Poor Elsie's ordeal

Splitting up the family as we had to with the subsidence issue, Betty came with me as the B and B was happy to have one small dog, Elsie stayed with ivana and grace, and I went round every morning to pick her up and we spent the day the three of us me and two doggies wandering around living out of my car. B and bs are pretty ok for nightimes but chuck you out during the day not exactly good for family living government something to ponder on. Anyway on Tuesday this week poor Elsie not good eyesight had a panic attack at the time I really thought she'd had a heart attack. My vet was great with her and managed to calm her with medications so we could take her home but where to ? She wasn't coping with changes of ivanas house not Ivanas fault at all she was marvellous but Elsie is a special girl needs much coaxing to be happy and understand life.

So we decided one of us would have to stay over night with her each day, ivana had a houseful, B and B wouldn't let her in, so my husband volunteered to live in his car for a few nights with her, it's booming cold of course so there she is wearing an old pair of my pyjamas and a woolly hat to bed. Snuggled up to my husband he reckoned they were OK. Anyway on Thursday she got a bit panicky and we went back to the vet just to check she was ok, he prescribed tranquillisers for a week just to keep her calm. So it was a sleepy dog we were walking on Friday when a staffie crossed with a horse if looked like ! Decided to come over and check her out I asked his owner to call his dog back eff off he just wants to play was the response. The dog circled us and decided to mount Elsie, who wasn't happy with that indignity at all and in a panic snapped at the dog causing the dog to change its mind and attack her.

She's not a fighter her way of dealing with it is to lay on her back and submit allowing the dog to get to her tummy, ensuing a frenzy I never want to see again, took two men to get the dog off her and off to the vet again this time with stitches and bandages and she's a very unhappy girl in pain.

The dog warden is no help police no help so I'm about giving up on life at this point.

Anyway she's a bit better today, we are coming home and she's in her basket looking happier than she has since we left.

Lesson a dog like Elsie can't cope with change and needs her own home comforts and we are never upsetting her like this ever again for any reason, she's got to be number one and we will live life around her needs.


Stitches out next week. Mine too somehow I got bitten too I don't even remember that happening it was after Elsie had been taken care of vet suggested I might need attention too. Adrenaline obviously works to dull pain.

Re: Poor Elsie's ordeal

Jeez...Julie!!! Just how much more trauma can you, your dogs and your family take??

Re: Poor Elsie's ordeal

Poor Elsie and poor you Julie having one more thing to cope with .

Let's hope you are all back home soon...

Re: Poor Elsie's ordeal

I don't know what to suggest to you, I really don't. You seem to have a lot of uncontrolled, and uncontrollable, dogs in your area, likewise their handlers/owners. If only a fraction of these people knew what you endure on a day to day basis: I'd like to see how they'd cope.

Do the police and dog wardens know of your health and other circumstances?

Re: Poor Elsie's ordeal

Trouble is despite her problems and mine Elsie is a Labrador and loves proper woods and common walks if she was little like Betty a short pavement walk is fine. We only really meet off lead dogs on the common or in the woods. I blame the restrictions around where we can walk them these days, with her problems years ago I would have made the trip to the beach as often as I could because it's a safer environment for her but so many you can't walk on these days, same with parks etc banning dogs because some others are irresponsible, it affects those of us who need safer places. One safe place that they did create was sadly taken over by horse riders so the safe easy walking for disabled people with special dogs became a quagmire of epic proportions that we can't use any more.

It's decided us Elsie will be last bigger dog we own, if we can't pick the adult dog up above our heads all of us then we won't take them on. Which is sad as we've always had a mixture of big and little and they get on so much better than all same size IMO

Re: Poor Elsie's ordeal

Poor Elsie, and poor you. We too always had big dogs, I was brought up with large dogs, German Shepherds, but there comes a time when big dogs are too much to handle, so for the last years we have had small dogs. First the two Poms, then little Muffin, the Bichon Maltese, now just little ChoCho. I don't think we would ever have had large dogs if we lived in an apartment.

I also think, in this day and age especially, no dog should be off a lead, unless on it's own property. Here the law is that dogs must be on leads everywhere, not that everyone takes any notice of that of course, and still dogs run loose. We are seeing more and more owners of certain breeds using muzzles though, which is good, at least in my opinion.

I hope you have had your bite attended to, and I hope that poor Elsie will recover from her ordeal without too much trouble.

Re: Poor Elsie's ordeal

Julie, I am sorry to hear about all your troubles.

When you said about "stitches out next week - mine too",
did you mean that your hand needed stitches too?

It is no use whatsoever if the police were "no help", as they haven't got any choice, to my knowledge.
If that dog bit you, they have to take notice, as it is considered a dog 'dangerously out of control in a public place' in the eyes of the law.
In fact, strange as it seems, the dog doesn't even have to have bitten you, you only need to think it is going to!

Check it out for yourself.

I know exactly what you mean about the other dog going for poor Elsie's tummy. That is exactly what happened to my Izzie about 3 yrs ago if you remember - and Izzie was only about 10 days away from giving birth!!

I'm very glad you are all home again now.
Problem is, being near home is no guarantee our dogs won't still get attacked, as you know.
It worries me too, as mine are only small dogs, and none of them would know how to fight back.

Get well soon Elsie.

Re: Poor Elsie's ordeal

All stitches out she happy as Larry again, only lasting damage is she is barking at dogs, not good but we are working on trying to get her confidence back so she doesn't feel she has to warn them off. It's a bit difficult with her eyesight as they take her by surprise when she suddenly realises they are there.

Re: Poor Elsie's ordeal

I am glad that Elsie is feeling better - how about you - didn't you have stitches too?

Re: Poor Elsie's ordeal

Pleased to hear Elsie is doing ok Julie , are you still away from home.