24 – A time of hurt and sorrow

On Thursday evening of this week I was about to depart our family room to retire for the evening. All that was on my mind was taking Nightquil and sleeping through the night to battle the congestion in my chest. I was surprised when Sharron’s cell phone rang. I was even more surprised by the look of shock on her face. Our daughter Danielle was calling. She was crying and told Sharron that “BO” had attacked her.

The backdrop: Sharron and I had been enjoying keeping our grand daughter Alyse for the past week as Josh and Stephanie completed a super busy week with church activities and the had made their way to Atlanta to attend the Catalyst Conference where their pastor, Steven Furtick ,was speaking. Danielle was at their home taking care of their pets, Bo – a rottweiler - lab mix; Zeke – a golden retriever – mix, who has been our family pet for 12 years and Bubba their family cat.

The event: Danielle was getting ready for bed. As she went to the bedroom she did not know were Bo was, so she called his name. AS she walked around the corner to the bedroom, she paused and looking into Bo’s crate. He was there, and sprang forward, knocking Danielle to the ground with a momentary attack. As Danielle screamed the dog retreated, but it was too late. Danielle suffered a major cut across her forehead with minor cuts across her face and head. She was able to call our close friend Joy Huber, who lives in the neighborhood. Joy took Danielle to the hospital. Danielle went into surgery in the early morning hours of Friday.

Meanwhile, Sharron received the call from Danielle and had a look of shock on her face. We quickly packed a bag, carried Alyse from a sleeping bed to the car, and departed for Charlotte. Sharron contacted Stephanie and Josh. They had just enjoyed a great day at Catalyst and we celebrating with friends. They also responded quickly. The departed Atlanta immediately and met us in Charlotte in the early hours of Friday morning.

The surgeon came from behind the door into the family waiting room and gave the encouraging report to Sharron. The surgery for Danielle was successful, now a long healing process begins. When I met the surgeon later that morning I asked how many stitches she had – and he simply responded “I lost count”. Danielle summarized it as – “One day a little girl asked me if I was Cinderella to now looking like something out of a horror picture.”

Danielle was discharged from the hospital about 5:00pm on Friday. She returned to Josh and Stephanie’s home. The plan is for her to come to Raleigh with Sharron and let us take care of her. Her next doctor’s appointment is Wednesday of this next week.

Josh and Stephanie were faced with a heartbreaking decision. Because of this momentary aggression, something had to be done with Bo. Several options were explored but the decision was to take Bo to the vet and be put down. Bo was a well trained rottweiler and very gentle around Alyse but now he was potentially dangerous and the safety of their family must have priority. It is heartbreaking that the family pet was involved in this accidental event, but action had to be taken.

Our prayers are for Danielle as she slowly heals from her wounds. We also pray for Josh and Stephanie as they mourn the loss of their family pet. It is such an unfortunate series of events. As believers in the Lord we thank God that the wounds to Danielle were not any more serious and have faith for her healing. The surgeon said that just two weeks will make a major difference in her appearance. We also believe the event on Thursday evening and Friday somehow fit into God’s plan for our lives.

The events of this 24 hour period have been filled with hurt and sorrow. I respect Josh so much for the difficult decision about Bo, but it saddens me, but believe it was the right thing to do. Thank you for your prayers during this difficult time for our family.