Friday, June 10, 2011

another unreported dog bite

Yesterday I was mauled by a pit bull.

OK, not really, but that's probably what a news article would say.

What really happened was a family brought in their 8 month old mixed breed dog. He had kind of a big head, so the shelter they adopted him from called him a 'pit bull mix'. I see a lot more lab, personally; his body shape and coat are pure labrador retriever, but that's hardly matters: most people would indeed call him a pit mix.

As is common, I came around the counter and, after asking permission, squished his big face for a minute, then went back to work. He was very friendly and lick-y and completely untrained and unruly. A few minutes later, another dog and their person entered the waiting room, and both large dogs immediately started barking at each other.

As is often the case with dogs bites, it was my fault. The 'pit' mix was lunging against his leash and the kid holding him looked like he was about to fall down, so I ran over and reached out to grab his collar. My fingers ended up in the dog's mouth instead, and teeth closed down on them, but then quickly released, I assume because my fingers were getting in the way of his barking. It didn't hurt, it certainly didn't pierce skin, it barely counts as a "nip". Life immediately continued on. We separated the dogs into different rooms, things quieted down, I washed the slobber off my hands. I don't think anyone except me noticed I'd been bitten.

But there you have it. In the interests of full disclosure, I've been bitten by a "pit bull".

2 comments:

DubV said...

I can't stand when pit bull folks make light of actual dog attacks. That is what you are doing here.

Pit bull folks also love to talk about inconsequential nips.

Serious/fatal bites get attention, little nips don't. That is why chihuahuas aren't in the news, even though they are snappy. You can handle those little things with oven mitts and be safe.

admin said...

Well, DubV, I hate it when anti-breed folks willfully ignore the media's bias towards reporting negative "pit bull" stories. The thing is it's NOT just serious bites that get attention, not if the paper thinks it can sell it with a scary word. I could link you to half a dozen news articles reporting "little nips" and other inconsequential things from pit bulls, JUST so the newspaper could shove "pit bull" into the title.