Dog Bite Prevention

Sitting there on our front porch swing watching our two little kindergarteners play together for the first time, we were thrilled to find such a great match as new neighbors. As we sipped iced tea and watched, we were already laughing and making great plans together for the summer, when I heard the screen door creak open.

"OH, NOOOOO!!!!
Jimmy! The doooooorrrrr!
The DOG!
Don't open the...."

But it was too late. Horror rose up in me, and all my dreams of having a great new friend next door vanished into impossibility. I was helpless as I watched Zippy sail off the porch and tear through the yard toward those sweet little girls having tea on the blanket on the lawn.

With Zippy barking furiously all the way, the girls started screaming and trying to get up. In one terrifying leap Zippy latched onto that angel's nose and lip, knocking her over, and then we were all screaming. I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT! Zippy had nipped before, but never like this!

I'll never forget the fear in that little girl's eyes, and the look from her mom -- my new best friend, and new enemy -- all in 20 minutes. And the blood. Oh, my! I never knew a face could bleed so much.

Years later, not a day goes by that I don't look at that little girl over the fence, and see her playing alone, with the scars on her face, and realize how I had changed her life forever. I cry when I remember how they carried her away in the ambulance, with her blood-soaked pinafore dress.

I cry when my own little girl wakes up in terror night after night, a little less frequently now, but still much too often, screaming, reliving Zippy's attack.

I was the only one home when the police came to take Zippy away forever, and I was the one who had to sit down at the kitchen table and tell the whole family that their beloved pet was never coming home again. I'm the one who has to keep explaining why we're not allowed to ever have a dog again.

I cry when I think of my husband working two jobs, and poring over the bills trying to figure out how to recover from the lawsuit, and when we have to sit down and tell the kids we can't go on vacation this year, again.

If only.

If only I had known how to prevent dog bites. If only I had known. I tried to do what I knew to do, but I really didn't understand.

My life, my little girl's life, my whole family, and that precious little girl next door's life, most of all, would have been totally different.

And her parents. How I ache for her parents as I see the grief in their eyes when we nod politely across the driveway. So much that could have been, and so much that never will be.

If only.

Kate FL