Doggie Drama

So any of you who have read my previous posts know that animals, or "critters" as I so fondly refer to them, and I don't really mesh well. HOWEVER, if there was ever an animal that I could have feelings toward it would be this guy right here..Joey. We got this chocolate lab when he was a puppy and believe me we have the torn up backyard to prove it. Well it is now 2 1/2 years later and he has definitely grown on me.

This weekend we had quite the drama going down in our little backyard and not by the neighbor kids as one would think but a knock down, all out, crazy dog fight!!

Let me set the scene....This year for Christmas "Santa" got the kids a trampoline and oh boy has it brought them and the neighborhood MUCH joy. However every time the kids go in the back to jump we have to tie Joey up on his chain because he has figured out how to jump up on the trampoline, and well we figure that these contraptions are dangerous enough without a 100 lb. dog making the ride more interesting. So in order for the kids to jump he has to go on a chain. Of course he is just as excited about all the hub-bub going on and then too decides to voice his opinion in the only way he knows how...barking...ALOT!! So yep you guessed it after several complaints from the neighbor and a couple of threats of police getting involved and talk of fines my hubby and I decided that some sort of muzzle was the only way the kids could go enjoy their new toy and we not have to pay a fortune every time for this pleasure.

I know some of you are probably just thinking that we should use a barking dog collar, but they don't really work plus I I didn't like the idea of shocking him every time he makes a sound...so the homemade muzzle was invented.

Now I try to stay on top of the situation and he normally only has it on when the kids are on the trampoline and then they or I take it off pretty quickly after so it really isn't that big of a deal.

Now back to the drama....so Sat. afternoon the kids were in the backyard and Joey was sitting watching them jump. It was so pretty outside that day that Hailey heard the kids and wanted to go and play. I quickly got her shoes on and off we went to have some fun in the sun...Well when I walked out the back door and looked over in the direction of Joey I noticed another dog in our backyard. Now I don't know dog types very well, but he was decent size and looked kinda mean. There were 2 neighbor kids also there who came to jump so I figured the dog must be one of theirs. I immediately said,"Whose dog is that...You need to take him home." Well about the time I said that, the other dog started growling at Joey and as quick as a blink he jumped at him.

Well it was on then. The two dogs were up on hind legs going at it like crazy. Now I've seem a lot of dog fights but this one sounded different. Which at first made me think that maybe my eyes were deceiving me and they weren't actually seeing who could cause the most damage, but no that wasn't it because there was no doubt this was quite a brawl.....Ohhhh Well Hello..Joey's mouth was sealed shut!! I was only hearing 1 dog make all the scary sounds that accompany a fight like this and that also meant that MY dog was at a major disadvantage...chained up and unable to use his mouth.

I picked up a big stick to try and get between the two angry dogs and of course was yelling for Joey to back off the whole time. I kept telling the boy to call his dog, but he quickly informed me it wasn't his dog...Great...some stray dog has just attacked MY dog in MY backyard in front of MY kids and here I was gonna stop it with a mere stick?? I didn't even have any shoes on to try and step between them...not that, that would have been the right thing to do, but seriously it was all going so quickly. All I could think about was the safety of my kids and the fact that this wild dog was hurting my poor Joey. The way this dogs mouth was all over Joey I had no doubt that he was gonna be hurt bad.

Finally I got them broken up and the other dog scurried off out of our yard. Immediately I went to Joey to see the damage. Much to my surprise he wasn't bleeding ANYWHERE and didn't seem to be hurt either...Miracle! I quickly released his mouth and soothed and calmed him down. Other than the fact that his breathing was heavy he seemed to be Okay. I petted him and talked softly to him for quite awhile and when everything seemed okay..I looked up and the other dog was back and stalking the border of our fence. I told the neighbor boy, who then realized where this dog belonged to, to take him home and tell the owners that if I saw him around here again I was gonna call the pound. Now I'm not a fan of the pound but I can't have this aggressive dog looming around my house and the moment Joey is vulnerable again decide to get another whack at him. So the rest of he day I was on Doggie patrol and yes I released Joey from his chain and fed him some treats for his effort. And poof..I had a realization.. I guess I my feelings run deeper for this silly dog than I thought!!