In the heat of the moment...

People do stupid things in the heat of the moment. We don't think. We act. And, our judgment is all clouded with adrenalin. And, we do stupid things.

I have a hard and fast rule about big dogs. Stay away.

I have a hard and fast rule about animals fighting. Stay away. Okay, if the animals are really small, and if I have shoes on, I might insert a swift kick. But, that's about it.

But, when there's a person involved, the rules get all muddy.

This morning, I was in the back yard with our dog Bella and I heard a dog fight. Hey, it happens, although personally, I've never needed more than a strong word or a smack to break up anything between any of my pets. Next, I heard a woman in the dog fight. I assumed that she was walking her dog and one of the neighbors dogs got out and that she was in distress. When I got to the gate, I saw a woman, two pit bulls and a small dog. One pit bull and the small dog had leashes. The woman was trying to pull the pit bulls off one another and I assumed that she'd been jumped as she walked by.

But, as I tried to sort out which dog was hers so I could help with the rescue, I found out that all three dogs were hers. I held the small dog back while these two pits tried to kill one another. Seriously. But quietly. Not the growling and barking and violence that I'd expect from a dog fight. Just grabbing one another by whatever they could, usually the throat, and hanging on until they drew blood.

And, then she said, "let that one go (the small one) and grab this one by the back legs." My response should have been "What the &*#$? You're nuts!" I can remember two thoughts going through my head; "these are both her dogs and she knows whether they'll bite me". And, "this is the stupidest thing you ever did."

So, I grabbed and the dog was not at all interested in me and I dragged and the dog pulled and jerked and I dragged. And, just as we got the dogs apart, the dog I had hold of turned and snapped at me, not even a serious or threatening snap, but I let go. And, then, we started all over again. Me dragging and the dog pulling and us getting them several feet apart and my dog snapping and me letting go. And, we did this for about 10 mintutes. During which, both dogs ended up covered in blood from some serious bites. The woman ended up covered in blood, presumably, dog's blood, but I don't really know. And, she ended up covered in mud and dirt from being tackled and dragged and knocked down. And, she wasn't a young woman. She was at least mid 50's.

It didn't take long to figure out that the mistake was getting the dogs where they couldn't see one another, so she pulled hers into a fenced area in her back yard while we watched and she closed a gate.

And, I dropped my dog's legs and put my hands on my hips and in my most sharp and furious and high pitched, adrenalin filled voice, announced "This is insane and I will NOT be coming back to help you again." I heard her talking behind me as I stomped away home. I neither know nor care what she said. I think there were some apologies and some attempts to explain. Doesn't matter. Having pets you can't control is not right. What if this had all happened to some pedestrian and their pet. What if all the dogs hadn't belonged to the same...idiot.

I wasn't hurt, but it's a wonder. I changed my clothes, even though I didn't seem to get anything on me. I washed my arms up to the elbows several times, but can't get my hands to feel clean. The adrenaline is burning off now and my breathing is more normal.

When I told Rob about it, I apologized to him for putting myself in such a dangerous position. That was all I could think to do. It wasn't herioc. It was idiotic. All I did was put the lives of these two dogs, that had obviously been trained to fight, above my own and above my responsibilities to my family.

After he finished telling me how much my family needed me and BOTH my arms and legs, we agreed that we would be more careful about the situations we got into, in the heat of the moment.

Life is never dull.

Lane