Fight

There was a fight in the dog yard Friday morning. It's common for a pack of sled dogs to fight, but mostly it consists of little nips and shoves to show dominance. This dog fight was serious and could have been to the death.
After I fed the dogs and cleaned up the yard, I let everyone off to play. I've done this several times throughout the winter and the dogs love it every time. They go ripping around the house, trying to be the fastest sprinter. There have been a few bumps and bruises here and there, but like I said, it was all to show dominance...nothing intense. Fury is one of the dogs that needs to prove herself. She is the smallest dog in the kennel; a pure white tiny little husky with a big attitude. She'll often growl at the other dogs to let them know that though she is small, she is mighty.

On Friday, everything was going well until Fury growled at Qjoa. They usually get along fine, but for some reason Qjoa snapped. She's about twice the size of Fury and had her pinned down in a second. I was only ten feet away, so I was able to get there quickly. I screamed myself hoarse as I tore them apart. Everyone tells you not to get in the middle of a dog fight, but when you see any animal resort to such primal instincts, what can you do? If I hadn't waded in there with my hands and feet flailing at both of them, one of my dogs might be dead. I would do anything to prevent that from happening.
I could instantly tell that all the damage had been inflicted upon Fury. Qjoa had her pinned down so effectively that Fury didn't stand a chance. I cradled her in my arms and ran to the warehouse. I couldn't get a good look at her with all the other dogs barking and distracting me. In the warehouse, I first saw the wound in between her ears. A large chunk of fur had been ripped away revealing her scalp. Then, I noticed a big wound at her neck. On the left side of Fury's throat, Qjoa had sunk her teeth into the muscle. Fury was still animated, but the depth of the wound worried me immensely. I ran her to my car and we drove instantly to our vets.
On the drive down, I could tell that the fight had affected my little Fury. She crawled to the front of my car and lay in my lap shivering. By the time I got to the vets, my pants and hands were covered in her blood. The vet is a calm, older man that I would trust any of my dogs to. As he gently handled Fury, he assured me that she would be fine and that she just required some sutures. Her throat had taken an awful bite, but it would be ok. If I had waited any longer to split them apart, she might not have made it.
I had to leave Fury there for several hours since she had to undergo anesthesia. When I finally got to pick her up, my poor girl was very drugged up and swollen. Two days later, she is doing pretty well. The swelling has gone down due to the antibiotics and she has been sleeping fairly well. She has to wear the cone of shame to prevent any scratching at the sutures. I'm also giving her a steady diet of soft foods since her throat still seems to be bothering her, even with pain medication. Hopefully this will teach my little Fury to stop growling at the other dogs and to play nice!