when live gives you...

life is always a new set of challenges, but two weeks ago i had no idea what kind of challenges it would bring.

i was making my husband's pasta in the kitchen while he walked our Jack Russell mix Lucy for "last call." our other dog, Mayhem, was in the kitchen with me.

suddenly, i hear soul- and bone-chilling screaming from outside. i ran to the front door and hear my husband screaming at the top of his lungs, "YOU'RE FUCKING KILLING HER!" i ran outside to find my husband on the ground in our driveway with several people standing around him. and a dog. a very large dog in front of him.

i had no idea what to do, i was paralyzed. i don't know what took over my body or my mind, but a lot of the details that happened are fuzzy to me. i remember jumping on top of the dog that was attacking my husband and dog and started punching.

hard. on its head and eyes. it was a pit bull attacking my family. i was in beast mode. i remember thinking it was like punching the driveway.

how the attack ended, i have no idea. i have no recollection. all i remember is suddenly seeing my husband on the porch, cradling our dog in his arms and me screaming at this kid who was walking the pit bull. my neighbor embraced me, as i was now sobbing uncontrollably. the next thing i recall is being in the house with Lucy, sobbing with her in my arms and trying to wipe the blood so i could assess her injuries, as our Lab was licking Lucy's wounds and whining because she could see her friend was seriously hurt.

i put her down so i could wrap some ice in a soft towel, and she ran downstairs into her crate. i went and retrieved her and started to try and clean her up as gently as i possibly could.

my husband was still outside. there were four police cars, an ambulance, and a firetruck in front of our house.

holding her, i approached the front door and a police officer was coming up my stairs asking to speak with me. i put Lucy down, because somehow i had called the emergency veterinary clinic to bring her in, and i needed to open the door. she disappeared, running up the stairs this time.

my husband came into the house and i told him i couldn't find Lucy, and he and the officer went to look for her upstairs since i was still on the phone with the veterinary clinic. after hanging up with them, i found her. she had found a small hole in our box spring and buried herself inside. we had to tear the bed apart to retrieve her.

we drove to the animal hospital, and my husband was sobbing and holding Lucy in his arms. he was blaming himself for the attack, and he was in pain himself. he was having an anxiety attack, and quite honestly i thought he was having a heart attack. i was terrified but i had to be strong so that we could get everything fixed.

After five excruciating hours at the animal hospital, Lucy was released. She had a cone of shame, she was still shaking, and in obvious pain in spite of the meds they gave her. She was lucky - bite wounds, serious bruising, a torn lip, and a dislocated jaw. But she was alive.

Lucy is fine, one week later. Her wounds are starting to heal, the bruises are all but gone, but the emotional scars are still there. My husband and I are still dealing with the aftershock, and the people responsible are retaliating against us. Their dog was not vaccinated, it was not licensed, and it had attacked before. But, somehow, they are telling people that our 19 pound dog provoked the attack on the pit bull. While in my husband's arms.

The people who own the pit bull were fined for their dog not being licensed, a slap on the wrist of $50. My husband and I, well, so far this has cost us $700 and will likely cost us more in our own therapy bills and other costs with the measures we need to take for self-protection to walk our own dog in our own neighborhood.

This can happen to anyone. This could happen anywhere. It happened to us. In our driveway. Less than ten feet from our front door.

People are fucking crazy. And now I have to live with this.

if you want to see how Lucy is doing, check out her Facebook page - "For the Love of Lucy." We are going to really push for a law to be passed to hold people criminally responsible when something like this happens. A dog is not "property," it is a member of our family. If something were to happen to her, we would be devastated. We need to put a stop to this needless violence.