HORR-I-BLE

That was my friday night: horrible. My two dogs had the awesome idea of getting into a fight with eachother, cuz apparently I don't have enough going on in my daily life. Guess I needed to spice it up. This is the second time its happened in the 7 yrs that we've had them and believe it or not, its common. You think "sisters" (though they are not blood sisters) that have lived together for that long would be nice. Each time we have gone into the ER we here stories about how it just happens. They are being dogs, asserting their dominance. I guess in 7 yrs they haven't figured out who was gonna be the boss...all I know is that it sucks big time and I hope and pray it never happens again. Ethan wasn't here for this (again). Last time my mom had to see it and I think we scarred her for life. This time it was just me and Ryan. Who knows what we've done to his poor psyche. Honestly, its an adrenaline mess. I think it might have been started with some of Ryan's food under the table but i'm not even sure. There was no warning. I pulled on Nikki's collar to move her because she was in the way of Ryan's chair (at the little table that he no loner eats at!) and he doesn't like "things" near his chair...the kid needs access. Anyway, i grab her collar and pull her backward and BAM. Maybe there was food under the table and they were both going for it, maybe I startled her and she just went into fight mode. Who knows. It felt like it lasted forever and I was screaming, Ryan was screaming "mommy" and I even tried to hit them with various objects. Finally I just gave up, grabbed Ryan and walked away. My intent was to grab my keys and leave. Ethan could deal with whatever was in the house when he got home. I was DONE. Even if it meant they died, which sounds terrible...except I got this horrible guilt feeling about why was I trying to break up this fight when I could get hurt myself (which I did) and poor Ryan is watching. What was I thinking? Was I choosing my dogs over my kids? Was I just trying to "fix it" like I do everything else?

Anyway, i walked away and they stopped and ran upstairs. I followed them and they were under my bed licking eachother. Can you freakin believe that? Friends again. I was barely able to call Ethan and my sister in law the vet tech. I was out of breath and seriously shaking all over. I called my mom to come help with Ryan because I just couldn't cope with anything.

Turns out Nikki had to go to the ER because she had some deep wounds. Shelby had some scratches on her face and chest and some bruising, but she was fine, and obviously the winner. She is 25 lbs heavier, but who is counting. Nikki spent the night in the ER and had to be put under which is always scary. She has 5 different areas where she has stitches, and the deepest one has a drain. Fun. Have you ever had to clean out a drain? Priceless. Ethan picked her up Saturday, cone on her head, and just looking pathetic. Today...you wouldn't know anything was wrong with her, except she is licking the drain all the time and I have to yell at her. I've been sleeping on the couch with her to make sure she doesn't lick because the cone on her head was not working. Poor thing kept running into the walls.

And now I find myself in great anxiety in case it happens again. I'm a "what if" kind of gal. I know that it was mostly a fluke, but I've been researching ways to break up fights that are safe, in case it happens again, and hopefully it wouldn't be as serious. I've even thought of getting rid of one (though Ethan and I would never agree on which one). But, they are so high maintenance that no one would be able to provide the proper environment and I know she would end up at the pound and euthenized. Not because they are mean, i do believe this is a pack mentality and not just being mean. But, they are "special." They are inside dogs because one of them can jump a 5 ft fence or dig under 6 ft fence. We cannot leave anything out when we leave because they eat it (plastic, wood, food). Its a process everytime we leave the house. No one would put up with this BS, but we do cuz we love them. So I will continue to watch them like hawks and worry like crazy, and pray it never happens again.