{52 Snapshots of Life} Week 44: Scary

Today was our first run since Monday. This is not just because it was raining a few days and then really windy. This is because Henri got bit by another dog on our run, Monday. I, of course, stepped in and also got bit.

I know you are not supposed to try to break up a dog fight with your hands, but he had Henri by the nose and wouldn't let go, so I tried to break his grip. Henri was screaming. What was I supposed to do? There was a lot of blood. I'm still not sure whose blood it was. I had blood all over my hands. There was blood splattered on my clothes and face. It looked really bad, thankfully, worse than it turned out to be. It was getting dark so I couldn't see how bad it was and, of course, I didn't care about my wounds. We were almost home, literally a quarter of a mile left of the run. I needed to get Henri into the light so we walked the rest of the way home, Henri seemingly fine, even stopping to pee on the way.

We both ended up with Emergency visits that night, both of us just getting cleaned up and sent home. No stitches for either one of us, just a little bit of gauze and medical tape for me. Most of the bites were isolated to two fingers, my right pointer finger and my left pinkie. I don't know how that happened. I was just trying to do something. Henri's nose was swollen and he was licking a lot, but we were both given a clean bill of health and sent home with antibiotics to fight infection. Look at that! We really do do everything together! 

Let's agree to never have a theme like this again. I was just thinking before we left on our run how I was not going to be able to incorporate our running with "scary". This event was truly scary. My poor baby's nose! It was really the best possible outcome, considering the amount of screaming and blood. The vet said that Henri most likely just blew out of his nose and it sprayed everywhere, making it look like the scene of a murder, rather than the series of paper cuts (really bad paper cuts, made with cardboard) that is was.

Henri moped around for a few days. I know my fingers hurt, so I'm sure his face hurt. He would make loud noises with his tongue as he tried to sooth it and get the swelling to go down. Also, his antibiotics had a side effect of upset stomach, so he really wasn't felling himself.

Today though, today was a beautiful day. The rain was gone. The wind was gone. The cold was gone. It was a perfect day for a run. When I got home from work and started to talk to Henri about it, he seemed more and more like his old self. I wanted to make sure this run was a positive experience for him, so I planned out a route that would avoid dogs barking at him. I had taken off my bandages and while I still couldn't bend my fingers all the way, the bruises had faded to yellow. I wasn't sure what blood quickly pumping through them would feel like, but I would use them as a reference for pain for Henri. The cooler temps in the air would also help keep us comfortable.

I got a little scared right before we left, not for fear of getting attacked again, but for Henri and how he was going to be. I wanted to make sure that he didn't become fearful, nor aggressive in response to what happened to him. I had to get over my fear or Henri was going to feel it and respond in exactly the way I did not want him too. We did pass one dog barking at us. Henri whined, but he was responding in the same way he normally did at that house, so I was comforted by that. I continued to reassure him as I always do and we carried on.

He seemed to enjoy the run. He didn't seem to have any ill effects from the previous encounter. I will continue to watch him as we get back into it, but I am thinking all will be okay. Time heals all wounds, both physical and mental.