Our Pal Joey

By all reports last night, Joey will be fine. Our sweet pal got caught in the crossfire of a 10-dog pile-up last night that left him with a bitten foreleg. It was late and dark. Nearly a dozen dogs and five owners were enjoying the evening air, hoping for rain when two dogs started a scuffle. It was over in seconds, but it spread like a firecracker through the pack. Poor Joey yelped piteously. Once Erica discovered the bloody bite, everyone took swift action. Within two minutes, Joey was scooped up, swathed in a towel, and driven with Erica to the animal emergency clinic. Diane took the wheel of Erica's car. Michelle took Frankie and Coco home with Mindy. Phone numbers were exchanged. Doug was left standing in front of a herd of Ridgebacks asking, "What happened?"

Within half an hour, Joey was all patched up.  When I got to the emergency clinic, Erica, covered in blood, was sitting with Diane while the vet explained that the bite was clean and did not seem to affect the muscles or hit the bone. After the vet left, the three of us sat chattering and yawning, simultaneously amped up from adrenaline and exhausted. At some point, a vet tech came in and asked us if we were Joey's family. Yes, yes we were. Then Doug came by to check on Joey. Then another tech came in. I could see that with the arrival of each member of Joey's "family" the techs kept having to reconfigure our story. First, it seemed Joey had two mommies. Then he had three. Then he had a Daddy and three mommies, just like on Big Love. Austin—it's a crazy town. Finally, Joey was brought in with a clear plastic cone on his neck and a clean white bandage on his leg. He was fed juicy chicken laced with antibiotics and pain pills. He was, amazingly, his usual sweet self, standing in the center of a room filled with strangers. What a good boy. 

My point in this posting is that the dog park is not only Joey's familia but any dog's. Everybody stepped up to the plate last night and did what they could to make sure all the dogs were safe and cared for during an emergency. Everybody kept their cool and their sense of humor. (Doug, for instance, asked the vet tech if there were forensic evidence that could point the blame away from Ridgebacks. Diane acted out European commercials for us while we waited.) No dysfunctions surfaced. Really, I was so impressed by and grateful for the good folks and patient dogs in our dog park community. 

If anyone wants to get in touch with Erica, let me know at busyzia@gmail.com.  

-z