Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Dog Gone Lucky

We had a very fun evening planed last night... BBQ at the neighbors and after we were going to watch the movie Tooth fairy at the park. Our plans changed when we ended up spending the evening in the emergency room.
Just a bit of history about our neighbors and good friends the Jacklins. We've known them for years. Ted has been friends with Garth since they were 10. When we moved into this house we found that they were in our ward and have had lots of fun hanging out with them and pretty much end up getting into some kind of trouble. We love being with the Jacklins. The kids love going to their house because they have fainting goats and a dog which is not our favorite right now.
Daesha went over to the fence to pet the dog on his head and he attacked Daesha. Keegan was the only witness. He came running in the house and said, "Mom, the dog bit Daesha." Seconds later Daesha walked in. Teary eyed but not really crying. When she said "Mommy" I turned to see blood under both eyes and white fatty tissue hanging from her right cheek. I screamed for Ted and he swooped her up and ran straight for the car. I held Daesha on my lap in the passenger seat so I could hold gauze on the largest wound. I am pretty sure Daesha was in shock because she never freaked out and she even started to shiver a bit while driving to the hospital. Her main concern was the stitches. She did not want stitches! She kept saying I don't want Stitches. Then once she realized she didn't get a choice she'd say. "I only want 2 stitches"
Once we got her checked in and the nurse applied some numbing gel to her injuries she began to feel better and started to smile and talk about the attack. She wasn't scared at all. We had a bit of a wait so we called Garth on the phone and he let us know what had transpired in the first few minutes after we had left. He immediately went for his shotgun. He cocked the gun as he went out the back door and his 10 year old daughter started screaming for him to not shoot the dog. His wife heard the commotion from in the shower and came out to utter confusion. Can you imagine your husband standing there with a shotgun and your daughter screaming "NO, DON'T".
After a yelling fest Garth had to tell them to all SHUT UP! And decided that he should call animal control instead. They notified the police and had a full report taken. I guess the dog must be detained for 2 weeks. Really. Jail time for a dog? So after they came to get the dog Garth rushed over to the hospital. By this time Daesha had gone through the worst part and got the numbing injections over with and the Dr was starting the first stitch on the second puncture. She had 3 holes. One that was so close to her eye that is was easy to see how lucky she is she still has her left eye. The hole under her left eye had gone clear through the lower lid. When she cried her tears came out the hole. She has two punctures on the right. I couldn't believe how brave Daesha was, she layed perfectly still the whole time. We didn't even have to hold her down. The Dr. did an excellent job closing all 3 up. Daesha kept talking to Garth and asking him about the dog. She'd ask when the dog could come back home, and where were the police taking the dog? We couldn't believe she was so concerned with the dog. Finally Garth said, "Daesha, I don't care about the DAMN dog!"
I felt terrible for poor Daesha. But she was taking it so well I truly felt worse for Garth. He was so worried. No matter how much we reassured him everything was fine he just kept apologizing and saying he was going to pay the bill. We refused that, and he started telling us about when cows get out and a car hits them then the owner of the cow is responsible. I said, Ya, but your dog wasn't out. So it isn't your responsibility.
Anyway, in the end Daesha got some antibiotics and nearly skipped out of the ER and is doing just fine. She isn't even worried about being bit again by a dog. I asked her if she was going to be afraid of dogs and she said, "No, I just need to be more careful"

All done getting stitches and waiting to get checked out. She ended up with 13 stitches all together. 7 in the large puncture. 4 on her chin and 2 in the left eye area.
Look close and you may see the scrapes between the two canine punctures. Those must have been the dogs lower teeth.

right before the shots. But it feels better now that the surface is numb.

Here is a picture of a tear coming out of the puncture below her left eye. She also had one small puncture in the corner of her eye and one on her forehead.

Right before we walked into the hospital. This picture doesn't even look half bad.

I had been keeping it clean as best I could.

9 comments:

Debbi said...

AKKK!! really, I was so scared to see the pictures when Wade came home and told the me the story. Daesha is so brave, they would probably have to put our kids to sleep to do something like that. I am glad she is okay and not scared of dogs. That is so freaky! So glad she is okay though:)


really though...I swear someday your family will catch a break!

Kent and Julie said...

That is so scary!Daesha is so brave!!! So glad dhe is ok! I was just thinking about you yesterday, i saw Daesha & Keegan at the legacy center with a babysitter maybe?? We need to get together sometime.

Jenifer said...

Oh Poor girl. That is horrible. What a strong little girl. Hope everything heals quik and she gets better

Stephanie said...

WOW!!! Daesha is so brave. I feel so sorry for her and so worried for you. I would have been freaking out. I'm glad everyone is ok.

Jennifer Bracken said...

Oh my goodness I cant believe that happened! That is a fear of mine! Im glad she is ok!!

Tammy said...

She is so lucky! As I read the story I was imagining how torn apart her face was going to look and it looks so much better than I expected! We wish her a speedy recovery! She might have been brave but you are too! I can't imagine what I would have done if a dog bit my child! And because I am a dog owner, I know how hard it would be knowing your dog did this to a child. So sad for everyone!

The Perry Family said...

oh my!! Just glad that she is ok!! ;)

Kim said...

Daesha is such a trooper. I loved the title of this post. So true. It could have been much worse. Lucky girl.

Bret Bushman Family said...

That is really scary and a bit to close to that eye...so glad she is ok.