Monday, July 1, 2013

Frankie Pookins; Franklin Delano and Frankenstein

My dog Frankie was attacked by something at Tarrant Ranch this weekend. We were the only ones camping (except for a couple other trailers far away with tiny dachshunds in their trailer) so there were no other dogs around.  He had been tied up all afternoon and I let him go to go to the water with us and Bailey came too.  They ran off playing and I thought they had been gone a little while, but the others thought I was worrying (Bailey always comes back right away when called and she didn't) Bailey finally appeared and then Frankie followed him. At first we didn't realize anything was wrong, but then we saw that half his head was bloody. Thank goodness for the help of Marjorie Shenkir and Jenifer Schreur Seago helping me get him cleaned up and doctored as best we could.  It was already late on Saturday so we did our best to keep him quiet and clean until we could get home. Later that day we saw an Akita wandering around (and he was all boy) but he didn't seem too menancing...though we weren't trusting that he wasn't the culprit. We also worried that Bailey had done something to him, but no longer think that is the case. We will never know what happened, but something tried to pick him up and shake him and then pound him. I'm amazed he didn't die.

 I took him to the vet today and they cleaned and irrigated his wounds. He had to stay overnight for antibiotics. He could still die from an infection, but the vet thinks he has every chance of being fine. He thinks the wounds could have been the Akita, or maybe a coyote or bobcat, even though it was the middle of the afternoon.  The muscles in his neck have been ripped and he has an infection because we didn't have enough clean water at Tarrant Ranch to properly clean the wounds.  I couldn't take him to a vet at 4pm on Saturday afternoon in a strange place, so he didn't get care as quickly as he should have.

For everyone who is going to be critical of me having my dog loose...it was the country. Frankie never gets to run and it's good for him to have a chance. He is really good about staying in camp as he gets older and Bailey is never out of voice range. There was no one else around...except as it turns out the lady who owned the Akita (who was very nice). I told her that she should look her dog over to see if he'd been in a fight and that my dog was vaccinated. So was hers, so at least, if he turned out to be the culprit rabies is not a concern.  I have been told that Akita's are vicious toward small dogs they might view as prey. Somehow it's strangely ironic that Frankie would be mistaken for prey after all the beating up he's done to smaller dogs through the years.  If he had been on his tie out, and he had been attacked in camp he would have had no chance.  There is no way of knowing what will happen. I know I will watch Bailey for signs of aggression and hope Frankie can get well. 

I suspect Bailey helped him get out of whatever. She has been looking out of him ever since seems concerned about him. I don't htink that she could have beaten him up this badly.  

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