no real friends here, Phoenix strangers aren't quite as friendly as New Orleans strangers. I have a buddy, Blake that I play with in Tempe when I'm at my grandpa and grandma's house.

Have you had any other bad experiences there?
We've never had a bad experience on the bridle path before. There are tons of dogs and runners and cyclists and everyone is pretty responsible and respectful of each other.

Did you have any warning at all that something like this could happen?
My mom used to walk with mace when we lived in New Orleans because there were lots of loose dogs, but stopped carrying it here. She REALLY regrets that decision. There is also a product called direct stop that is supposed to work for stopping aggressive dogs. Mom's going to look into this. Also, no matter how nice you think your dog is - they should never EVER be let off leash in a populated area, especially aggressive breeds like pits. I was on my leash when this happened but the pits person let it out of the car off a leash and thought it would run in the house, instead it came after us

Tell us how badly you were hurt, and how are you doing now?
I have a broken jaw and lacerations to my neck. I also lost my left fang and have stitches in my gums. I'm doing really well, I have bounced back remarkably fast. I'm definitely still afraid of other dogs though.

And we understand that your mom was also injured, and has had multiple surgeries. Is she feeling better yet?
My mom is doing better, but unfortunately, I can't live with her right now because of her hand, she can't take care of me so I'm staying with my grandpa right now

What has happened to the pit bull that attacked you? Has he/she been in jail?
Unfortunately nothing much happened to the pit bull or its owners, since it had its shots it had to be quarantined at home for 10 days and that's it. They also haven't paid for any of my vet bills or my mom's bills.

Will you go back to the dog park?
My mom already didn't let me go to the dog park, this is the second time I've been attacked. There's something about greyhounds that seem to bring out the worst in other dogs. Mom's friend Jack says its because I'm tall and skinny and the other dogs are haters. I play with my greyhound friends, Ziggy and Lucy, and my friend Blake the Jack Russell but otherwise I just socialize with my family and my [feline] brother, Armano.

Do you have anything else you would like to tell my blog readers?

Well that covers it, if you take anything from this, please please please keep your dog on their leash

Please keep Raven and her mom in your thoughts and prayers, and keep safe on walkies.

gussie n teka