A Scary Day at the Swimming Hole....
Today we went by one of our natural swimming holes a little ways from our house, bringing Bella along so she could get out of the house with us. Being today that it was hot, quite a lot of families were at the swimming hole as well. We set down our blanket sort of behind a large boulder away from a family nearby with young children because Bella is so friendly and will jump and try to give you all her love (lol), therefor she could potentially knock a small kid down. So anyways, we let Bella go and she walked around a bit and flopped next to a small stream connecting to the hole. About 15-20 min later I was reading my book when I heard small kids laughing and Bella make a sharp yelping sound. I looked over and saw some young foreign kids that were next to us throwing rocks at her so I started to yell and make my way toward them. All of the sudden Bella, who was defending herself, nipped a boy who was in her face on the leg (it did not draw blood). He started to cry and so did the other young kids who were with him, out of what I think was fear. I picked Bella up and told them "I am so sorry but you can't throw stuff at her she has feelings too. That's wrong so don't do that again." I was deeply aggravated at them but was calm since they were small. Well, that made them carry on louder, and the mom came over with a glare on her face. She started screaming at me and Bella in Spanish and I couldn't understand it. We were drawing attention, so I set Bella down and walked away to our picnic spot where the rest of my unaware family was located. Bella fell back behind me and went to go greet the angry lady who was collecting her kids. I looked back and called for her, when the woman who obviously disliked Bella by that point picked her up by her paw and swung her into the deep and dark area of the swimming hole. Before I could say anything they picked up their chairs and left. I bolted over to the hole and grabbed her collar leading her to the somewhat steep edge where she raised herself up. Bella can't swim well and easily gets water in her snout, so I knew she shouldn't be in that deep of water. All around us people were yelling and one woman ran up to me and said "Are you two alright?". I nodded, and went over and told my parents and sister what happened and that I wanted to leave. They understood and we left. Bella is gonna get some extra snuggles and treats tonight, but for now, she is shaken up and very tired.
I can't believe what happened as I play it over in my head and I never want to go back to that place again. I am furious at those people and wish I could tell them that that was extremely wrong and they can get in trouble with the police for doing that. Doesn't improper handling of animals count as animal abuse? I think it was defiantly a bad day for me and Bella, and we will just stick to our own pool for the rest of the summer.
Comment
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Comment by Autumn and Jonathan on July 24, 2013 at 3:44pm
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I'm so sorry that happened to you and Bella. That was completely wrong of those people to have acted like that. That woman is certainly lucky that Bella was injured during her cruel actions. It could have gotten really ugly if she had. I hope Bella is doing much better though and for yourself as well.
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Comment by Rebecca on July 22, 2013 at 11:55pm
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I would not have been able to control my temper at those kids. If my two year old had been part of that group of kids I would have whipped her butt until it was blistered and I would have chewed out the parent(s) too
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Comment by Becky G on July 19, 2013 at 9:09pm
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I hope that lady and her kids get busted by the law next time they mistreat someone's dog.
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Comment by Teresa Gilpin on July 19, 2013 at 5:05pm
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She is just lucky she didn't hurt Bella 'Cause then she would have had to deal with the whole CORGI NATION!!!
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Comment by Linda on July 19, 2013 at 10:43am
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Screaming and yelling all the way home is calm. I am and have alway been a mother bear when it comes to my child or my animals. I don't mean that I immediately go on a physical attack...that is oftern counter-productive but I have no qualms about stepping between a physical threat when it comes to my badies...be it 2 or 4 legged.
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Comment by Madeline and Bella on July 19, 2013 at 9:29am
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Hello Everybody!
This is an update saying that Bella IS ok and she had a good night and (so far) a good morning with us. This was an experience that I will always remember when I am with Bella to monitor her much better and make sure she is already comfortable with her surroundings. I guess I am just too comfortable with her behavior with others, and didn't think "what if?". And for all you who think I handled it well? I was screaming and yelling the whole ride home at everything and everyone on how they had no right and how Bella could have gotten killed. I'm a calm person in general, but I went ballistic afterwards. I understand that the charges would be pressed on me because I am the owner, and when animals are involved in any situation they are mostly the ones blamed.
Lets just all hope something like this NEVER happens again! :-)
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Comment by Becky Focht on July 19, 2013 at 9:21am
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That is awful!! I am so sorry you and Bella had to go through that. Obviously the mother doesn't have any manners so why would her children. Disgusting.
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Comment by Lemmy Winks on July 19, 2013 at 8:50am
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My mouth hung open the whole time I read this. You handled this faaaaaaaaaaar better then I would have. Those kids should have been raised better, and taught to be kind to animals. As for that *insert nasty name* of a poor excuse of a human, I would of tracked her down after getting my dog and decked her.
I'm so glad your baby is ok! That awful women!
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What a frightening experience! You were much calmer than I would have been. I am sick that Bella and you had to experience something like that.
But Beth is right. If the police had been called you most likely would have been the one in trouble. As wrong as it is if a dog bites, even if provoked, the dog is at fault. The mother would have been seen as defending her children. What the children did was wrong but they were most likely never taught how to respect animals. The mother was totally out of line and I'm surprised you didn't pop her one. (the older I get the less I take crap) But the responsibility for the dog, for it's behavior and safety, falls to the owner at all times.
As much as I trust Max with kids I am alway right there, to prevent a child from doing something to hurt Max and to keep Max from trying to protect himself in the only way he knows.
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Comment by Beth on July 18, 2013 at 6:15pm
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Oh gosh, how awful! I want to really, really stress that the kids and especially the mom were TOTALLY out of line and there is no excuse for what happened.
The thing is, though, that we ultimately are responsible for our dogs' safety, and if we are in an area with other people our eyes should be on our dogs 100% of the time and if not they should be leashed short enough so we can feel if they move.There are several cultures where dogs are not kept as pets and people are generally afraid of them and/or have no idea how to act around them. We should never let our dogs uninvited into other people's spaces because we don't know what the outcome might be and our dog might get hurt. And if the dog bites someone, even if it was provoked, the dog is held accountable. If the police were called, they likely would have tried to calm the situation but if push came to shove, I am betting (though not sure) that they would have had to report that Bella bit someone.
Again, there is no excuse for what the mom did. Kids will be kids and it's not their fault they were never taught how to act around animals. We frequent a lot of parks and I know that people from certain cultural backgrounds even here in the States are terrified of dogs and will scream and jump if a dog approaches them.
Thankfully everyone is ok and it's a hard lesson for everyone involved. The mom should have had a closer eye on her kids, and Bella should have been right by your side unless it was a fenced dog park. And when kids are around, every interaction should be monitored very carefully.
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