Dog Bite Update

It's been a whirlwind of things happening, but now that things have settled I have an update regarding the dog who bit me.

The guy was found when he set up to surrender his dog... at the rescue I volunteer at. Long story, but honestly I think he was just in way over his head. So I'm not pressing charges though he is covering the doctors visits I've been having and my rescue is taking the dog.

The dude admitted that she had started lashing out at whatever was nearest when he shocked her. Apparently, it had only ever happened to with him and inanimate objects prior to me and he thought that she was just trying to assert herself as the "alpha" over him. (Side note: it's crazy to me how many dog owners still thing dominance theory is legit).

The dog is actually pretty sweet. She's a 10 month old husky. She did have a nasty wound from her shock collar being too tight and on for too long. It's infected, but the vet said it should heal up nicely with antibiotics.

The behaviors that he was trying to correct actually just sound like typical adolescent and husky behavior (ie not coming when called, chewing everything in the house, playing rough). He was not only a 1st time husky owner, but she was his first dog period and he chose a husky because he likes their appearance.

Luckily, one of my fosters, who is experienced in not only Huskies, but also reactive dogs with bite histories, just placed her previous dog and has agreed to take this pup on after her hold with animal control.

My supervisor has been the one talking with animal control, so I'm not 100% sure that this is accurate, but from what I've heard it sounds like they are leaning on ruling her bite as one with provocation due to the shocks and her young age. Since the bite was a level three she is allowed to go through a rehabilitation trial. So no public places with out a muzzle and regular vet visits then at the end of that period she gets reevaluated by animal control to see if it's worked I guess.

It's nice for me in that I've been a little anxious around Huskies since. I know it doesn't rationally make sense, but it was more a physical reaction. Knowing she was just in a crappy situation put me at ease and meeting her again, without having to worry about Mouse or Otter, helped a lot. Which is good since I swear a quarter of the pups I place for the rescue are owner surrendered Huskies because the owner liked their looks and didn't know how much work they are. Plus they're usually puppy mill products and have those additional issues since no reputable breeder is going to let people who have no idea Huskies temperament or activity level take one of their pups.