Saturday, November 20, 2010

The Fetch Incident

What happens when one dog runs face-first into another dog at full speed?

Dozer, post-collision
The story, as I was told it, went like this: Poor Star was just sitting in the yard, minding her own business, when the frisbee toy came sailing down and landed softly beside her. She leaned over to pick it up, and SURPRISE! she got a mouthful of Dozer's face instead.

Dozer lives to fetch. He is a retriever in a pit bull body. Unfortunately, out in the yard, he becomes a mindless fetch zombie, and is well known for his indiscriminate, unstoppable battering-ram fetch style. The fact that he's 90 lbs does not make this a safe exercise for anything in his way. Frisbee throwers are instructed to make sure his path is clear of any object larger than a golf ball.

Over the years, fetch has resulted in broken teeth, ACL tear, bloody paws (carpet burn effect), bloody cuts, missing fur, and a kinked tail.

Considering these effects, I have forbidden the game. My husband, on the other hand, is a sucker. He plays fetch with Dozer when I'm not home to stop him.

Which is why the first question out of my mouth when I came home on this particular day was, "Ohmigod, why does my dog look like he's been in a bar fight?!?"


Star still loves her best buddy Dozer, even though he crashed into her with such force that she did two complete backward somersaults. I appreciate the tolerance that Star has. I'm not sure how a lesser dog would have reacted, but Star apparently brushed the whole incident off as just-another-thing-that-happened-to-me-today.

6 comments:

Leila said...

I'd say poor Dozer, but he looks too happy. So, I'll say poor Mom. There is nothing worse than seeing the aftermath. Maybe you can come up with a suitable story. :) Chasing a rabid squirrel. Defending the yard from a squad of mad cats. A war wound from an Alien invasion.

Sending calming vibes your way.

Leila & Quizz

H Ski said...

Poor Dozer. I had the same thing happen to Lola. She collided with another dog when she was playing fetch and it ended in a bloody collision. But everybody was fine and ready to keep playnig.

Kari in Alaska said...

Dozer and Mesa have very similar fetch stlyes I see

Kari
http://dogisgodinreverse.com/

The Oceanside Animals said...

"I'm sorry I messed up your face, Dozer."

Daisy Dog said...

Poor Dozer!! Diasy has the same "fetch sytles" however since her surgery she has calmed down some. Happy Birthday Dozer, did we miss it?

A Confessed Pit Bull Addict said...

This could be our house! Toni prefers fetch as a spectator sport, but Téa is a maniac for it. In our condo, the only place we had to play was in the common hallway. I can only guess how much brain damage was self-inflicted by her failure to stop properly before hitting the wall at the end.