I am going to be outspoken!

Life experiences create opinions and what we do with those opinions is a very personal decision.

People can be outspoken vs. soft-spoken or introvert vs. extrovert. We all have choices with what we do with our opinions.

There are those that feel comfortable to knock on strangers’ doors and preach their beliefs - political, religious, and/or environmental.  There are those that share their opinions through social media, blogs and/or publications and news outlets. These scenarios are a subtle disclaimer. Aunt Fizz is about to be outspoken with a very strong opinion. Aunt Fizz does not do that very often.

Here it is…my opinion…

I lack trust in rescue dogs, power breeds, and dog owners. This is a very sad reality that is a result of a dog attack 2 years ago. My opinion used to be to trust; now it is lack there-of…and here is why.

I want to tell you the story of the night our relationship with dogs and their owners changed. (I told a very detailed story two years ago, just days after the experience happened. It is interesting how the clarity of my message today is a bit different than my adrenaline filled brain then) http://thedailyfizz.blogspot.com/2015/06/my-third-brain-rocks.html

Today, I am going to state the situational facts, facts that exist in so many of our lives:

We went to a friend’s house for dinner (out of state). 2 dogs met us at the door. A German shepherd and a lab mix.  We were told they are friendly. So right away an assumed comfort was developed through a learned trust.

Friends told us their dogs were friendly. We trusted our friends, so we naturally trusted their dogs.

The night went on with dinner and Aunt Fizz and Skip bonding with both dogs.

At the end of the night the unexpected happened. The Shepard went after Skip while he was kneeling on the ground next to me. My first response was to pull the dog off of Skip. The dog then turned on me and began to attack me.

The result was bite wounds to Skip on his arm. I received numerous bites/lacerations to both arms.

This dog attack occurred in a friend’s home. They had “friendly” dogs.

As a reader…you must be developing your own questions regarding this experience.

We did also….and have for the past 2 years.

As part of my healing, I choose to be outspoken on the following opinions:

1. Rescue dogs have a history and you need to know their history from a trusted source, the WHOLE history.

2. Power breeds have unique behaviors and any potential owner of a power breed needs to be experienced with these breeds. They can be very dangerous.

3. When going to another person’s house, even an acquaintance or friend, ask about the animals.

4.  When talking to a dog you don’t know, ask before you touch. Do not assume all dogs are friendly.

For 44 years of my life I had loved dogs, worked with dogs, and lived with dogs. For the past 2 years, my relationship with dogs became a dark shadow. This experience has left physical and emotional scars.

5.. If you are a dog owner, respect other people and their relationship to dogs. When people don’t want to be around dogs, it is not always a choice they want to choose.

I no longer go knocking on a door without knowing what is inside. I don’t enter another person’s home without asking a list of questions. Walking in the parks in Anchorage or anywhere dogs are off leash has been removed from my “favorite things to do” list.

My point is… life can change in a second. Many people in my life have experienced traumatic experiences way worse than this. I now know at the cellular level that life experiences create where we sit in the audience of our life.

I am thankful for the “toolbox” I have to help find a more comfortable seat, but I will never be as comfortable as I was.  There exists a new normal.

Thanks for all the understanding over the past 2 years. We are well on our way to healing. The last unfinished business was to voice my opinion as a result of my experience. Preaching awareness I guess.

Take what you need you think will last.

Thank you.