Unpleasant experience on walk tonight

VivDarkbloom · #1 06-29-2007, 12:11 AM

This evening I took Leeloo out for her walk about an hour or so before sunset. As we were walking a few blocks from our house on one of our regular routes, we went past a house I've noticed before. The people that live there have a small dog that looks a lot like a west highland terrier, only maybe a little smaller. I've gone by with Leeloo when the people have had their dog out in the yard on a leash. The little dog barks like crazy at Leeloo, and Leeloo will bark back, but we've always just passed by.

Tonight, as we passed the house on a very pleasant, mild summer evening, a woman and a man were out in the yard She had what I'll call the westie out on a leash as we walked by on the other side of the road. We said "Hi" to each other as I was walking past and as her dog barked, she called out to me "My dog likes your dog a lot!" and I smiled and nodded and she asked "Is it OK to come over?" I said "Well...sometimes Leeloo scares smaller dogs, how is your dog with larger dogs?" She replied "Oh, my dog is great with larger dogs! She loves to play with them!" I walked slowly over to her with Leeloo. I watched uncertainly as the two dogs met and sniffed noses a little, but then I could see the small dog going right under Leeloo's belly to sniff her bottom. When smaller dogs go under her belly like that, I know it almost always gets Leeloo VERY upset, so I started to pull her away, but just as I do, she snarls and snaps at the westie and the westie snarls back. The woman yanks her dog away from Leeloo and I start pulling Leeloo back across the road when I hear this loud scream. I turn around and the woman is lying face down on her lawn, screaming. The westie is standing next to her wagging it's tail and looking quite cheerful, but the woman is screaming and wailing nonstop.
"Oh my goodness, what's the matter? Are you OK?" I ask.
"I"VE BROKEN MY WRIST!!!" she screamed.
"Oh no!" I said. I had to keep hold of Leeloo, and I didn't have a cell phone, so I was at a loss for what to do or how to help her, but the man, whom I assumed must be her husband, came running across the lawn and knelt down next to her. The woman continued to lie face down on the lawn sobbing and screaming to him, over and over, "I'VE BROKEN MY WRIST! SOMETHING TERRIBLE HAS HAPPENED TO ME! OH GOD I KNOW IT'S TERRIBLE! HELP ME! HELP ME! HELP ME! "
"I will help you." the man said very quietly, trying to calm her, I suppose.
"HELP ME! IT'S VERY BAD! IT'S VERY BAD! CALL AN AMBULANCE! TAKE ME TO AN EMERGENCY ROOM!! SOMEONE HAS TO DO SOMETHING TO HELP ME!"
"You will have help. You will have help" the man said, again in a very quiet voice, as he touched her shoulders and back and ankles. The westie, meanwhile, was sitting on the grass next to them with an interested expression on its face.
I was very frightened. It seemed to me, in her hysterical state, the woman would blame me and Leeloo somehow for what had happened to her. I couldn't think of anything to do to help them, but it didn't seem right to start walking away down the road. Just then the woman looked over at me and yelled "YOU! GET YOUR DOG OUT OF HERE!!"
I was quite happy to do so. I shrugged helplessly at the couple and said "I'm very sorry you hurt yourself. I hope everything will be OK!" and went off down the road.
Now I suppose Leeloo and I can't walk that route anymore for a while.

I'm sorry I didn't listen to my instincts. I had noticed how much her dog barked at us before when we passed by that house, and it seems to me that even if the dog in question is little, and the barking sounds high pitched and puppy-like, dogs that bark like that are pretty assertive or perhaps anxious. I usually wouldn't go over to a dog in that situation while walking another dog.

lisasentous · #2 06-29-2007, 02:42 AM

Now that was some evening stroll you had.
You should have listened to your instintics.
Either the woman has very week bones or her westie is very strong but I really don´t think she could have broken anything by her dog tugging the leash like that. (I may be wrong though).

Lisa also gets nervous when little dogs try to smell her, she will not tolerate it at all.

Looks like you need to find a different route now.

Indy's mom · #3 06-29-2007, 06:25 AM

Holy cats! I probably would have done just as you did. Sounds to me as though you were cautious and watchful. Either the woman is extremely fragile or a nutcase, you'll probably never know which.

Time to find another route to walk. Please know that you did absolutely nothing wrong, hopefully your nerves are not in a bundle over this incident.

Take care.

BeanerSprout · #4 06-29-2007, 06:39 AM

Wow. What an experience.
I agree, find another route to walk.
And don't worry, it wasn't your fault and you did nothing wrong.

Sprout loves little dogs. On the other hand they do not like her at all

Take care

RachS · #5 06-29-2007, 07:52 AM

I'm sorry you had such an unpleasant experience. It sounds like you handled it well.

paysmom · #6 06-29-2007, 09:20 AM

So sorry you had such a crappy walk.

The lady definately sounds like a bit of a "drama queen" though. She probably lost her balance and landed on her front side and either sprained or broke her wrist- or maybe it's nothing.
Wasn't your fault at all.
I too wouldn't walk that route anymore. I tend to be choosy as to where I walk Pay, I'm always half expecting a dog chain to snap or a fence to be jumped, etc. I try to avoid other dogs altogether.

Thanks for sharing your story.

hugomom1 · #7 06-29-2007, 12:13 PM

I don't agree with the others. If that was my typical route, I wouldn't change it one bit. She's the one who wanted your dog to come over so her dog could meet it and it was her dog that injured her. (I assume if it didn't jerk her with the lease, she may have tripped over him) She sounded a bit like a diva...her wrist may not have been broken at all, although I'm sure she was legitimately in pain.

You didn't do anything wrong and changing your route makes it look like you did.

Melissa Getz · #8 06-29-2007, 12:51 PM

I don't mean to sound rude, but I probably would have busted out laughing on how she was acting. It was a shame she hurt herself, but there's no reason to act like a goof.

Ps, I wouldn't change my route either

Chico_B · #9 06-29-2007, 02:53 PM

I agree Hugomom1. Keep walking that route...You didn't do anything wrong, you didn't provoke the other dog. She should know he dog better (and apparently increase her calcium intake!)

VivDarkbloom · #10 06-29-2007, 10:54 PM

Thanks for your replies and support. As it happens, fortunately Leeloo and I have several routes that we like to walk and we usually "rotate" between the different walks. I will definitely walk that route again, however, and soon.

While I didn't want to be unsympathetic - knock on wood, I've never broken a bone - the woman's wild screaming made it seem more like she was going off her head than suffering an injury. She wasn't what I'd call elderly - I would have said she was in her mid-fifties at most - and we had had a good rain a couple of days ago, so the lawn where she fell would have been somewhat soft. I suppose it's possible to break a bone under those circumstances, but you'd have to be really unlucky.

As I said, I was very dubious about her claim that "my dog really likes your dog". I'm no expert, but it seems to me that often when a dog gets really excited at the sight of another dog on a walk, and barks and pulls at the leash, it isn't necessarily because they "like" the other dog or "just want to say hi" as some people claim - it's more because they want to assert themselves in some way. It can be this way regardless of the sizes of the dogs involved. There are always exceptions, of course, and some dogs are extraordinarily friendly.