What A Weekend!

Hello, I hope you are having a wonderful weekend. We've had a difficult one and I'm feeling a bit emotional this morning, but I feel like sharing--perhaps this is my way of releasing some pent up feelings.

As many know, my "baby" is Maddie, my precious 4 year old Beagle. On Friday, Tony was walking her in our neighborhood, when they encountered a woman walking her dog, a mixed collie not much bigger than mine. Although they passed fairly quickly, they briefly sniffed noses and suddenly the other dog lunged at my Maddie, ripping a portion of her right ear completely off. It's hard just typing that. Tony, seeing blood, immidiately ran home and we rushed her to the Emergency Vet clinic. There she had to stay until 7am on Sat. morning. We picked her up and found that the ear was unable to be re-attached, however, her surgury went well and other than being extremely disoriented from the sedation, she was ok. My Maddie has extralong ears, big and beautiful, and they have always been her pride and joy. Although I'm absolutely thankful that she will be fine, I'm sick that she's now permantly disfigured on her ear and has been miserable all weekend. Just look at my poor furry baby...
I must keep this wrap on her head until Monday, so her ear stays close to the head and she can't shake it. Otherwise, she could shake it loose and bleeding could re-occur. That would mean another $375 visit to the doctor.
As for the other dog--he rarely walks Maddie, I always do it--he really didn't get a great look at the dog and didn't recognize the lady, but he gave me enough details to have an idea. So yesterday afternoon, bagged ear in one pocket, vet bill in the other--I mustered up the courage to knock on the door of the lady I thought it might be. I was right, it was her. I pulled out my dog's ear to show her what her dog had done. I know this seems morbid and I'm sorry, but I must show you...

Of course, she seemed shocked and began apologizing--I kept that torn ear out the whole conversation. Eventually, she asked me about the vet bill...she seemed even more shocked when she saw the charges. But she gave me a hug and said she would speak to her husband and see what they could do to help. 15 minutes later, she knocked on our door and offered $200, which we graciously accepted. Since both dogs were on leashes and there was no provoking on either side, we felt that half was a fair enough and a very kind gesture. She also saw Maddie and then felt really bad. More than the money, I was praying that she would be empathetic to our situation and simply validate my feelings--and she did. I feel tremendously blessed for that. She could have simply denied it was her and slammed the door in my face, but she didn't. That was one of the first times in my adult life that I've done something difficult on my own, like, I usually need my Mommy! But my Mommy lives in NV and I live here and I'm a big girl now, so I did it. I felt proud of myself for being able to confront the people and get across the devastation we feel over this incident, while also trying not to blame or put them on the defensive. I believe I succeeded.
So, to wrap this up, I just want to say how very thankful I am for each of you, my friends and loved ones, for being in my life. Maddie will be fine and it could have been so much worse, I know. The Good Lord has remained my contstant my entire life and thru this situation he was, once again, right there with me, in my time of need. God is the reason for everything good in this life and I have everything to be thankful for. I truly am. If you're still here, thank you for reading--fore to me, it is you listening. Much love for a blessed Sunday. xoxo