Well, you may have noticed that there hasn’t been much activity around here lately. I’m not just being lazy. There is a reason for my absence, and the picture above will give you a little hint.
Maggie (our dog) and I were attacked by a Pit Bull while visiting Phoenix. We’ll both be OK, but we’re going to be recovering for a while.
I’m not sure where to begin, so I’ll just start from the top. Maggie and I drove to Phoenix on March 1st. We came down to attend the Ninth Annual Los Dos Molinos Hike, on Saturday, March 3rd. We hike from a friend’s house, over South Mountain, and end at a mexican food restaurant called, Los Dos Molinos (home of the world’s greatest margaritas). I planned to stay for a few extra days for a friend’s birthday, and drive home on Wednesday, March 7th.
On the morning we were supposed to leave, I had the car mostly packed, and I was going to take Maggie out for one last walk before hitting the road. At the same time, my friend’s neighbor, from across the street, was coming out of her house with her three big dogs (two German Shepherds and a Pit Bull). Maggie and I had just walked out of the house, and were in my friend’s front yard, when the neighbor’s dogs spotted us… broke away from the woman… ran across the street… and attacked Maggie. It all happened very suddenly, without any warning at all.
Fortunately for us, the two Shepherds didn’t really participate once the attack started, it was just the Pit Bull. If all three had attacked, I don’t think I would be here to tell the story. I won’t go into the graphic details of the attack, but I will say that it was one of the most intense (and terrifying) experiences I have ever gone through. While it was happening, I thought there was a good chance that we weren’t going to survive.
I did finally get the Pit Bull off of Maggie, and we retreated through the gate into my friend’s back yard. I had to quickly wrap paper towels around anything that was bleeding (on both of us), and jump in the car to get Maggie to the animal hospital, where she immediately had surgery on her leg and neck.
I initially thought my injuries were limited to scrapes, scratches, and a small bite, but I would later find out that I had a serious break in one of the bones in my right hand, and some tendon damage. I had to have surgery too. They put metal plates and screws in my hand.
So, here we are… still in Phoenix. We’re going to be OK. We just need a little time to recover before we can drive home. My friends have kindly allowed us to stay as long as we need to. Thanks Todd & Steph!
Although my friends have been very gracious, and I am thankful that things aren’t worse, I have to admit that I just want to go home. I miss Anne Marie. She actually came down for the hike too, but she flew because she could only take the weekend off. Unfortunately, she can’t fly down, and drive us home because she can’t drive stick.
I have a followup with the surgeon on Monday. We’ll see how things are doing, and when I might be able to go home.
I haven’t really been feeling up to blogging until now. Partially because of how I’ve been feeling, both physically and emotionally, but also because it takes freakin forever to type anything with my left hand. I may try to catch up now that I’m feeling a little better.
So there you have it… the short version of the story. The long version would be pages and pages, and take me a month to type. I’m sure there will be a couple of common questions that pop up in the comments, so I’ll try to answer those now…
- The Pit Bull is still alive, and is at home. That is a complicated story that I may go into later.
- The woman has taken full responsibility and paid for all medical bills. So far they total around $9,000.
- No, I won’t be suing her for 100 million dollars. Although that is the American way, I personally don’t believe in it. I believe in reasonable compensation (lost wages, medical bills, etc…). This is also complicated, and I’ll wait to discuss it.
Although this has been a terrifying experience, I just try to keep reminding myself that Maggie and I are still alive, and we should make a full recovery. It could have been a lot worse. I’m also thankful to be surrounded by good friends (both near and far) who are helping me get through this.
Dude! That is terrifying! So glad to hear you and Maggie are well!
My god, I’m glad you’re both okay! Forget ‘get better soon’ though, take your time and relax while you get the chance! All the best.
Hey, as a fellow reader I am so glad that you are alright. I would like to say it means a lot to hear that someone in that situation had the responsibility to not sue the lady for a couple billion dollars. I do believe that they dog should be put down, anything that will be that hostile and aggressive does not deserve to live. (in the city at least, maybe it the woods with bears would be alright I guess)
Prayers go out to you.
I am so sorry that happened, but I’m so glad you and Maggie are safe and recovering. Despite the injuries both you and her look happy. :)
I wish you two the speediest of recoveries. Take your time and don’t worry about the blog. We’ll all still be here when you come back.
Sorry to hear about the attack, have a speedy recovery!
Glad to hear that you’re both recovering okay, we’ve certainly missed your interesting observations. Take care. Oh, and I’d just like to say that I was really pleased that you believe in ‘reasonable compensation’. The line has to be drawn somewhere, right?
Glad to hear you two are doing well. Pit bull attacks are not a good thing.
Good luck in your recovery Paul and Maggie.
