A $430 trip to the dog park. (Warning: real blood.)

We were having a good Sunday morning at the dog park. I'd been at home for days, sick, and getting out for some fresh air was welcomed.

As Jackson was going long for a Chuckit throw, an Aussie Shepherd took off to intercept him. Running full out, the friendly looking dog slammed into Jackson, knocking him down, and then just kept on running. There wasn't a scuffle or anything, so we didn't think much of it. We were chatting with others and playing with dogs, so when he got up and got the ball and slowly returned to us it wasn't until I looked down that I saw a lot of blood on his neck, which is white. I ran over to him, and saw thick drops of blood coming from is left ear, which had a perfectly clean 1" tear in it. It's like someone took a sharp knife and just cut right through his ear!

We don't know if the dog nipped at him, or if the ear got caught on a tag or... what. But I kinda freaked out.

We run everyone back to the truck, load up Greta and Winston, and take off towards the emergency vet clinic. As I hold him in the front of the truck he's not real freaked out, but he's pretty well covered in blood, and there are blobs and smears on me, my hands, Scot's hands, the truck, it just seems everywhere. Probably wasn't as much as it felt like. But certainly more than I've ever bled, or even seen Scot bleed.

And he's a little dog!

So thankful we have an emergency vet clinic, and it's even close to our house. As they calmly assessed him, I calmed down a little. But then she says, "Let me get you a quote," and I wanted to kick her in the  butt. I understand they have to do this, and I would hope they wouldn't necessarily do it in an emergency situation. At that moment he shakes his head for the first time since the incident, spraying blood all over and opening up the wound which had actually clotted pretty well, and it starts to quickly drip thick droplets of blood again. Argh! I take a tissue and wrap it around his ear and squeeze a little, and it kinda sticks like a bandage.

She quickly returns and starts to slowly go through the estimate line item by line item, and Scot and I both just scan to the total and say, "Okay, yeah whatever that's fine JUST DO IT!"

They take him back, put him under, suture the ear together, and watch him as he comes out. We were able to pick him up just a few hours later, all doggie drunk and loopy. He is sleeping it off between us on the couch under a blankie. Poor little guy. He had big thick stitches in his ear, looks like Frankenstein.

Just one of those crazy things that happens.