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Wednesday
Jun022010
We'll have to try the coffee thing again
June 2, 2010
It was just all so weird.
That's what we kept thinking, anyways.
Two days ago we went to San Francisco. We were getting ready to see our friend Amy, the famous Amy who taught me how to knit (the first time: ring the soldier's neck and throw him off the cliff, or something equally violent) and taught me how to make fudge the old-fashioned way, and taught dozens of people at the land about good coffee in a mason jar, and fudge, and fresh cranberry sauce, and how to tell if a turkey is done (shake the turkey's hand) and in the middle of all that: living life.
I have many Amy-isms in my head that I pull out and sort from time to time. Like buttons.
Anyways. We decided, while we were waiting for Amy to finish up with what she was doing, to get amazing Blue Bottle Coffee and sit in the park nearby, the Octavia Park. (I found this photo of the incredible sculpture that has recently been erected there.)
We walked into the park and ran into another friend. Our friend Remy, whom we met in India, was sitting on a park bench, and called Chinua's name as we strolled along. Crazy!
So there we are. In the sun, drinking Blue Bottle coffee, watching the kids climb on the great set of monkey bars, talking with an old friend. Amy decided to just head on over to the park.
And blam and kerpow, a kerfuffle and I'm not sure what's happening, but three kids are running toward me crying- which one's hurt? It turns out to be Kid A.
Bitten in the face by a dog.
When I told my mom this later, she asked, "So was it a pit bull?" and I laughed, because the long emergency room stint was over, and said "No mom, it was a dachshund."And she laughed too.
So what happened was a man was pulling a wagon with three little dogs in it, and kids were walking over to pet the dogs, and my kids asked first and then went over too. And the owner was making conversation with them, and Kid A pet one of the dogs, and then leaned into the wagon and the dog freaked out and bit him in the face. He put a hole through his upper lip.
Oh my word. The dog owner got mad and yelled at us while we were trying to comfort our son, saying, "He put his face in the wagon!" and "What do you want me to do, I'm not a doctor!" Meanwhile there was a fair amount of blood and Kid A was freaking out and Leafy was nearly hyperventilating in empathy. People were trying to help us. Remy was helping with the kids and then suddenly Amy was there, and we decided to go to the hospital. The dog owner had taken Chinua's dismissive, "It's alright," when he was trying to get the man to stop reacting in anger so that he could comfort his son as, "it's fine to just walk away from this."
Amy decided to pursue the dog owner. Chinua got the van so that we could drive to the nearby hospital.
At the hospital I worked at calming Leafy down while Kid A was in the room with Chinua. Amy had called the police because the man wouldn't give her his information, and they headed over to take a statement. I'm not sure what we'll do with it, but at least it's all recorded now. The man's story had changed from, "He put his face in the wagon!" to "He pulled the dog's tail!" Something that Kid A assures us he did not do.
Oh, it was all a bit of a nightmare. And also a blessing, since it was not so bad. One stitch and some super glue, and Kid A's lip, which is extremely disfigured while we wait for the swelling to go down, will be okay in a few days.
He needed to be wrapped in a big white sheet and held down by one of the larger male nurses, to get the novocaine shot. And then he was surprised by how it really didn't hurt that much. He told us afterward that he thought the whole needle had to go in. Which would be scary, I'll admit. Poor Kid A. His face is so swollen.
I was amazed by how good it was to have friends there, even unexpectedly, when we needed them. Popping up all over the place, wonderful, wonderful people.
That's what we kept thinking, anyways.
Two days ago we went to San Francisco. We were getting ready to see our friend Amy, the famous Amy who taught me how to knit (the first time: ring the soldier's neck and throw him off the cliff, or something equally violent) and taught me how to make fudge the old-fashioned way, and taught dozens of people at the land about good coffee in a mason jar, and fudge, and fresh cranberry sauce, and how to tell if a turkey is done (shake the turkey's hand) and in the middle of all that: living life.
I have many Amy-isms in my head that I pull out and sort from time to time. Like buttons.
Anyways. We decided, while we were waiting for Amy to finish up with what she was doing, to get amazing Blue Bottle Coffee and sit in the park nearby, the Octavia Park. (I found this photo of the incredible sculpture that has recently been erected there.)
We walked into the park and ran into another friend. Our friend Remy, whom we met in India, was sitting on a park bench, and called Chinua's name as we strolled along. Crazy!
So there we are. In the sun, drinking Blue Bottle coffee, watching the kids climb on the great set of monkey bars, talking with an old friend. Amy decided to just head on over to the park.
And blam and kerpow, a kerfuffle and I'm not sure what's happening, but three kids are running toward me crying- which one's hurt? It turns out to be Kid A.
Bitten in the face by a dog.
When I told my mom this later, she asked, "So was it a pit bull?" and I laughed, because the long emergency room stint was over, and said "No mom, it was a dachshund."And she laughed too.
So what happened was a man was pulling a wagon with three little dogs in it, and kids were walking over to pet the dogs, and my kids asked first and then went over too. And the owner was making conversation with them, and Kid A pet one of the dogs, and then leaned into the wagon and the dog freaked out and bit him in the face. He put a hole through his upper lip.
Oh my word. The dog owner got mad and yelled at us while we were trying to comfort our son, saying, "He put his face in the wagon!" and "What do you want me to do, I'm not a doctor!" Meanwhile there was a fair amount of blood and Kid A was freaking out and Leafy was nearly hyperventilating in empathy. People were trying to help us. Remy was helping with the kids and then suddenly Amy was there, and we decided to go to the hospital. The dog owner had taken Chinua's dismissive, "It's alright," when he was trying to get the man to stop reacting in anger so that he could comfort his son as, "it's fine to just walk away from this."
