I Witnessed a Horrific Dog Attack in My Front Yard. But the Aftermath Has Been Even Worse.

BY JAMILAH LEMIEUX

Three weeks ago, my neighbor’s medium-sized mutt was mauled by a loose pit bull in our front yard. He was on a leash peeing when the other dog came out of nowhere and attacked. I called 911 while my neighbor’s dog shrieked in pain, and three adults struggled to get the attacking dog to let go for what felt like ages. Our neighbor’s dog pulled through, but it was touch and go for a few days there while he got multiple surgeries and blood transfusions. The poor pup has a zillion stitches and drains. He’s in a cone and walks with a limp. One ear is gone.

I have a 7-year-old and a 2-year-old. Fortunately, when this happened, my older child was at school, and my toddler was napping with a white noise machine on. But what happened affects them anyway because I’m so freaked out. I cannot stop thinking about if it’d been one of my kids out there instead of my neighbor’s dog.

I haven’t let my kids play in the front yard since. I haven’t taken them to playgrounds that don’t have fencing around them. Whenever we’re outside, I scan around us for approaching threats. I’ve started carrying pepper spray on my belt. Logically, I know what happened to my neighbor’s dog is rare and extremely unlikely to happen to my children. But I can’t figure out how to stop these feelings, or at least stop them from limiting my kids’ lives. How do I fix this?

—Fearful Mama

https://slate.com/human-interest/2024/03/dog-attack-aftermath-care-and-feeding.html