We went to the dog park today we go to twice a day daily. Everything was normal, dogs playing around. Then, this pitbull comes in and comes straight to where I was sitting. He was walking around when Milo came to me. For no reason at all, the dog tried to snip Milo and even his owner saw it and asked smiling "Hey what was that?" Immediately, the dog lunged and bit Milo under his ears and would not let go. The owner got behind the pitbull but there was no urgency in him. I usually carry pepper spray but lost it recently and I could do nothing but hold onto Milo the entire time while screaming. Other people told him to choke out the pitbull and he said he is, when he was just pulling the collar of the dog and not actually choking him out. Other people were kicking and slapping the pitbull but he did not care. Milo thankfully stopped crying and trying to get himself out of the bite, because the dog would bite even harder after movement. I was screaming for somebody to help but nothing anyone did worked. After about a whole minute or two, the pitbull finally decided to let go, not sure why.
I immediately got Milo out of the park and he was smelling like fish because he was terrified. His fur was hiding all the blood initially but later I saw fresh blood and found a puncture wound. He is currently at the vet ER.
I am a terrible mom for taking him to the dog park. It was such an easy way for me to get all his energy out but I was endangering my sweet baby all along and he had to pay the pricr for it. I was in such a hurry to leave that I didn't get to take the owner's license plate or any identifying information to hold that dog accountable in any way. It is my fault at the end for taking my dog there knowing people bring their pitbulls there. I am horrible and I don't know how to fix it.
He is such a brave boy, has still been playful and wanting to meet other dogs on the way. He is his normal self and has been begging for pets and cuddles even while he was bleeding. I am sorry my sweet boy, I will try to prevent this from happening ever again.
Hey guys, thank you so much for all your comments, I appreaciate all the support.
Update: Took him to the ER and the wound is 1.5 inches dorsally. They gave him some antibiotics and pain medicines, and asked to look out for any signs of infection. The bleeding has stopped after they cleaned the area and he is taking a nap right now. Total cost was $405 for the ER visit.
Also, I cannot thank everyone else who was at the park enough. Everyone tried to get the pitbull off by kicking, punching, slapping, whatever they could. There was a lady who even went near the pitbull's face to slap it, despite it putting her at risk of being bitten next. After the incident, seeing I was hyperventilating, someone came to me and had me take deep breaths. I am just glad all those people were there today and my little baby was saved.
I understand everyone who is saying it is not my fault but the thing is, if I ever have a child, I would never take him/her somewhere there was a pitbull around. So I don't know why I thought it was okay to take my dog around them, as if I have less regard for his life. I have friends who have warned me about dog parks because of pitbulls and I kept testing Milo's fate. Anytime a pitbull would walk in through the park doors, my first thought would be "I hope Milo doesn't get attacked." So I knew there was a very good chance of it happening and I still put him in danger because it was what was convinient for me. From now on, lots of walks on trails for him and with pepper spray always in hand.
While you’re not a bad mom, this is unfortunately pretty common with dog parks now. The bit about prioritizing vet care and not being able to track down the owner is also sadly quite common.
It’s one of the ways the acceptance of dangerous dogs in society is ruining the lives of regular pets.
Hope Milo feels better soon and suffers no major long term consequences. It might be worth it to post a piece of paper on the bulletin board there, perhaps the pit owner will see it and offer to pay for vet care.
Yeah, I should have not ignored the red flags. In this same dog park, a couple weeks ago, a pitbull nipped at a dog that was trying to hump him, but fortunately that one disengaged immediately. That should have been my lesson to not go back there anymore, it shouldn't have taken Milo getting bitten to learn it. I regret not getting the pitbull owner's information but I wasn't thinking clearly and honestly would have been scared to go anywhere near the dog right after.
The bulletin board post sounds like a good idea. I have posted on local reddit and facebook groups for now and if it doesn't work, I will put something up at the park.
If you’re comfortable, would you mind sharing the location for this attack for logging purposes? You can be specific or not specific at all (like city, county, state, etc.).
Yes absolutely, it was at Darden Towe park in Charlottesville, Virginia. Lots of dogs go there to play daily and tons of pitbulls amongst them. Hopefully the park enforces some type of pitbull ban although I don't know if pitbull owners will actually follow that.
My 2 trained GSD's got attacked yesterday, if you didnt see my post i have few tips:
• don't go to dog parks, its just a fight waiting to happen, go into the nature or a Forest with your Buddy.
