I will begin by saying that when I brought Tucker home, he was a blank slate. For the first 24 hours, he slept. After that, he looked at me with his adorable brown eyes, begging me to show him the way. So, I took that opportunity to bond with him and also reassure him that this is a great freakin' world to experience. From that time on, we've become best buds. I notice him so often, when he's unsure of anything, looking at me for the "it's okay." He, of course, plays it cool and doesn't freak out regardless, but he appreciates the "all clear." In any case, my point is that he was like a new container of play dough, just waiting to be shaped and molded into his adult self. Now, fast forward to a couple of nights ago...
It's nightly ritual for us to take a walk around the neighborhood. One of our first stops is just down the street at the fence of Rufus' house. Rufus is a chocolate lab who, if not given the chance, can definitely be taken as a killer dog. He has the vicious bark and when his 100+ pounds come bounding toward the fence, I will admit alarm bells go off. But, he and Tucker have become great friends. They kiss through the fence and do a couple of laps back and forth, chasing one another. Then, we continue our walk. This is the typical for Tucker. Whether human or animal or inanimate object, he loves to visit and socialize. So, Tuesday night, we proceeded on from Rufus' house for our normal jaunt.
As we finished the walk, we passed a house that we pass every night with a fenced yard. It's also just down the street, and we always see the two dogs that live there having a total fit when we pass--it doesn't matter whether we're a foot away or on the opposite side of the street. One of the two dogs has consistently freaked me out because it's a Yorkie or some terrier mix and is about 80% hairless. Well, as we passed, Tucker took off towards the fence, which is not uncommon for him, but the 80% hairless terrier mix stuck its head through the fence and bit Tucker's cute little black nose!!! Tucker was yiping and making a scene before my mind could even catch up to what was happening. He turned around to look up at me (the "is it okay?" look), and all I could see was blood streaming from the left side of his nose. It was, literally, terrifying. As I bent down to care for him and calm him, my friend approached the house to get information on the dog. When I stood up, my shirt and shorts were covered in blood. The good news is, with the advice of the vet, we got Tucker on antibiotics and a bit of salve for his nose, and with that, his nose is healing nicely (although every time he looks at me, the bright pink in contrast with the black on his nose breaks my heart).
After having this experience, I've been pondering how this dog turned out this way. I guess I assume most dogs (or baby animals) start out like Tucker did. A blank slate, waiting to figure out how to approach this life. If this is the case, then I must think that the humans in charge of nurturing must be to blame for this aggressive and ferocious attitude. But, even arriving at that, I wonder about the nature of those people that would have that effect. Who doesn't want to squeeze and hug and teach a young animal who will be their companion for 15 or more years to come?
No comments:
Post a Comment