When people think of vicious dogs, golden retrievers usually do not come to mind. Unfortunately, that dishonor is mostly reserved for pit bulls and Rottweilers. Golden retrievers are more commonly associated with being smiley, happy, and bouncy. Well, while cruising the Internet, I came across the story of man that got his finger bitten off by a golden. Even though it wasn’t the pup’s fault, it makes for an interesting story.

I found the story written on http://www.week.com. The man was walking his Schnauzer, Zeno, and they approached a friend who owned the golden retriever. He had barely touched Hermes’s (the golden) head, when Hermes’s owner yanked on the leash as a large dog was walking by. Hermes lunged at the passerby pooch and the man’s finger was ripped off in the process. From the Week:

“Out of nowhere, a man I’d never met pulled off his T-shirt to prepare a makeshift tourniquet and instructed me to keep my arm raised. He shouted for crossing guards at the school across the street to fetch a bag of ice to preserve the severed finger. And he did his best to calm me down, getting me to breathe evenly and assuring me that everything would turn out fine.”

Ultimately, the finger was not reattached due to “a challenging, multi-hour operation with high risk of infection, rejection, nerve damage, arthritis, and other complications, including a bizarre outcome in which the fingernail grows sideways”

Later on, the writer of the story learned that Hermes was attacked by a German shepherd and has since then been afraid of larger dogs. Of course, the author couldn’t bear that Hermes be put down because of his finger and a solution was found. Hermes would have to wear a muzzle in public:

“Hermes’ owners have since told me he was attacked twice by a German Shepherd and that that he gets spooked by larger dogs. I’ve witnessed countless examples of on-switch aggression among dogs we know — it can be set off by possession of a rubber ball, a bag of treats, being cornered in an elevator, or even whose turn it is at the water fountain. In Zeno’s case, he goes nuts for rollerbladers, skateboarders, and anyone on a scooter. I share his distaste for all three species and usually let him bark and lunge furiously as they go by. He also has a thing against boxers and will pounce on smaller dogs that try and get behind him. Even at 16 pounds, his little canines could do considerable damage if they ever hit their mark.”

I am glad that Hermes was not put down and a solution was found. Apparently, Hermes had never bitten anyone previously. Dogs have fears just like humans do. What this all boils down to is just an unfortunate accident.

Though I must admit, since it seems that the dog owners were in a park that dogs normally go to, some precautions should have been made for Hermes sooner. But now the owner knows and precautions are in place. Hopefully, this never happens again.

The narrator of the story, who will go unnamed, will never get his finger back. But at least, through this tragedy, a problem was exposed. It is sad enough that it happened to this man. But what if it would have been a child?

Have you ever gone through a similar situation? How did you handle it? Did you have to go to the hospital? Tell us your story in the comments below.

Picture taken from: http://www.boredpanda.com Picture taken from: http://www.boredpanda.com

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