Recovery

It's been three days since the dog fight, and I've finally calmed down enough to be able to blog about it. That picture is Bandit on Saturday evening, being comforted by Lily, who is probably his best friend in the whole world. She's stayed at his side ever since he got back from the vet.

I have a policy to never turn out dogs together to play when I'm not home and able to keep tabs on things. (The exception is that either Jazz or Bandit can safely be turned out with Willow. Male/female pairs generally get along much more smoothly.) On Friday, I was very glad that I always stick to that policy. After months of playing without any incidents, an empty food bowl that was somehow dragged into the fenceline caused a major fight to erupt between Bandit and Jasper.

It was a bad one, no doubt. Bandit missed having his eye gashed by a few centimeters, and has five staples in his shoulder. The entire right side of Jasper's face is torn up. Both of them have large shaved patches on their faces and shoulders where the wounds had to be examined and cleaned.

To say I was terrified would be an understatement. My thoughts were all over the place as I watched them fighting - I felt so helpless, and it seemed there was nothing I could do to break them apart. The amount of blood was terrifying. After trying everything I could think of to get them apart (yelling, rattling the fence, spraying them with the hose, hitting their rear end with a leash), I had to grab Jasper by the rear legs and wheelbarrow him away from Bandit. This is the technique I learned to break up dog fights, and it's the safest way to do so when all other methods fail. (It's not safe to go for the collar or head - the rear legs are safest.) I pulled him into the catch pen in the yard and slammed the gate between Bandit and Jasper, leashed him and got him into the sunroom. Then I returned for Bandit and got him into the house.

Once again, I have to tell you all what wonderful, exceptional, incredible neighbors I have. I had just gotten Jasper into the catch pen when I saw my neighbor Gregory appear around the corner. A few minutes later, his parents Lois and Don showed up. They had heard the yelling and snarling, and they were afraid that I was being attacked (I don't blame them for thinking so). When they saw what was happening, they offered to take Bandit in their van while my mom and I loaded up Jasper and took him in her car. Lois even stayed with us throughout the vet visit. Their concern and willingness to help meant the world to me and I just can't thank them enough. I baked a loaf of rosemary herb bread for them this morning and I'm taking it over there with a bouquet of flowers and a dozen eggs. You know what, this homestead thing and this dog/wolfdog rescue thing - it takes a village. And I am so thankful to have neighbors who are so caring, unbelievably generous, and kind.

The dogs spent the evening at the emergency vet, then spent the weekend on lockdown in strictly seperate quarters, downing antibiotic and painkillers morning and night. Of course, I always seem to come up one kennel short - so Loki had to spend the weekend bedded down in the sunroom. Willow had run of the fenced yard, Bandit stayed in the house with me, and Jasper had the deck kennel.

This afternoon, Jasper was returned to his usual place in the yard with Willow. I had a lot of trepidation about doing this, but Loki was not doing well in the sunroom (the stress from being in a new place was rough on him), so I decided it was the right time. Jasper's wounds (which were shallow) have already healed over incredibly fast, and they were confined to the right side of his muzzle, so I'm not concerned about re-injury.

When they started to play I just about lost it. Every time they play-growled or jumped, I ran into them ready to break up the pending fight. I don't know how long it'll take to get over this, but it sure is stressful. I never realized how relaxed I had been about their playing before. I think I'll have to be more proactive in supervising their interactions and keeping play to a level I'm comfortable with.

If I can, within the next year I'm planning to build a new kennel area inside the fenced yard. I'd like to do away with the deck kennel entirely; it's large enough for two dogs which is nice, but it also doesn't allow for separation during emergencies like this. It was never really meant to be permanent, but just got to be so convenient that I'm reluctant to tear it down without a replacement. It's also horribly difficult to keep clean (I spend 30 minutes a day mopping it), and all the dog stuff (toys, food, leashes, and of course, kennel cleaning equipment and poop bags) has a tendency to accumulate in the garage. The new kennels would be smaller, but there would be more partitions so that the dogs can be easily seperated if need be, the flooring would be designed for easy cleaning, and there would be a storage area where I could keep the toys, leashes, and other things. Not to mention a dog waste composter, which is high on my priority list!

Right now, though, all I can do is move on and try to get things back to normal as soon as I can. Bandit and Jasper will no longer be spending time together in the yard, but will be rotated so that they each get time to play and free-run. Perhaps in the far future I might try to reintroduce them, but I don't think they were ever a truly compatible match. It might be best not to push it.

Times like this are difficult and put a dark spot on all the joy I get each day from my pack of sled dogs. But the only thing to do is keep moving forward and take each day as it comes.