The Pony has been having a hard time with his most recent dog bite that he incurred (heh, heh, inCURred, get it?) on Thursday. Said it was very painful, because it didn't just hurt if he bumped it on something, or lifted a heavy package. It hurt every time he took a step. Or turned over in bed. In fact, he only slept a couple of hours on Thursday night. Took his morning shower at 2:00 a.m., and just laid around.
Friday morning, The Pony debated on going to work. He sent the manager a text, and she replied that they were fine, to take off (using his leave, of course) and rest that wound. Two minutes later, two other people had called out. So she said IF The Pony felt like he could do anything, he could come in.
The Pony is not one to slack at work. He said he'd do a couple laps around the house to see how well he could walk, and would try to come in. He ended up casing some mail for a couple hours, but then clocked out, not feeling like he could do the walking on the route. It must have been The Pony's lucky day, because somebody was retiring, and they had donuts and biscuits and gravy at the office. A couple people said they didn't want to sit next to The Pony, because he's a dog-bite magnet. The Pony partook of a bear claw and some gravied biscuits, then went home and spent most of the day sleeping, with his leg up.
That's from the post office, not quite 24 hours after the bite. The bruise has spread, and the bite hole was leaking a bit from standing.
The Pony had more sleep on Friday night, but the leg was still very sore on Saturday morning. The Pony dosed himself with Excedrin and ibuprofen through the day, and went to work.
Around noon, The Pony sent this picture.
"About to take a bathroom break and change the bandaid. It's looking pretty unhappy with me today, but the red around it is normal, going off the last bite. It's draining a little, but clear and not bloody."
On the phone that morning, The Pony revealed more about the incident. It was a house with a fenced yard. The owner has requested that the mailman use a certain gate to enter (which The Pony did) to put the mail in the mailbox on the porch. He has FOUR dogs, all French bulldogs. They are house dogs, and only come out when nature calls, or maybe to play sometimes. The Pony has not encountered them out in the yard while delivering the mail.
This time, he thinks the owner didn't know he was still in the yard. The owner opened the door to get his mail, and either let out the dogs, or they escaped. One ran up behind The Pony and bit. The owner didn't see it, but noticed the commotion, and said, "Did she get you?" The Pony said, "Yeah. It's okay." And kept going, not wanting to stand in the yard with four dogs, one which had just put a tooth in his leg. The owner hollered that all the dogs had been vaccinated. The Pony said he didn't notice the blood until a few steps down the sidewalk, because his shorts had been rubbing on it and soaking it up.
Anyhoo... The Pony got home at 4:45 on Saturday.
"Everything either hurts or is numb. I'm just gonna crash because I've got no appetite."
At least The Pony developed an appetite by 1:30 on Sunday, when Hick picked him up to join us for Easter dinner. I guess going without lunch and supper the previous day will do that for you!
More on the Easter dinner tomorrow...
Oh no, poor Pony. :/ Is he considering a job/career switch now? Folks need to keep their dogs inside at all times or away from their mailboxes! Meanwhile if Pony had kicked the dog they'd be in an uproar; this is ridiculous!
ReplyDeleteThe Pony has three years invested in the post office, and enjoys the benefits, and having a house a few blocks from the office. That said, if the perfect job was to fall into his lap, he might take it and not look back.
DeleteThe Pony couldn't bring himself to kick a dog. He even said he doesn't know if he could actually use the dog spray, unless it had its teeth in him at the time. That info came out when I told him I read about a customer complaining that the dog spray turned his Pomeranian orange. The Pony said, "Oh, no! I hope that was just dye, or that the dog didn't try to lick it off. That would be even worse for the dog."
I hear you. He can build a wonderful life with this job, it's just such bad luck to get two bites so close together. I know he would never kick a dog, but I know owners would be upset he did it while trying to protect himself. Maybe there is a non orange dog spray he can use, lol!
DeleteI tell him, he may never get bitten again. But there's the chance it could happen tomorrow. He went two years without a bite. I guess it might be this route of scofflaws that caused the recent incidents.
DeleteI hate that he's afraid, but a dog could run up anywhere and bite, not just on the job. Could hop out of a car at Walmart. You can't live your life in fear. Maybe the trauma will fade with time. It's pretty recent right now.
That is a nasty looking bite. Poor thing. It even looks painful. Do they make kevlar pants?
ReplyDeleteHick's company had special gloves that a division sold to butchers, to prevent cuts. Pants made out of those gloves would be great!
DeleteI remember those gloves, we had to wear them in the deli section if we were slicing sandwich meats for customers.
DeleteHick brought home a pair of those gloves. They were amazing.
DeleteSomehow I think chemical engineering would be a safer job for Pony. Maybe Cheerful Monk could speak to someone at Los Alamos.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, The Pony was a pandemic graduate. OU closed down and sent everybody packing in April 2020. Didn't even get to have graduation, just a virtual program. The Pony had some online interviews then, but nothing came of them. The farther out from graduation, the harder it is to land such a job with no experience.
DeleteWe discussed options the day after the bite. "Well, you could have an office job, and maybe hate all the people in the cubicles around you. But chances are, you're probably going home in 8 hours with none of them having put their teeth into you." To which The Pony replied, "PROBABLY, but you can never be sure."
Pony is brave to continue on with his job, I hope the bite heals completely soon. Could the home owner be forced to put up a mailbox on a post in a safe spot since they have a proven biting dog?
ReplyDeleteAside from the bruise, the bite looked like it's healing well. Not as deep as the other one, but in a more inconvenient place, considering how legs are pretty much necessary to get through the day! I don't know about the mailbox.
DeleteThe post office knows there's a biting dog. Sometimes they make such customers come pick up their mail at the post office. I'll have to ask The Pony if anything has been changed.
It does still look terribly painful, but at least it isn't infected. I hope it feels much better by the end of the week.
ReplyDeleteIn the picture The Pony sent today, the bruise looked bigger, but more faded. I guess walking on it makes the blood circulate more to carry away the damaged tissue.
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