Amy decided to pursue the dog owner. Chinua got the van so that we could drive to the nearby hospital.
At the hospital I worked at calming Leafy down while Kid A was in the room with Chinua. Amy had called the police because the man wouldn't give her his information, and they headed over to take a statement. I'm not sure what we'll do with it, but at least it's all recorded now. The man's story had changed from, "He put his face in the wagon!" to "He pulled the dog's tail!" Something that Kid A assures us he did not do.
Oh, it was all a bit of a nightmare. And also a blessing, since it was not so bad. One stitch and some super glue, and Kid A's lip, which is extremely disfigured while we wait for the swelling to go down, will be okay in a few days.
He needed to be wrapped in a big white sheet and held down by one of the larger male nurses, to get the novocaine shot. And then he was surprised by how it really didn't hurt that much. He told us afterward that he thought the whole needle had to go in. Which would be scary, I'll admit. Poor Kid A. His face is so swollen.
I was amazed by how good it was to have friends there, even unexpectedly, when we needed them. Popping up all over the place, wonderful, wonderful people.
Reader Comments (16)
It is a wonderful thing to have little bits of solidness to hang on to when everything flies apart.
I'm hoping for a speedy recovery and a quick resolution.
Oh, poor, poor little baby - well, really all of you. :( Kid A's comment about the needle - so typical of children. We never really know EXACTLY what they are scared of or thinking, do we? *sigh* Poor little thing. I'm glad it didn't hurt as badly as he was worried it would - and that he got the pleasant surprise of the needle not going "all the way in". Praying for good healing for him.
oh how scary!! so glad he'll be ok and that he wasn't hurt any worse. even little dogs can do big damage. sounds like your friends were right where they needed to be at that moment!
oh dear. quite the story. give master caster a hug from us. i almost got bit by a dog in mexico. gave me quite the fright as rabies vaccinations are not so prevalent there. good thing you don't have to worry about that here. his lip will heal quickly, but probably not his trust of dogs. lots of love and sympathy.
Gollly! Bears, dogs...the world's not a safe place!
Poor guy! I was bitten in the top lip by a dog when I was a kid too. I didn't get stitches and glue, so I have a scar to show for it...just a little one. I'm sure he won't have a scar if that's any comfort! So sorry he, (and you), had to go through that!
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I tend to think that good people come to your aid because you are good people...sending healing thoughts.
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You better hide this post so Kid A can't read it when he gets older.
I'm so glad that he's doing better, glad that there were friends there for you, and that what started as a bad experience came together. I'm glad that it wasn't a bigger bite than it was. I feel so badly for him though, it must hurt! Give everyone a hug!!!
The bear was MUCH more well-behaved.
I'm so sorry!! Poor Kid A. How is Leafy doing?
All that peace and serenity I mentioned in the previous post?
GONE with this one ... sorry! What a horrible ordeal to go through and how insensitive and rude was that man. Protecting a dog over a child. Despicable.
The same thing happened to my son when he was two. The owners almost always blame the kid. My boy was nicely petting the doggy--a small breed--when it bit him in the face near the lip. I never trust dogs with children or adults. My sister was attacked when she was 10 years old by a doberman that she had played with many times. Her beautiful face was marred that day..she's had several surgeries to fix it but the scarred skin remains. I as well was attacked by a German Shepherd when I was 8 months pregnant. I covered my body to protect my baby and was bitten on the arm. All I did was open a screen door to knock on the main door and when the owner opened to answer, the dog charged out. It's the dogs who bite and the owners who are at fault for not taking care.
Glad it wasn't any worse....make sure to file a claim with the man's insurance if he has any (homeowner's)
Oh dear God. I hope Kid A's lip heals speedily and without too much trauma in the future (mental and physical). How awful for you all.
x
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Rae,
Ouch!!
One more thing!! Not to worry you but just an extra precaution. The community should have an animal control unit which the police should have reported/coordinated to/with. The animal should be monitored for a specified amount of time. I can not at the moment remember and may vary by community slightly for rabies. BTW if an animal is not available for monitoring a doc will usually recommend Rabies vaccination. Dogs are low risk for rabies, skunks and bats are high risk animals. Local health department keeps track of risks in their communities. Since you guys are travelers be sure that the local folks have a way to get a hold of you if there is a problem later, highly unlikely. http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/
Rabies is a serious problem if exposed and not treated but not a problem when cared for well. Domestic pets are usually safe but when skunks and bats hang around them sometimes it happens. So, it's important to always take precautions. Bats are a real trip as they sometimes bite when you don't know it and are really high risk. If you ever wake up with one in your room see your doc.
Just your public health advisory. You know how I fret. :)
You'll take care!
Hey Lulu,
I'm glad you care so much to give me the facts! We did in fact get in contact with the animal control people, and they had all the info that the police had. Chinua spoke with them on the phone. We spend a lot of time being careful and watchful for rabies in Goa, and didn't think one of the kids would be bitten here, let alone in a kid's park, by a dachshund, but it just goes to show you. But anyways, the dog was exhibiting no signs of rabies, he was with two other dogs and seemed to be protecting his space (the wagon) or something. My thought was that he was incredibly spoiled and grumpy.
Just to put you at ease... :)