i'm still shaken up, but so very thankful

earlier this week i had planned on today's post being an eloquent entry on having a thankful heart.

after what happened to brinkley yesterday,

it will be short on eloquence

but even larger on thanksgiving.

yesterday while we were out on our run,

a giant shepard run up out of nowhere & began attacking brinkley.

it all happened so fast

but i remember thinking i was going to see my dog killed right before my eyes.

we run on the sidewalk of a busy street.

brinkley quickly got out of his collar and leash.

i was screaming for someone to please help me.

they began to run back & forth through traffic,

which i think was already beginning to stop.

back & forth through the street

i'm running back & forth through the street

screaming.

i remember running down the middle of the road begging people to stop and not hit him.

begging for someone to help me.

brinkley tore off

i think the mean dog ran away from him as they approached the traffic light.

i had never seen brinkley run so fast.

a good samaritan who incidentally had two large dogs in her car,

pulled over & told me to jump in.

i was completely hysterical.

we drove towards my home.

i remember her telling me, we'll find him.

we will.

take a deep breath.

i took a deep breath.

i was terrified.

we pulled in my street & immediately saw two other cars pulled over in front of my yard.

dan was pulling out of the driveway & had stopped in the middle of the road.

all three of them were in the yard

with my brinkley.

i got out of the car

& sat in the yard holding him, sobbing.

i guess the two other cars must have seen him running & tried to follow him to make sure he wasn't hit.

turns out one of the kind people knew my hubby from when he taught 

years ago. i'm certain she is convinced he married an unstable crazy woman.

we assessed him quickly

of course he was covered in thick yucky mean dog slobber.

his feet were bleeding & he was hobbling.

i could not stop sobbing.

we got him to our vet.

he's the homecoming king at our vet.  they LOVE brinkley.

his temp was up which the vet assumed was from all his trauma.

she quickly reassured me how incredible it was that he wasn't mauled . that he survived.

i cried again.

the mean dog "only" bit him in a few places. 

they soaked his paws.

we assume from all the fighting in the street he tore his foot pads & ripped most of it off.

his nails were all bleeding from running so hard & fast.

he has a significant limp.

the vet feels certain it isn't broken

but at this point is assuming he has soft tissue damage from the running.

he's on antibiotics & pain killers around the clock.

i'll be honest

never in my life have i experienced anything that horrifying.

i was terrified that that dog will kill him,

that he'd get hit by one of dozens of cars

or that out of fear, he'd run away.

last night as i laid in bed thinking back through the episode,

i couldn't help but be emotional all over again.

i thanked god for my dog & that he was ok.

i realized that it was a miracle that he survived.

he was in & out of traffic and he crossed approximately 8 intersections.

i truly believe there were angels guarding him as he sprinted home.

& that's another thing...

despite his terror

he ran  over 3/4 of a mile & found his way back home.

later yesterday i went back out on my run

& found the dog owners.

apparantly someone had called the police 

& they showed up with animal control at her house for a "viscous dog attack call".

she proceeded to tell me how kind her dog was and how she just wanted to play.

i told her my dog was lucky to be alive

& that our little play date had already run me $150.

that my running partner might not want to run with me again

& that he was pretty beat up.

she kindly offered to help pay the bill.

dan & i will go back over there today...

he's pretty pitiful this morning

still hobbling around & very mellow 

very not himself

but thankfully very alive

& very here with me

&

for that 

and so much more

i am thankful.

i hope each of you enjoys a blessed thanksgiving

whether your thankful heart is full of more than you ever dreamed

or

whether your thanksgiving is truly a sacrifice of praise.

i have all my girls home

& we have some cooking to do

& some black friday shopping to tackle.

i thankfully have sessions to edit

& a sweet furry boy to tend to

so

i'll be back next week.

xo