So sad how tragedy strikes in a moment

I didn't know if I wanted to bring this here or not, but decided that I need to talk about it and I don't really have anyone to talk to in my real world but my wife and kids and they are all a wreck right now. It's my job to try to support them so I thought maybe I could vent or whatever.

Today we had a tragic event that has effected my whole family profoundly. It happened in the blink of an eye and it was over. I am still in shock over it and I am afraid for my little ones. I don't know how a 7 and 3 year old will be able to process this, especially since they were eye witnesses. Suddenly my two boys and a friend they had over came screaming to our back door in panic and all my wife and I could make out was dog and attacking. My wife was able to get out the door first but I wasn't far behind.

The first thing I saw was a young girl on the other side of a silt fence behind a new house being built next door screaming "get him off, get him off". I was sure she was being attacked so I flew down through the fence behind my wife to help. When we got there we were shocked and horrified to see our little ten pound toy fox terrier in the mouth of a large beast of a dog who was still aggressively mauling him. My wife who got there first, and a pet sitter (the girl I thought was being attacked) were trying unsuccessfully to free our little guy so I rushed past them and punched the attacker full on square in the middle of his head. He immediately fell backwards and dropped our little man but it was too late.

Apparently, our dog was barking at a neighborhood dog through our fence that we just had installed to keep our kids and pets safe, we just moved in to a new construction, and this other dog dragged the pet sitter across the yard and pulled our dog right through the fence. Our dog, Ziggy, was a really small dog and we bought this doughnut thing that he wore around his neck to keep him from getting through the fence and running away. Well, it kept him from going through but it couldn't keep him from getting pulled through.

Anyway, I can't believe the emotional toll this is having on me. I didn't expect to be able to be so affected by something like this. And I can only imagine how it is affecting my children. I mean, they saw the whole thing. Them and my wife just screamed and cried for the next hour inconsolably. You know, this isn't the first time I've had to deal with loss and grief, I had to deal with the loss of both my parents and a brother too. But this has blindsided me. I didn't realize how much of a part of my family he had become after the 11 years he spent with us until he was gone.

This is him.



He was one of those little yapping annoying dogs so much of the time but he could be so so sweet...

I have never really posted anything personal or intimate here but I just feel like I need to tell someone, and like I said, I don't have anybody. Well that's not entirely true, I have grown children but they all have families or their own and I already told them about it. But I don't have any close friends to share stuff like this with and it's kind of tough. Sorry to go on but just needed to put it out there.

I'm so so sorry for your fur baby's death. That alone is heart wrenching. The tragic manner in which he passed, and the witnessing of it just makes it all the worse!

I'm so sorry😞

I have no advice really, just condolences and virtual hugs. Thank you for sharing your grief and trusting us with your feelings.

a reply to: chelsdh

Thank you so so much for that, that's all I could have ever hoped for from anyone on here. Bless you!

It is different when you have one go suddenly. When they get old and you can see it coming, you all have time to prepare. Sure, it still hurts on the day they go, but in the back of your mind, there has been a long process of preparation because you knew it was coming.

When they go like this, it's a sudden shock. And then to have it happen so violently compounds that.

We lost our 8-year-old cat to brain cancer over the summer. He downhill in four days. Healthy to very ill.

It was a massive shock to all of us here. Similar to what you describe I think.

Just too sudden, too abrupt.

It will hurt for a long while. I wish I could say otherwise, but it will. There was no long goodbye like there would otherwise have been.

I am so sorry for you and for you family, your kids especially. This is going to leave a mark on them for a while. You may want to pass the word on to their teachers just in case.

a reply to: wtbengineer

I'm so sorry that your dog was killed.

It is amazing how much trust and love a dog can give with very little asked in return. Your family will get through this shocking reality of how fast things can change. Be thankful for the time you has with the little guy even though his life was cut short. And try to think of only the funny quirky things Ziggy did.

Again sorry.

