He's at the emergency vet clinic. The bill is going to be $1200 - $1500 to repair lacerations around his right eye. He was on leash at the time, the other dog, a beagle x was not. My husband had to pry the beagle's jaws open to get him to let go. My husband was walking Skipper, they were just entering the soccer field where Skipper plays fetch. Matt heard the beagle x's owner yelling, "Stay, Bailey, Stay!" As Bailey charged up. But Bailey stopped, and did not appear to be on the attack, so my husband allowed some butt sniffing. Then, Skipper gave a low growl and Bailey latched onto this head, surrounding Skipper's right eye with is jaws.

Animal Control is investigating. My husband was so shocked and worried about Skipper he forgot to take the owners contact information. The owner says to my husband, "My cousin is a vet..." Luckily, there is a local pet store that everyone goes to, and Bailey's owner is a frequent customer, and we are friends with the pet store clerk. So we will be able to find out who the owner is and present her with the vet bill.

But... its so darn hard to keep our dogs safe and still let them have some freedom to run and get their exercise. Skipper does not socialize. He is indifferent to other dogs, his only interest is whether there is a ball to chase or not. He doesn't like being approached, but he will tolerate it to a certain degree and then he generally moves off. Even with his ball, if another dog is butting in, he leaves it and comes back to me, knowing there is another ball in the bag. We generally time our outings to the field when there is likely to be no other dogs. We tend to avoid it and walk to another field if there are unknown dogs or the energy is too unstable. This morning my husband turned left instead of continuing forward.

Oh, my gosh, Jenny! I'm so sorry. Poor Skipper. Fingers and paws crossed here that he will have a speedy and complete recovery.

Jenny,
That is terrible! I hate weekends, once the weather improves. Its like amateur hour and every dog who has been locked up all winter is running crazed with little to no recall.

I'm sure your husband feels awful, tough call when an unleashed dog is upon your leashed dog. If you interfere that can set some dogs off and sometimes a quick meet, greet and moving on is a better option. Too bad in this case it wasn't.

I just wish if the recall isn't solid, that at least a long line was used; seems so simple but.....

I hope Skipper is feeling better soon; just remember as hard as it will be, don't become over protective of him in the presence of other dogs. Give him a get well hug from me and take care of yourself.

Ugh. People act like a long line is the most absurd thing ever.

Imagine how much nicer the world would be for all dog owners if everyone just used one until the dog is a hundred percent reliable. My dog is probably more thouroughly trained than 99% of other dogs, but she still has her moments of checking out. So she is always dragging a leash of some sort when we are out. Its just the right thing to do!

Sorry this happened to skipper. It really sucks to have this kind of thing happen when you are so careful. I would be furious!

Hope he gets better soon!

He is back from the vet and wearing his stylish Elizabethan collar. His eye is swollen and he looks a little raunchy, but the vet was happy with his handiwork and said he thinks it is going to heal up fine. I've put Skipper's bed in an x-pen (to keep Jethro from licking the wound for Skipper) right beside my work couch. I can give him a quick correction if he tries to rub the wound. I wonder what to do tonight, though, if I should sleep beside him to make sure he doesn't wake up and start rubbing the side of his head. Also, I was wondering if he could eat his usual chicken backs and necks or if the chewing might disturb the stitches. Should I worry about feeding him a softer diet for the couple of meals?

Aww poor skipper. We had a dog charge up at the beach to capone yesterday. Owners are idiots. I hope he heals quickly!!

Call your vet back to double check if he needs to be on any food restrictions while he heals. Poor little guy! Hope he's feeling better very soon!

God Jenny....that just sucks I'm sooo sorry. Do let us know what happens with tracking down the owners etc.
Vet is best source to advise about any diet mods of course but assuming the sutures are nylon and not extending down to the jaw (eek!!) I think he'd be OK with his diet? At any rate watch him eat and he'll likely let you know...

Aww Jenny. Poor Skipper. So sorry to hear about this.

Don't know much about feeding restrictions but I very rarely alter anything with my boys, even when they're injured. The face may be a bit different though, depending on where the stitches are. I'd probably just smash up the bones so he could get them down without chewing so much.

A big hug to Skipper.