simon's bite

Simon and his warm compress. Our dog, Simon, has never gotten along with Gracie -- another dog who lives in our apartment building. Gracie is a big dog. Simon is little. Gracie is the same size as a German Shepherd. Simon is the size of a dictionary. Gracie is built like a fighter. Simon is built like an academic. He has allergies and epilepsy and he loves cheese. Sometimes he trips when he's not paying attention.

Gracie is similar to this dog. So the other day when Gracie came outside, she approached Simon and it looked like she was just going to sniff him (dogs do that more than we do) but instead she chomped down on his neck and even picked him up a little before her owner pulled her off. Both Gracie and Simon were on leashes, but it all happened so quickly we almost couldn't have prevented it. They have sniffed each other before without violence.

Anyway, Simon was not bleeding and appeared to be fine until a few days later when his neck swelled up like he had swallowed a pool ball. I took him to the vet, got some meds, put a warm compress on him, and now he's doing much better. He didn't move for two days while he healed, but now he's back to normal.

Since this photo, the swelling is down, energy is up, and he's nearly back to his old self again.The people who own Gracie were very generous and concerned. They paid for Simon's vet visit and are coming over for dinner next week (without the dog).