doggy park

today i took jack to the dog park at quiet waters. i try to do this a few times a week. lately, we've been favoring the big dog park over the small dog park, because usually when jack is in the small dog one, if he's not running the fence with a big dog, he's crying and sticking his little nose through the chain link fence, pining away for the chance to really RUN with those big dogs.

how's that for a run-on sentence?

anyway, today when we entered the gate, jack took off, just like normal, eager to play chase and tag with the friendly doggies. but there were a lot of dogs today. and when he got to the corner area where the dogs were congregating (i.e. a pack. red flag.), they ganged up on him!

they were tossing him so hard he was flipping in the air, and they barked aggressively as jack scurried away from their biting mouths. jack's eyes became super-wide and he did his best to bare his teeth and give a mean bark back. but he was surrounded by at least three big dogs! i called after him, but i didn't want to jump into the middle of things, for fear of being bitten or even attacked myself. i was shocked and angered that the owners of these dogs made no effort whatsoever to intervene.

i finally got jack out of the middle of these dogs, and he made a slow, steady, cowering, straight line for the exit. tail tucked tightly between his legs. ears back. head lowered. poor baby.

i found several mild bite scrapes on him when i gave him a bath. he needed one badly from being tumbled around. i'm very proud of him for playing well at the small dog park, after such a frightening incident with the big dogs. and i'm thankful that there was a dog in the small dog park who was spunky enough to run around with jack =) i'm also glad that all he has is a few scrapes. thank you, Jesus! it was so scary!

(when i was about 10, i remember my aunt's little, white dog being mauled severly by an aggressive neighborhood dog. so i am particularly keen to/paranoid about these types of occurances.)