I apologize in advance for such a lengthy post..
Being that our blog is titled “A guy, a girl and a white fluffy dog” it is only appropriate that we shift our attention to our little fluffy gal, and use this as a place to keep people updated of the sad event that happened this past weekend. Although I have talked to most people who might read this already, I’ll go ahead and write the whole story out for those who are curious (feel free to skip the italics if you just want the latest updates).
This past weekend, Brian and I went to New York for a friend’s wedding. It was a quick trip, left on Friday morning; back Sunday night, so we decided to board Bella at Four Paws Pet Resort here in Richmond. This is the same place she goes for day care fairly regularly so she is used to it, and we had never had any problems before. In fact this weekend, one of my best friends, and maid of honor, Rachel, also boarded her dog, Buttons at the same place. Buttons stays with us at least once a month, so Bella and her are the best of pals; they were even set to share a room at Four Paws for a sleep over! All weekend we assumed the girls were having a great time and they would come back Sunday exhausted from all the fun. Neither us, nor Rachel would be back in time for the 5:30 pm pick up, so it was up to Uncle Luke to pick them up. Like I said, we had not heard from the resort all weekend, so when Luke called when he was picking them up, we were very surprised. There had been an “accident”.
The details are still a little sketchy, as we have gotten a few different versions from the staff there, that are now not lining up with paperwork we have since seen. Regardless, at some point on Saturday evening the dogs were let out for a “meet-and-greet”, basically their last play time before bed. The larger dogs are kept in one area, the little guys in another. Some how, one of the larger dogs, a Blue Tick Hound, either got through the gate, or away from a staff member, and headed straight for Bella and Buttons. Thankfully, Buttons got away unharmed physically, but she did witness Bella’s brutal attack. Judging by the wounds, Bella had her back turned to him, and he clamped down over her hind quarters, and picked her up. He then shook her, before a staff member could get to her and literally rip her from his mouth. We were also told by the Four Paws owner that he then bit down on to the employee, but now that is in question as they have not reported that to anyone else.
The staff took Bella to the Carytown Emergency Clinic when we believe she stayed overnight. We were originally told that she was there with one or more of the owners of Four Paws, but now have found out that she was in fact just dropped off. She was picked back up and brought back to the resort until Luke picked her up at 4:30 on Sunday night. Brian and I are both obviously the most upset that Bella was hurt so badly and is in such pain now, but we are trying to remember that accidents happen. At the same time, it is all in how the situation is handled after the accident that really matters. With that said, we have a few issues with what happened this weekend.
First, we were NEVER contacted by Four Paws to let us know what was going on. Granted we were in New York where in the past coverage has been an issue on our cell phones, but between the time the attack occurred, and when we found out, we had both sent and received many phone calls, text messages, and voicemails on both phones. The staff at Four Paws claims they tried to call us multiple times, but still had no reason as to why they never left a message. They say they called all of our numbers, but not even our home number had a missed call on the caller ID. We feel like we trusted these people with a dog that we love like a child, and they did not take the time to inform us of what was going on. If it had been our child, I doubt they would have stopped calling until they reached someone.
Second, and probably the most important, was the dog that attacked Bella. As I said he was a blue tick hound. We are told he was over 60 pounds and pretty solid. The kicker is, he was a foster. We had no idea that Four Paws even took in fosters. All we knew was what they had told us in our original touring of the facilities: they had strict breed restrictions to keep the small guys safe. Come to find out, they will take fosters of any breed (including fosters that might have a pit mix!). After speaking with the Henrico Humane Society, we have found that he was taken directly from a pound to Four Paws with no temperament testing from them, that was left up to the staff at Four Paws. They did tell me though that he has been found to have aggression issues with cats (cats, small dogs, you would think they might have made a connection, but apparently not).
I think I can speak for Brian as well when I say we go from being terrified and sad for Bella and her current condition, to being absolutely outraged that this incident has happened at all. Four Paws has agreed to pay all vet bills that may result, but we will see how that goes.
In the mean time, our gal spent the night at our regular vet, Wellesley Animal Hospital, on Monday night. We had her back at home Tuesday night, where she rested comfortably for a while, but had to bring her back this afternoon for another stay. She stopped eating or drinking for us, and wouldn’t let us clean her wound which she would not stop trying to rub. At about 4:30 today she went in for surgery. They decided the best thing to do was to open up the largest “hole”, or tooth mark to be honest, and cut all the damaged tissue out. They are hoping the damage won’t be great enough to have to cut any muscle, so fingers crossed on that.
While we wait to hear how she is doing, I would like to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart. I started by sending out a very quick email to a few people but the response from our friends and family has been overwhelming. We are so blessed to have such wonderful people around us who know how important Bella is to us, and how in our eyes she is much more than just a dog or pet.
I will continue to update on here with her latest news. So check back often! The picture below is of Bella from this morning, a much sadder looking lady then normal. :(
