So here goes the story...
Last night we were taking Cairo and Apollo outside to the dog run for them to go potty and run around for a bit. There is this family in our building that own the cutest, most wanna-be bad-ass chihuahua. Lately they have been outside more often and our two dogs have noticed her. Well last night they were sitting in the grass next to the run with the dog so we decided to introduce all the dogs. Our 2 are very playful, hyper pups. They sniffed Chica (the chihuahua) but wanted to play with her, and lets face it, thats just not a good combo just based on their sizes so we took ours into the dog run and took their leashes off. Well Chica kept barking and wanting to join our dogs so the owner's niece took the leash off and let Chica come over (she slipped right between the bars lol). Right away, Cairo and Apollo ran to play. She was cornered instantly so Adam and I got up to stop them. Apollo was biting her (which is how our dogs play) so I grabbed Chica. When I did, Apollo bit down again, but this time my thumb was in the way. If I had any idea how strong his bite was, of course I wouldn't have stuck my hand down there. But he had a good grip and I started screaming. Adam tried prying his jaw open but clearly he is a strong little shit. We think Apollo realized I was screaming and let go...he knew he did something wrong because he ran. I grabbed my thumb and started putting pressure on it, then looked at it. It wasn't bleeding too bad yet, but my nail was hanging off. And it hurt...bad. The girl who let Chica off her leash was coming in the gate to get her and Apollo ran out. In the time of shock, anger and pain we didn't care. We grabbed Cairo and went inside to get our things and head to the ER. I was fine at that point, yelling and screaming in pain, but once I sat in the car, I started hyperventilating. At the same time I was also trying to put my EMS class training to use but it was hard to think. I grabbed one of Adam's shirts in his car, wrapped my thumb in it, put the pressure back on and elevated it. I was freaking out and kept forgetting to hold it up so I finally laid it on my head to keep it there lol. Then the hyperventilation really kicked in and my face and arms were tingling and I thought I was going to pass out. The pain was getting worse so it was hard to steady my breathing, especially when I was getting road rage about people going the speed limit on post. We get to the Army hospital and greeted rudely but thats only to be expected by military hospital staff. When I finally get back to the actual ER, it was hours later and it still hurt like hell. I begged my nurse to get me meds, knock me out...anything! The Dr. actually gave me a nerve block (shots around my thumb to numb the nerves so I couldn't feel the pain. He sent me to x-ray to make sure he didn't get the bone and Adam came back (my phone died and he went to get his in case the person watching Lili needed us). By the time I got back from x-ray I needed another nerve block...which was only about 40 minutes after the first one, give or take a few minutes. One of the bones in my thumb is fractured, but not displaced so they decided to not suture me up...just in case of an infection, they want it to drain out instead of into the fracture and my bones which would give me even more issues. They irrigated the crap out of it, bandage then splinted it. They sent me home with dressings, Percocet and antibiotics to help prevent infection. I was fine with Percocet, it worked fabulously after my c-section and even then I just took one. We got home around one in the morning so I took the antibiotic and one Percocet. It hadn't kicked in 30 min later so I took another (1-2 tablets every 4-6 hours). It dulled the pain but not enough to let me sleep. I had to go back this morning to get more meds. I took two again and still an hour later I was still in a lot of pain and the antibiotics made me puke while they were taking my vitals. The Dr. wanted to check my thumb but the gauze that isn't supposed to stick, was sticking to where my nail used to be (it fell off completely last night). So I started freaking and crying since it just added to my pain. At first he said he couldn't numb it for a dressing change but when he realized it was sticking, he stopped, ordered me a valium to calm me, a shot of something to numb me (not a nerve block, and its just now starting to wear off...some 9 hours later), then soaked my thumb for a while. It came off easily but still hurt a tad. Everything looked good so he re-bandaged and sent me home with valium to take before I change my dressings and some prescription strength Alieve to take with my Percocet. So we'll see if that helps...
That's the bandaging/splint. Fun isn't it?Now, about Apollo. Adam found him back in the dog run when he went home to get his phone. We were both mad and wanted him gone, but not dead. We had a friend call the pound to have him picked up but by the time we got to the ER, regretted that. So Adam took back home and put him in his kennel and we would decide later what to do with him. I didn't even look at him until about an hour ago. He knows he hurt me, he isn't being his normal self. When Adam took him out of his kennel, he ran to me, but didn't jump like he always does. Then he started kissing my bandage. He isn't a mean dogs, but he lives and plays with a wolf. Cairo's playing shows a lot of wolf instincts, including biting the neck and not letting go. We think Apollo was playing with Chica, but not realizing how fragile a 5lb chihuahua is. Biting hard enough to fracture a bone isn't acceptable with any dog he's playing, but we don't think he really wanted to hurt her and he didn't. We think he tasted my blood and heard my screams, realized he did something wrong and let go. He had me for a few seconds, but he didn't try attacking again. Adam just took the dogs out and Chica was out there, and Apollo didn't try going for her. He got excited and wanted to play but didn't pull like he always does. Chica's owner isn't mad, he even knows its his fault for his dog not being on a leash. Everyone out there thought they were all playing, but Apollo was just too rough. He stopped by to see if I was okay and come to find out, he was the one who found Apollo and put him back in the dog run. So we don't think Apollo is mean, he just didn't think about size and strength when playing. He's never been around a dog so much smaller than him. We might still keep him and get him fixed to help calm him down. He knows he did wrong, even without us punishing me, we didn't have time for that. Cairo keeps trying to play with him but he wont play for long and not as rough. He even stopped playing with Cairo when Lili walked by, then started again when she was far enough away. So no worries there.
So there you have it. You can all stop worrying about him "attacking" again. I know I didn't really clarify it in my status last night but Facebook only allows so much for a status lol. Biting that hard was not necessary, but he's never been aggressive so we think he just didn't understand.