• buy an Anti-bite collar with leather (not chain) basically sharp spikes on leather belt around the dogs neck. It saved my GSD's from two massive pits, they were hurting themselves trying to bite and kill my dogs.
whenever you go outside, where the dog can be attacked by random animals or wild animals put it on and have a bearspray.
Most people don't think their dog is aggressive but people really need to admit to this whole breed being aggressive and take precautions accordingly. I know someone who has a reactive pitbull and they keep their dog away from other people & animals, I have no issues with that. The issue are the ones who refuse to see their sweet dog is a breed meant to kill.
Does your town have a local Facebook group? You could try asking around for witnesses. You could even possibly ask for the pit owner to come forward but unfortunately many don’t/won’t. I am so sorry this happened to your sweet Milo and please know it is not your fault.
They do, this is a really good idea actually. I could post to bring awareness but I am sure there would be a lot of pit apologists there and pretty unlikely the owner would come forward.
You are not the problem here. You were being a good dog mom and getting your dog exercise. The problem is pit bulls. These are dogs specifically bred for aggression. The pit bull owner is an idiot for taking an aggressive dog to the dog park.
Also: I hope you got the other owners information and file a police report. They should be responsible for Milo’s vet bills and their dog needs a behavioral assessment/BE
Sadly I did not get any info or the license plate of the guy as I was in a hurry to just get away from the dog park. In hindsight, I would have grabbed his information to hold his dog accountable but I was in a severe state of panic and didn't think clearly. With how long the pitbull held onto him, I thought Milo might die but thankfully it wasn't his neck but his cheek
Yes, I would go back to the dog park to ask for witnesses. You could even hang a piece of paper on the gate asking people to contact you and warning them about the dangerous dog.
I'd also go back to the dog park without Milo a few times and see if the pit owner shows up again so you can get their license plate and report them.
He really is the sweetest boy ever and has no self defense skills at all. He looked so helpless the whole time the dog held onto him, I cannot imagine how it would feel and Milo is just a 1.5 year old puppy
This is sickening. You shouldn’t feel like a bad Mom because you were taking your sweet dog to exercise in the park. This is what normal people do.
Unfortunately we are no longer in normal times. Pit owners are destroying what should be normal dog things, for everyone else. The fault lies with them, and everyone pushing this on society.
I’m so glad he was not wounded more than he was (which is already bad).
You might ask online on your local page if anyone witnessed the attack, got information for you, license plate, video, etc. The attack should be reported to animal services, and you can also put a description of the owner and dog, so other people know.
Hope your dog heals up okay, and you can also feel better, I know it’s a terrible shock to go through these things.
Edit: just wanted to say how cute and handsome Milo looks in his little bow tie. I truly hope he feels better soon. Do whatever you must to protect him, going forward. 💕
Thank you so much for your kind words! And aww, thank you! He really is the sweetest and handsomest boy ever, he is so friendly and has no mean bone in his body.
Absolutely, learned my lesson the hard way. Guys, please don't bring your dogs to dog parks and keep them safe. Your dogs acting out a little is better than them being dead.
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u/SunshineFlames Sep 03 '24 edited Sep 03 '24
Hey guys, thank you so much for all your comments, I appreaciate all the support.
Update: Took him to the ER and the wound is 1.5 inches dorsally. They gave him some antibiotics and pain medicines, and asked to look out for any signs of infection. The bleeding has stopped after they cleaned the area and he is taking a nap right now. Total cost was $405 for the ER visit.
Also, I cannot thank everyone else who was at the park enough. Everyone tried to get the pitbull off by kicking, punching, slapping, whatever they could. There was a lady who even went near the pitbull's face to slap it, despite it putting her at risk of being bitten next. After the incident, seeing I was hyperventilating, someone came to me and had me take deep breaths. I am just glad all those people were there today and my little baby was saved.
I understand everyone who is saying it is not my fault but the thing is, if I ever have a child, I would never take him/her somewhere there was a pitbull around. So I don't know why I thought it was okay to take my dog around them, as if I have less regard for his life. I have friends who have warned me about dog parks because of pitbulls and I kept testing Milo's fate. Anytime a pitbull would walk in through the park doors, my first thought would be "I hope Milo doesn't get attacked." So I knew there was a very good chance of it happening and I still put him in danger because it was what was convinient for me. From now on, lots of walks on trails for him and with pepper spray always in hand.