BS Friday

Welcome once again to BS Friday. I'll write it and you tell me if it's real or just plain old BS. Today's Post is called: Off With His Head!

My first real job out of high school was with the Humane Society. I started out there as a kennel worker, worked my way into the Shelter Manager's position and eventually became the first officially recognized Animal Cruelty Investigator for the county. It was a good job but one that will give you ulcers way before your time.

Anyway, my first year there was a learning experience to say the least. One of the hardest lessons came at the hands, or I should say teeth, of a Chinese Chow Chow. Let's just say he took me to school for real.

This particular Chow was brought into the shelter by its owner just because he was tired of having him. It's bad enough when someone does that to their pet but if you know dogs and understand Chows in general, you know what a problem this can be. For the most part, a Chinese Chow is a one person dog. They grow up and become bonded to one person and they are loyal and dedicated to that person pretty much forever. When someone decides to just toss one away after raising it from a puppy, the poor thing is lost, sometimes permanently.

That's what happened here. The guy had raised this Chow from a pup and it only liked him. When he left, the dog became unapproachable. It would calmly look at you as you went by its cage but if you looked like you were heading its way it attacked the cage door trying to get to you. It was a sight to see!

We had to keep it penned in a secure, private area away from the public. We didn't want to just put it to sleep right away without giving it a chance so we did try to teach him that people were OK. I spent hours in front of that cage trying to befriend that dog. For nearly 2 weeks the poor thing wouldn't let anyone near it. After a long time and lots of patience I slowly started to get through.

I don't remember just how long I worked with him but eventually I was able to get inside the cage and groom him and sit with him. Not long after that I decided he needed some exercise, so I got a leash and got him to go outside for a walk. It was a nice day and he acted like he was enjoying himself immensely. Little did I know. You see, I didn't count on the breed's loyalty to one person. I also didn't count on my 'new friend' being a total actor. I paid for it.

Once he was outside and had taken a nice walk complete with a dump and whiz, he started digging his paws into the ground and kicking clods of turf back like a bull does. I thought it was funny. Turns out that is a sign of dominance and aggressiveness. Next thing I knew the dog turned and looked at me, bared his teeth and started growling in a very menacing manner. If you’ve never been stared at by a Chow baring it’s tteth and looking like he wants to eat you, you just haven’t lived!

Suddenly he leaped up on me, snapping and growling, trying to get at my throat. Luckily I had quick reflexes and all he got was my hand as I blocked his attack. But a Chow is bred for fighting and he got that hand and didn’t let go. He tried to pull it off of me. I fell backwards and he still was on top of me, shaking his head violently trying to get his 5 finger meal. I started punching him in the nose as hard as I could. Soon enough that worked and he left go but he didn’t stop attacking. He grabbed my elbow an ripped it to shreds. Nothing I did stopped the beast. I tried to back away and get inside. I was hurting too badly at this point to fight plus I was now a one armed combatant.

I managed to get to the steps but he knocked me down again. Somehow he ripped my jeans to pieces right behind the knees. The jeans and the legs. I got inside and when the Shelter Director saw that I was leaking red stuff profusely all over the place, she immediately helped me try to stop the bleeding.

Eventually I ended up in the hospital. I had some surgery on the hand and stitches on the elbow and legs. While I was there they brought in one of my coworkers with injuries too. He was a hero. Some people had pulled up to come inside to look around and the damn Chow was still lurking outside. It jumped right into the back of the car and was drooling all over some kids when the guy grabbed the still attached leash and drug it out. Of course the dog ripped him up a little too.

It was a loooong day. The Directors husband ended up having to come by with his gun and shoot the dog. It couldn’t be restrained. I got back to the shelter late in the evening for one specific reason. You may ask wtf I was doing going back after all that so I’ll tell you. Back then the only way to test an animal for rabies was to cut off its head and send it, brain intact, to a lab for testing. I stood by, all gimpy and one handed, just to make sure the head was chopped and I could rest easy knowing it was done. A little vindictive but more so for the comfort of being sure it was done.

To this day I can’t stand even seeing a Chow on the streets.