DOG BITE!

So for those of you that know about my fear of dogs…you know I’ve gotten better ever since my parents brought good ole Mr. Bailey into the family. I remember the first time they brought him home as a small puppy, and I was terrified! There is a funny picture of me sitting on the couch with him on my lap with an ‘I’m scared to death’ look on my face. Well, my terror has returned…thanks to the dog bite I got last week!
I was headed out the door for a run on the first nicer day of April (we’d had snow/freezing rain for a few days and it was finally sunny and in the 60s.) As I started my run, I was thinking about just how lucky I am to do what I do. Then I turned into a neighborhood and kept on smiling as I ran up the road. I saw a dog and owner walking up in front of me. They were walking along the left side of the road. The dog was on a leash and doing normal dog exploring in the yards. He looked back and saw me once or twice as I approached. I ran wide around them almost on the opposite side of the road and before I knew it, I saw a flash out of the corner of my eye and felt the teeth dig in my hip. Oh My GOSH, I just got bit! It’d broken the skin (and torn up my running pants!) and was bleeding! The owner tried to calm me down and kept saying she would be glad to help out. But, there was NO WAY I was going near her dog again!!! So, I hobbled back home as it sunk in what had just happened. Why does this stuff always seem to happen to me? I ended up spending the evening taking pictures and gathering information for insurance, calling animal control, and getting a tetanus shot. Tetanus shots are not FUN! Didn’t hurt at all when they gave it to me…but boy it sure did get sore.
I woke up the next morning and could not lift my arm. “Geez, I am a wimp, “ I thought. I attempted to go swim, thinking the movement would help. Wrong! It just hurt worse and worse , I was swimming lopsided, and every time I pushed off the wall and attempted to streamline, I was reminded of that dumb dog. Well, I woke up the following morning an d my arm felt even worse. I was in excruciating pain, then I looked at my arm and it was red and swollen and hot to the touch. Great, just great, just what I needed. So, another trip to the minor emergency clinic since that is where I received the shot. And yes, sure enough, I’d developed cellulitis where they gave me the shot. Arrrrggg! Right then and there I decided that is the end of my bad luck streak. I have tons of Good Luck coming my way, yippee!!!