Velvet

At a time like this I find myself wondering what I'm doing and second guessing my choices in life.  All has gone pretty well for the last 6 or so months, and Velvet has been playing well and fitting in with the pack... until Wednesday (December 11).  At the end of my workday I got a frantic call that Velvet had been in a fight with three of the girls (Ace, Moony and Zena) and had been hiding under the table as soon as the other dogs were pulled off her.  It is still a mystery what triggered the attack since they had been getting along so well. 

I raced home as quickly as I could, and found a very torn up girl in great pain.  We rushed her to the emergency clinic and thank goodness got her there in time to save her life.  She stayed there Wednesday night and we took her to our regular vet on Thursday.  She stayed there last night and is still under observation today.  Poor little girl, all she wants is to be loved and to play.  It will be a long hard road for her recovery, but I'm glad she is expected to pull through without permanent disability physically.  She seemed in good spirits when I visited her last night and laid down beside her on the floor of the clinic for a half an hour.  (Thanks again for allowing and indulging me in this, as I felt it very important for her mental well being to know that she was not abandoned and that she is still loved very much.)

I'm hopeful for her future, but this makes me realize that even though we've trained the dogs to get along and generally they do, we can never let down our guard again.  The pack will need to be divided between those we know will never conflict with Velvet, and those that we know have underlying issues with her.  I'm reminded of some advice from a musher I respect very much.  Racing dog pack dynamics change drastically when there are more than 10 dogs.