Day 5: Drama at the dog park

It started out as a socializing thing:  occupy Carl with visits with familiar people.  The bride's parents had expressed an interest in meeting at a dog park "if you want human company"... so I invited them to the little dog park I take Carl to whenever he visits me.  We set the time for 2 p.m. to meet there, and we did, arriving at the same time.

Carl was ecstatic to see his other grandparents and spent time making sure he knew where they were as we started out in our rounds of the fenced in area.  I picked up one set of poo, and while I was doing so, a scrum of dogs tumbled into the dirt patch nearby, including Carl and another black dog.  Growl bark, yelp!  Humans intervene, dogs separate, but clearly that one black dog was either aggressive or reactive and his human was nowhere to be found in the moment.

Turned out the human attached to that dog was on a bench on the other side of the park.  Carl shook himself out, completely covered in fine dirt... so much so that he was another color than his normal shiny black.  He had a slobber patch on his side, and there was a little spot on his cheek / side of his nose that could have just been a graze.  It was clear to me that Carl was in complete submissive posture in the scrum, on his back, belly exposed.

It wasn't until we got around to the park entrance and Bob (son's FIL) sat down on a bench, petting Carl, that we became aware that the graze was in fact a cut probably made by the other dog's tooth.  I had been keeping a wary eye on where that other dog was within the park, but he never left, and his owner only showed up after a second squabble at the gate, while Carl, Donna (son's MIL) and I were taking a second loop.

Retreat!  The owner of the other dog claimed it was the victim's fault... "that dog jumped up and he doesn't like that."  I'm sorry folks, but if your dog is reactive and you know it, you should not be letting him run around unsupervised in a dog park!  If you do take him to a dog park, you should be right with him in training mode, or keeping him away from other dogs.

Carl loves to tumble around on the ground with other dogs who like the same.  Play fights are common at dog parks, among well-socialized dogs.  Carl is not an alpha who needs to dominate.  Carl will immediately de-escalate when things get unpleasant, as he did in this situation.

I brought him home, messaged the kids "I don't want anyone to panic, but who is Carl's normal vet?  He's fine."  I did not get an immediate response, but I remembered a name from a prior conversation with my son and took a leap:  called and asked them to confirm that my grand-dog was among their patients.  I was right.  First opening they had to see him is Friday at 10:15 a.m.  I made the appointment, even though I don't think this wound is all that serious, as long as we can keep it clean and disinfected.  Stitches might make it produce less of a scar, but he's not in imminent danger of losing life or limb.

Meanwhile, the bride's parents messaged the young couple about the encounter with "an aggressive dog" and son did what I wanted to avoid:  had a minor melt-down.  Then my son processed it internally, decided that I was doing exactly what I was doing, taking care of it and avoiding disrupting their trip, because I didn't think it was as serious as the in-laws seemed to think.

Son sent me Carl's pet insurance information, then phoned to confirm the vet identification, that Carl was fine, and gave advice for how to treat the wound if I wanted to avoid taking him to a vet.  By the time he called me, he was done with the mini-meltdown, and told me about it or I'd never know he had it.

I followed his advice (I'd already done the first two steps, but he had specific antiseptic and wound care products he recommended, plus where to get them at a reasonable cost).  I did so.  While Carl was not a fan of the process, he's now washed, sprayed, and daubed.

I'm still planning on keeping that appointment.  Carl will be extra happy when his parents come to get him on Monday!

I am grateful to have had son's inlaws at the park, as Bob, sitting on the bench, was able to keep Carl away from that second dust up at the gate.

Life may have drama.  But life is still good.  Carl is fine.  Really!  And the proof that he forgives me for the process will be if he decides to snuggle up in the big bed overnight.

Spark on!