Poor Mr. Newman.
We took Newman to daycare on Tuesday like we usually do since we had a birth class on Tuesday evening. That way when he comes home he's ready for a nap, not a long walk. So off I go up to his favourite place and drop him off. I spoke to the owner as I always do and she asked if I had met a particular dog that was there that day. I follow the day care on facebook and I have seen photos of that particular dog but I wasn't entirely certain if Newman had met this other dog or not. I told her I thought they had met but I wasn't sure. She said they would introduce Newman slowly just in case.
Now, at this point I had a bit of a red flag. Anyone would.
I asked what this other dog's issue was and she said that he's a little... and made the motion of a flip floppy hand.
At this point I should mention that I really love this daycare and I respect them very much. Newman loves them and has a great time when he goes. He is quite submissive and calm but loves to play. We don't have any issues with him at home, in parks, on walks, etc and he has never given us any reason to believe differently. He's a totally mellow pooch that loves to nap and snuggle and play and run. I like to call him well-rounded and anyone who has met him will agree.
Around two that afternoon I get a call and see that it is the daycare. My heart sank. It was the owner on the other end who said that I will need to come pick him up because there was an incident and Newman will most likely need stitches and antibiotics. WTF.
Dood came with me and away we went.
The pup that greeted us was not the same guy that I dropped off that morning. This one was sore and confused. I was then given the story. They were throwing a ball and Newman got it. This same dog I spoke of earlier either didn't want Newman to have it or wanted it himself and grabbed Newman by the chest and pinned him on his back. They couldn't pull this other dog off him. Two staff yanking and pulling finally freed Newman and the damage was assessed.
Newman came out of it when a toonie-sized hole in his chest plus another puncture near the open wound. He also had an opening near his ear, on his cheek and multiple deep scratches on his face and body. He was in pretty hard shape. I called our vet who agreed to take him right away.
Once we got out there the vet took one look and said that he will definitely need stitches. They brought him to the back to await sedation so Dood and I left the clinic to wait for their call. We weren't gone long when we just needed to go back. Newman was still on the table in surgery when we got there. I could hear the beep beep beep of his heart rate monitor from the waiting area.
The vet came out some time later and said that he is recovering well and that they flushed the wounds but it not only required stitches but also a drainage tube to avoid infection. The poor bugger. She then presented us with a number of boxes for antibiotics, pain killers, antiseptic gauze for cleaning, and dry gauze for the drainage. At this point I heard the guys in the back coming closer to the room Dood and I were in and I could also hear Newman's collar. He was recovering on the floor in the back and when he heard our voices he came barrelling out to find us even though he wasn't nearly ready to be walking. Eyes wonky and tongue out he came a runnin'. He calmed him by sitting with him on the floor and he stayed by our sides until we finished hearing the instructions from our amazing vet.
She told us that the smaller puncture on top went through to the larger wound. He required multiple stitches there plus one single stitch near his ear.
Chris took Newman back three days later to have the tube removed but he now has a hole where the tube used to be. The vet told us that it will heal as an open wound and to continue to clean it regularly and provide antibiotics.
As I write this Mr. Newman is laying on his bed having a nap before bed. We shared a pear and cleaned his wound and life is slowly getting back to normal. He goes back in about two weeks to have his stitches removed and to check on the healing of his wounds.
We had a good thing at the daycare. Newman loved it, they loved him. They really took good care of him. My concern is that this was a serious attack and if it had been a couple inches higher the other dog would have gotten his throat at which point I don't think he would have survived. It was scary, terrifying, unnecessary. I think that since they had an idea that the other dog wasn't quite right they should not have accepted him in the day care. That's number one. Number two is that introducing toys in a pack with unstable dogs is not such a great idea. It gives the dogs something to be possessive about which can bring on aggression. We still have a few passes left in my $230 pass that I bought a few weeks ago and I think once Newman is fully healed I will be requesting a refund. If they refuse (I'm really not going to push the issue) then I know one other person who takes his dog there who I can hopefully transfer the pass to. Dood and I agreed that we should not make a decision too quickly about the daycare but I think we both know what that decision will be. This was too close a call for me to bring him back. Neither of us want to see anything like this happen to him again.
I won't post a photo of his chest because I feel it is too graphic. This is one of the least serious wounds he suffered. He is wearing the shirt to catch anything that drains from his chest wound. It was washed daily and we had three shirts that we alternated to keep the area clean.
