When Aries died, I wasn't ready to talk about it. I just told people she died in her sleep, which is true, but is not the whole story.
It's time to come clean.
Back in 2010, my dog Katie attacked Aries.
My mom's dog, Tallulah Belle was staying with us while my mom is out of
town. Tallulah Belle started barking at one of our cats. Katie
immediately went into hunt mode and leaped for the cat. Our other two dogs
immediately joined in. The cat got away, and I got Petey by the collar, and out
of the room. When I turned around I noticed that T-Belle had the Aries'
ear in her mouth. I tried to pry T-Belle's mouth off of Aries'
ear, and Aries screamed. Katie, still in her hunt mode heard the scream, and
leaped in, and started to tear at Aries' throat.
Somewhere in there I got bitten on the hand, but I do not know by whom. I had
bruising, swelling, and about a 1/4 inch tear. I had to be hospitalized for 4 days for IV antibiotics.
I got Katie off of Aries by remembering the wheelbarrow technique.
I immediately took Aries to our vet where they stopped the bleeding, and
stabilized her, but Aries had to go to the Veterinary Specialty Center. Aries had many
severe punctures, and tears in her neck, and throat, and two cervical vertebrae
displaced. She had to have emergency surgery, and stay the night in the ICU.
There were no punctures, or tears in the ear.
Katie completely ignored all Aries' cut off signals. Aries was flipped on her
back, and urinated, and defecated, was screaming, and they still continued the
attack.
On Nov. 8th, 2011, Katie was aroused by something, and went into her hunt-mode.
Hunt Mode is hard to describe if you have never seen it. Katie gets very stiff,
and excited, pupils dilate, and she stalks, and will grab any thing that crosses
her path when in this mode. She also doesn't seem to hear us, or even notice we
are there when in Hunt Mode.
Katie came THROUGH the gate, and attacked Aries. The attack was awful. I picked Katie
up by her back legs trying to use the
wheelbarrow technique, and she just picked Aries right up with her.
Our roommate heard me screaming, and came running downstairs. He literally laid
on top of Katie, and pried her jaws apart while I pulled Aries out of her mouth.
I ran out the door to the car, and noticed that a loop of Aries intestine was
hanging out. I held the intestine in while I drove to the vet. The vet said it
was the worst attack he had ever seen. Aries' body wall was shredded, and her
intestine was punctured in 2 places. He did surgery for 4.5 hours trying to
save her.
I spent 3 days at the vet clinic sleeping in a dog bed under her
cage, and waking up every 2 hours. On Nov 11th, 2011, she passed away between 5,
and 6 am in her sleep.
She was on hydromorphone, and acepromazine, so at least she was on good pain
drugs, and didn't die in pain.
We talked to 3 behaviorists, a veterinary behaviorist, and several regular vets,
and trainers, and a lawyer. Almost all of them agreed that Katie would never be
safe around other dogs, and the lawyer explained that if we rehomed her, and she
bit, or killed another dog, we could be liable, so on Nov 21st we put Katie
down.
It has been said that management always fails. I never expected the gate to
fail, but it did, and Aries, and Katie both paid the price.
I wish I had put Katie down after the first attack. Then Aries would still be
here. I miss her so much.