Evey update

I have a happy update today that Evey Louise is doing wonderfully. I am so proud of my sweetie pooch! She has been a champion. Those first couple of days, she was obviously in a lot of pain. She would pace the house with her tail down, sometimes whimpering and hiding in her crate. As time passed, though, her tail started to perk up, like a little thermometer letting us know she was feeling better. She seems comfortable being outside, although when the golden retriever next door barked at her through the fence, she cautiously decided to hang out on the other side of the yard instead of calling back to him like she used to. Now she's back to lounging on pillows all day, waking Bean up from naps with her incessant barking ("Mom, look Mom! There are garbage men outside! Come here! Mom! Look Mom!"), and not-to-subtly requesting that I stop playing with the baby to scratch behind her ears.

The dog's owner called last night to apologize for the attack and find out how our dog is doing. She sounded very sorry, almost in tears. (She would have called sooner, she explained, but she works until 10 pm every night.) I didn't really know how to respond, because although I am extremely angry at her negligence in containing the dog, I wasn't going to berate her. I thanked for the apology, but expressed how terrifying the situation was for me and how much pain Evey had to endure. She was confident the dog wouldn't have attacked me or Bean ("I have a three and four year old at home, and he's just fine with children"), but admitted that he has a problem with other dogs. Especially small, white, fluffy, happy dogs, apparently. You know, the really menacing ones.

Anyway, she asked if she could pay us in installments of $50 per month starting September 1. I could feel the stress in her voice; from what I can tell, she's a single mom with four kids at home. I did agree to the payment plan, so long as she would fix the fence as quickly as possible. I refuse to feel like I can't walk safely in my own neighborhood. I'll definitely bring something with me for defense in the future, though. A personal bodyguard for Evester and the fam, like a pit bull or rottweiler, maybe. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.

As of this morning, here is the only physical evidence left of that mean old dog's attack. In the background, you'll also see evidence that I haven't hung any pictures and I don't put my shoes away.

This is the pooch a few minutes ago. You may not be able to tell, but she's smiling. Note the upright tail and dirty paws from playing in the backyard. (I really need to paint the walls, it's just too hard to see a white dog on a white background.)

Thank you for all your prayers, I think they worked!