Tulsa World: For whom the weenie dog bites

MAKE US YOUR HOMEPAGE | Tuesday, February 09, 2010 | WIRELESS

Home > News > Article

Newspaper View Print this story

Comment

RSS

Bookmark

For whom the weenie dog bites

By JOHN WALBLAY World Staff Writer
Published: 6/29/2009 2:18 AM
Last Modified: 6/29/2009 3:50 AM

Sometimes your words come back to bite you, and sometimes you just get bit.

On occasion, you get both.

Our 14-year-old son came home the other day with a minor dog bite to his leg. He had been to a friend's house around the corner and was sampled by a dachshund while walking home.

As concerned parents, we expressed the appropriate amount of concern and cleaned his wound. Then we teased him a little bit.

He said the dog barked at him and stopped long enough to sniff him before it bit. He was operating on the theory that if he let it smell him, it would decide to be friendly.

"Well maybe it didn't like how you smelled," I suggested.

He wasn't amused. But he's at that stage where he boasts about his athletic prowess and frequently references his "six-pack abs." So we have to put him in check every once in awhile.

"You know," I continued, "I understand they say the type of dog a guy gets bit by tells a lot about him. Yep, a weenie dog — wasn't that what bit you?"

The serious end of it was that we had to make sure the dog's shots were current.

An initial attempt to contact the owners wasn't successful. After a few phone calls and a few days, we couldn't verify that the dog had been vaccinated. We decided to try the owners in person again.

On second thought: Off my bicycle and a few steps into the driveway, I immediately wished I had given the phone another try.

The dachshund in question shot out from under a truck in full attack mode. And he had backup from at least two other dogs.

I think I was trying to decide whether I could bring myself to punt the weenie dog across the lawn when he bit me. I guess the answer was no. The trouble was, he wanted more. His friends egged him on. He barked and bounced around on his tiny legs. I continued to yell and kick the air. It was a pathetic scene.

After the owner got the biter and his friends corralled and calmed, it became clear that the dachshund hadn't had his shots. The next day he went to the vet for a 10-day observation, which he passed. I'm not sure if he was treated for his aggression problems.

Long pedal home: As I pedaled into our driveway with two trickles of blood drying on my lower leg, all I could attempt was, "It was the shortest pit bull you've ever seen."

Yes, dear. Yes, children, I confessed, it was the same dog — the same leg even.

My wife started with a chuckle and a "you've got to be kidding" before moving on to a full throw-back-your-head laugh.

Our 14-year-old wanted to phone my own parents immediately with an update on the weenie dog's latest victim.

I continued to try to put the best face on my misfortune.

I proposed to our son that I purposely set myself before the jaws of the weenie dog in a selfless act of solidarity.

"I feeeel your pain, man," I told him.

When one of our younger sons asked why I hadn't just run from the dog, I pointed to my character instead of my slow reflexes.

"Because I run from no weenie dog!" I proclaimed. "I'm a former Marine. I would rather take the bite and bleed all over the place," I glared.

I even tried to claim it was a pack of dogs all going for me while the weenie dog got in the lucky bite.

"They were all over me!" I added.

Even our youngest wasn't buying it.

I was a victim of my words. I was a victim of a weenie dog. By JOHN WALBLAY World Staff Writer

Newspaper View Print this story

Comment

RSS

Bookmark

Reader Comments

Show: Most Recent Comment First

Add your comment

8 comments have been made on this story so far. Tell us what you think below!

Reporting Comments

If you see a comment that violates our terms and conditions, please help us by clicking the "Report this Comment" link next to a comment. That will alert the web staff to review the comment. Thank you. -- Web Editor Jason Collington

	Report Comment mayor_maynot, Tulsa (6/29/2009 3:18:35 AM) PTSD. Post Traumatic Stress Dogbitusorder
	Report Comment Gramps, (6/29/2009 7:33:45 AM) Bite him back!
	Report Comment justiceawaits, Claremore (6/29/2009 9:20:19 AM) Pepper spray works like a charm. I have a second job delivering pizza parttime and I have my can ready whenever I go to a house where I know there is an agressive dog. There are laws against letting agressive dogs run wild, You should have called the cops.
	Report Comment Ray, (6/29/2009 9:42:06 AM) They are so funny looking and small, people dont realize Doxies are great guard dogs....not at all friendly to anyone but the owner and especially don't care for kids. Maybe the writer smells like his son? I do wonder why the dog was not behind a fence.
	Report Comment owen, Tulsa (6/29/2009 12:25:02 PM) Dachsunds seem to be notorious biters. My husband, my nephew, and 3 friends have all been bitten by different dachsunds. I guess they don't like to be called weinies!
	Report Comment scooter2, (6/29/2009 1:04:27 PM) Now lets not give all weenie dogs a bad name for the actions of one. As the owner of two weenie dogs I can honestly say one certainly lives up to her name she's a real weenie, scared of her own shadow. But the other is as different in personality as my children are. She on the other hand has never bitten anyone but I wouldn't tempt either.. So weenie can't all be judged the same. My advice just be cautious because you never know which one you're gonna get...
	Report Comment 52favoriteteacher, Washburn--used to be Broken Arrow (6/29/2009 2:59:56 PM) John We have a handsome pure white except for one ring around left eye beautiful shepard. He is very laid back, loving, and needs no supervision. Any dog bite needs to be returned... That's wright----Bite em back
	Report Comment charlie36, (6/29/2009 4:41:14 PM) Great Article JOHN! This reads like an O'Henry story!

Add Your Comment
In order to post a comment on this article, you must sign in to Tulsaworld.com. If you do not have a site account, you can create an account for free.