Let me know when the pit bull is killed.
Sorry bro. As a guy who has your site set as my homepage, I really feel sorry for you guys. BTW, her pink cast is cute. Can’t wait till you get back up and running with the normalcy of life.
I feel sorry for the pittbull too, mostly they are bred to be that way…and just like a Tiger, can’t change nature I guess.
Here in Brazil, we had so many attacks by pit bulls in the last years, that the cities started to create laws restricting the number of this animals.
In some cities pit bulls are prohibited.
Hope you’ll be better soon.
sorry to hear that dude and im glad both of you are ok, well as good as can be from such an ordeal. Im also glad your back, missed you.
Man, that is horrible – I’m glad you are alright.
I’m sure that was terrible! Hope you are both feeling normal soon!
Sorry to hear about the incident. I’m not exactly a big fan of pit bulls and other aggressive dogs after my sister was mauled by some. Anyway, love your site and I look forward to the next installment! The German Star Trek video – I just love it. Too weird.
Glad to hear you and Maggie are okay. Hope you’re back to 100% soon.
I have to admit I was starting to get mad at you. I had nothing to read at lunch…I know the internet is a big place, but I like your little corner and I was missing it. Today I was going to finally write some sort of “dude, where are you?” when I had a weird feeling that something wasn’t right…and as your picture loaded up my stomach sank. To read of the attack made me sick. I’m really glad you and Maggie are okay and taken care of. I am a huge dog lover myself and can imagine the terror of being my dog and self being attacked by another. I would put that pit bull down immediately. They are horrible animals created only to be lethal. There is no need for that in this world. Take time to heal properly, your fans will be patient.
Holy f**k!!!!
Pardon the French, but it’s good to see that both you AND Maggie are alive and in good hands (no pun intended). I hope you and Maggie have a speedy and full recovery!
OMG!! I’m glad that both you and Maggie are well. The thing that I can’t understand is why that woman didn’t put, at least, a muzzle to her dogs. Unbeliveable!!
Take care, mate!!
Paul, I am so glad that you and Maggie are in as good of shape as you are. Things could have been much, much worse. Hope you get feeling better soon!
man Paul, glad to hear you are both well (all things considered). I can’t even imagine how terrifying that was. Get well and home soon.
Cheers
My thoughts are with you and Maggie. Glad you are both alright. Given the power and strength of pit bulls, Maggie is lucky to be alive. I’m glad to hear the owner has assumed all responsibility and agreed to cover your costs. Nonetheless, the pit bull should be put down, as this is a sign of things to come. This furthers my belief that the Ontario Government in Canada was correct in banning the breed from the province, and requiring existing pit bulls to be muzzled.
Have a safe and speedy recovery. I miss your blogging.
Sincerely,
Ron
I’m glad you’re okay and that you’re not suing the pitbull’s owner. I don’t like pit bulls but I would do the same thing, the important is that you’ll (both) recover 100%!
Glad to hear you and Maggie are ok. I can’t imagine how scary that musy have been.
Here’s to hoping broken bones mend quickly so you can get home soon.
Take care and well wishes from Santa Cruz
Yikes! What a story. Best wishes for a speedy recovery! (I’m actually wearing my ODL shirt right now — hopefully that will help communicate my wishes for your health through the universal grapevine for better results!)
Thanks for the best wishes, but I think you’re the one that needs the best wishes. Take care man, I’m sure you’ll be excited to have both arms working again!
I wish you, and you dog, a speedy and full recovery. It’s a terrible thing. I’m glad you both made it through.
I honestly wish you and your dog get well soon. Fu… Pit Bulls! But I can’t help it – together with the Monty Python clip you posted earlier … weird isn’t it? But funny too. Maybe it lightens up the situation a bit.
This freaks me out. I have a little (Big) yorkie and we go for walks, I swear, I fear this happening to us. I’ve resorted to carrying real lemon squeezes with the top off and ready to squirt in the eyes of an attacking dog or man.
My mailman carries pepper spray and says I should also.
Get well soon, I hope you both recover well.
I myself am a pit bull owner and I think all the pit bull haters in this world are full of ignorance and fear. My pit bull’s never hurt anyone. he’d actually rather LICK an intruder to death then attack them. It really all depends on how the dog is raised. Well anyway, I hope you recover quickly.
Thanks Sasha, I have recovered… for the most part.
Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s just how the dog is raised. The breed does have violent tendencies.
When I went to the emergency room and told the doctor what happened, he first asked if it was a Pit Bull, then he said… “Let me guess, the owner told you that she couldn’t understand how this happened because HER dog was the friendliest Pit Bull that ever lived”. He had obviously heard that story many times before. The breed is just unpredictable. They seem really friendly, right up until the point when they kill someone.