Still Shook Up!!

After the crazy prisoner morning I had (read the post below), I was hoping for a calm and peaceful afternoon. Shortly before 2 I was heading out the door to walk and pick up Andrew from school. I grabbed the dog (another much needed potty break and social time for her), the kids, the keys and hustled down the stairs to get Aiden in his stroller. Once buckled in his stroller and bundled up due to the few sprinkles that were starting to hit, we headed toward the school. The next thing I know this pit bull is charging towards us. I have never screamed so loud in my life as I did in that moment. It immediately went for Suzy Q, who I pulled back on the leash, saving her from a huge bite to the neck. The dog was relentless. Chasing Suzy, and subsequently me and Alexis, in circles around the stroller while I kept yelling, "NO, NO!!!"

Alexis was freaked out as one could only imagine and was clinging to my side. Had she been able to climb back in the womb she would have in a heart beat, that is how close she was to me. I guess that didn't feel safe after some time of going round and round, so she did what she thought was the next best thing and started running back toward the stairs. This was the worst thing she could have done. The dog started charging after her with a serious intent to do harm in her eyes. The next few screams were 10 times louder then the ones before! This time it was not my beloved dog that was being threatened, but my own flesh and blood. I knew I couldn't do much but tried to get between the dog and Alexis. This aggravated the dog more since I still had a hold of Suzy.

FINALLY a guy from down the street, the direction the dog came from, ran over and stood between the dog and Alexis as it still proceeded to lunge at her. The owner walked, WALKED!!, over and stepped on the dangling leash, picked the leash up and then walked away without so much as saying anything. Alexis returned to my side, obviously shaken by the whole thing and crying uncontrollably. Aiden wasn't phased at all by what was going on. It was a major blessing that I had bundled him because the dog didn't even recognize that there was a moving object in the stroller that she could have attacked. Suzy was shaking as well, and though I was a solid rock on the outside, my entire insides were shaking in fear and still are. This whole incident felt like forever, but in reality probably last about a minute.

My dilemma! Andrew takes the dog down for her potty breaks by himself when he is home. There is no way he would have the muscle or mind about him to protect Suzy or, more importantly, himself if this dog was to attack again. I can't exactly tell him to take her a different way to go potty, this happened RIGHT near the bottom of our steps. Do I let him still take her, knowing there is this risk? I don't even know where this dog came from, one moment she wasn't there and the next she was attacking us. Do I have him stay at home and watch his brother and sister while I take the dog down, leaving him responsible for what could go wrong while I am gone? It is a logistical nightmare to bundle up all the kids every time the dog needs to go out. I don't even know what to think right now. I have NEVER liked pit bulls (and sorry to those this may offend), but now I know for sure they are on my most hated list!!! That dog had death in it's eyes and my dog, my limbs, MY CHILD was it's target!!!!