I wish I hadn't read this thread. I know I would be upset, I know my kids would have been upset if it happened to our dog years ago. I think that the incident should be reported to the police, that way there is a record if it attacks someone elses pet.

a reply to: seasonal

Thanks so much ketsuko and seasonal, I really appreciate the things you have said.

a reply to: wtbengineer

well...this is hard to process, even as a reader.

First off let me offer my sympathies to you and your family. You might want to talk openly about the event with your children, at the very least listen to them...and if necessary get some counseling. A traumatic event like this could be life changing.

Now to the dog sitter and the attacking animal; you might want to file a police report/animal control and get an attorney. Depending on where you live the laws are going to be different...but the fact remains that the dog went into your yard and seized your dog. No matter how "yappy" that little guy was, he was on your property.

Again sorry for your loss, the loss of a pet is always difficult.

No words other then I'm so sorry this happened to your family. RIP little Ziggy...

Im so sorry. I love dogs. He looks real cute too

Im so sorry for you, your wife and most of all the kids. I watched my father die in an accident when I was 5 and it changed my life, gave me a form of ptsd. Sometimes life can be cruel to us, but so many have endured so much worse that I feel lucky..a reply to: visitedbythem

that is horrifying, i'm so sorry for your loss.

originally posted by: WUNK22
Im so sorry for you, your wife and most of all the kids. I watched my father die in an accident when I was 5 and it changed my life, gave me a form of ptsd. Sometimes life can be cruel to us, but so many have endured so much worse that I feel lucky..a reply to: visitedbythem

You answered to me by mistake. My dogs are right here. We have had all kinds. One little one got killed by a big german kind of dog and my sister got bit when she tried to save him. The wound was real bad. The owners insurance had to pay her $70,000. But it didn't bring him back. Now we have two nice pitbuls that stay in the house most of the time, and sleep on the bed with us. No other dogs will hurt them, and they wont let another dog hurt us either. They are like babysitters. Strong ones

a reply to: kelbtalfenek

Yeah, it's hard. I can't believe how hard it is for me, I'm usually the guy who stays cool and can be everybody else's rock.

Thank you so much for your offerings of sympathy, sincerely accepted. I have been trying my best to do just that. I think you are right. My older son is already in counseling for some other issues so I'm sure this will come up there. I agree, life changing.

You know, I feel so badly for the sitter. That poor little thing was screaming and crying after the dog dragged her across their yard and did his foul deed and then she did all she could to try to stop it. My wife and her together couldn't dissuade him from his business. I just wish I could have gotten there sooner. You are right though, he came into mine and took mine and he will not be allowed to stay here. Well not even that really, what if he does it again, or to a child?

a reply to: MountainLaurel

That's all I need or could ask, thanks.

a reply to: visitedbythem

Thanks so much, yeah he was cute when he wanted to be. You should have seen him when somebody tried to get him off the couch!

a reply to: wtbengineer
The one that got our little dog.... The police took him away and put him to sleep. That was mostly because if my sisters leg was opened up and it was real bad. Shes ok now

a reply to: WUNK22

Yes, I understand that as well. I've been through a lot in life but there is always someone who has been hurt more. Thanks for your kind words.

I also have been through things like that but I can't imagine seeing my father in that kind of situation. My father's death was unexpected and sudden but I did not see it and it wasn't violent like that.

a reply to: rickymouse

Oh I don't know how I missed your post rickymouse, it must have slipped in when I was replying to ketsuko and seasonal. Thanks for your response. I'm sorry to have led you into this thread to make you upset, I don't want that for anyone else. I know my kids years ago were so upset when it happened to their dogs many years ago too. And I was upset when it happened to my pets as a kid way way back. That is a good thought, but someone from the development called the police and reported a dog attacking a human so they came right out. We gave our reports of the situation and we'll be talking to the animal warden or whoever he is on Monday.

a reply to: fiverx313


Thank you so much fiverx313.