Ugh...I have avoided this post. I know you see the title Slater and think awww another cute dog story. Unfortunately, not this time.
A few weeks ago we had Slater on our front porch with us the night before leaving for vacation. We had some friends over and were playing with sidewalk chalk when a lady walked her dog by. All of the sudden Slater ran off the porch and basically "attacked" the dog. It all happened so fast i'm still not sure if he just went and attacked the dog or if he tried to sniff the dog and freaked the dog out then freaked Slater out. I don't know, it doesn't really matter because the next 48 hours were brutal. The women (i'll call her Jane) walking her dog just stood there screaming, crying, and stunned while holding her small Chihuahua. In a matter of seconds Slater had bit this dog on the stomach and the dog was bleeding. I immediately got my keys and whisked Jane and her dog away to the emergency vet. The vet came in and said it looked bad and that the dog would have to undergo surgery and was unsure if the dog would make it. Immediately Jane started crying, I was trying to comfort her...but honestly felt more like a thorn in her side than a comfort. Shortly after, Janes friend arrived at the clinic to be with her and I returned home.
The next morning we were leaving for vacation...hard to relax and "enjoy" a vacation while thinking about all the unnecessary pain we were causing Jane and her dog. I tried to suck it up as much as I could and just pray. I kept in contact with Jane on the condition of her dog, but it wasn't until the day after that when I called and she told me her dog did not make it. The dog had surgery in the afternoon and then that night passed away.
This has been a horrible tragedy and I still cannot believe it happened. The most amazing part of it all is that Jane never said one mean, hateful, or hurtful word to me. It was completely our fault, and she was/is so gracious and kind. What a blessing she has been to me through all of this, and I am the least deserving. I wanted so badly to ease her pain and instead never expected her to ease mine. It can only be described by the fact that God was working in her and through her as she was trusting Him. She would say in the midst of her pain, I know God has a plan...I just don't understand what it is. Wow, i'm blown away and humbled by the love she has shown me and our family.
Thankfully, our home owner's insurance is covering all of her vet bills. Praise the Lord! We told her from the beginning that we wanted to help her financially as much as we could, we had no idea how but I knew God was going to provide...and He did.
What does this mean for Slater? We just cannot stomach the possibility of this happening again if he were to accidentally get out of the house or out of our yard. Or if he felt like someone was threatening our kids and were to attack a human. So we feel no other option but to give him away. This is going to be so difficult but i'm praying that the Lord would show us the right place for him and would give us a peace about it.
If you are the praying type, we would love your prayers! Pray for the right home for Slater and for wisdom of how or if I should further reach out to Jane.
