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Hi!  This is Tanner’s Mommy, Beth!  I am doing Tanner’s blog post today because he is not feeling well.

Tanner had some plans for some really fun posts this week.  He wanted to tell you all about going to the Dog Park to play and the funny outfits Daddy and I wore to keep warm in the 20 degree temperatures.

But today we have to tell you about something more important. 

Last night, Tanner, his Daddy and I were going for our evening walk.  We had not gotten very far from home where Tanner saw a neighbor walking the other way and stopped to say “Hello”.

I was focused on Tanner.  I wanted to be sure he behaved like a Canine Good Citizen.  And he was doing very well.

All of a sudden, another dog came charging from behind us and latched on to Tanner.  This dog has “attacked” him before, but we were able to separate them pretty quickly and without injury that time.  This time, we were not.

Tanner’s Daddy and I struggled and struggled for what seemed like forever to get the other dog off of Tanner.  The dog had hold around his cheek/neck area and we were terrified of what it was doing to him.  We yelled for help and did everything we could think of.  Five neighbors came to help us.  One man was walking two Doberman’s and he had a chain that we used to get the other dog off of Tanner.  Then, I sent another neighbor to get the owners of the attacking dog.  The adults did not appear to be home.  Just the kids and 21 year old son.  I told them to take that dog in their house and get it away from us before it could attack again.

While two other neighbors helped me with Tanner who was alert and very clingy,  I called 911.   Daddy went to get the car.  We drove 45 minutes to the ER Vet.  And waited to be seen.

Tanner started acting more playful while we waited.  He wanted everyone to rub his belly.  He kept rolling on his back and exposing his underside.  This made it easy for us to check for injuries on his underside.  We did not find any, but we were still concerned.  When he was seen, Dr. C wanted to shave his cheek and check around the ear for injuries.  Because they were going to “sedate” Tanner, Dr. C told us to do and get something to eat while he worked.  I really did not want to leave, but I knew I had to eat so I could be there for Tanner when he needed me.

While we were at dinner, we got a call from the Vet.  They wanted to also add a drain to help the wounds heal better.  We told them to go ahead.

We got our boy back around 10:15 last night, and we brought him home.

Here is a shot of him relaxing in his sleep space last night:

Thank heaven for good pain meds.

He did wake me up several times last night whining and dreaming.  I know this attack has really effected him.  It has also affected us.

I want to post some photos of his face, but I want you to be able to “not see” them if you choose.  So I will post them further down on the page.  Page down if you want to see them.

Daddy and I are working on plans to fence in our yard and keep him here to play.  We will not be walking without a heavy club and a chain of some sorts.  Even if we walk without Tanner, we will be well prepared. 

Tanner is going to recover and so are we, but it is going to take time.

Tanner is getting lots of love and petting and TLC.  We are so grateful that we still have him.

Thanks for letting me share this with you and thanks for your care and concern.  It is wonderful to know that We are so connected to so many people around the world and we love you all.

Love, Huggs and Kisses,

Beth and Tanner

(Keep paging down if you want to see the photos.  If not, we completely understand.)

This is Tanner’s beautiful face after the attack.  You can see the two drains that were put in to help drain any possible infection.  They come out in Three Days.