While I may have intended to write A book, I never intended to write THIS book.
It’s true, I’ve always liked writing, maybe because it was one of the few subjects I was good at. So much so, as a kid, camped out at our grandparents’ house during elementary school vacations, my cousin and I would write murder mysteries. However, the old ‘starving artist’ adage was ingrained in me by my parents early on, so I never considered pursuing writing professionally.
It wasn’t until I had kids of my own that I rekindled my love of writing, this time in the form of newsy letters to toss in with our Christmas cards. These were such a big hit with family and friends that they encouraged me to write about other funny stories from my life, which is what I’d been working on for a few years when I was attacked.
However, after the attack, when I returned to writing, my ‘voice’ was nowhere to be found. I couldn’t find the funny in everyday situations like I used to. And in searching for the right words, whenever my mind wandered, it always made a beeline for the attack. Then, a voice would urge me to write about that instead.
Not only did I not consider myself a writer of serious matters, after spending the previous two years trying to forget, the last thing I wanted to do was relive it all, so I’d just put my writing aside and try another day. Only that voice was relentless. So, when I eventually decided to give in, it was mostly just to shut it up.
Fine. I’ll write about it, but if it sucks, it won’t be my fault because, remember, you’re the one making me write about this, not me. And no matter how bad the writing is, when I’m done, you’ll let me go back to writing about what I want to write about again, right? Okay. Deal.
My goal was to summarize what had happened and then set it on a shelf and forget about it—both figuratively and literally. I may have even purposefully planned on writing a crappy story just so I could fulfill my end of the bargain faster and get back to my other writing. However, that’s not at all what happened.
Writing about my experience turned out to be incredibly cathartic, as it helped me come to terms with everything I was feeling but had buried deep inside me. This book isn’t just a truthful account of my shocking experience; I’ve bared my soul on these pages to reveal raw emotions not only in an attempt to better understand the attack myself but also to help educate others who might be going through something similar.
Unfortunately, my story is not unique. In the US, over 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs every year, and 1,000 seek emergency care for dog bites EVERY DAY. Yet, somehow, it only makes the news when a victim is severely disfigured or dies.
When it comes to dog attacks, it seems we are more interested in choosing a ‘side’ rather than trying to learn from the circumstances behind it. THAT’S why I wrote this book. The Pits wasn’t written with any agenda in mind. Nor did I set out to persuade the reader to think one way or the other about any particular dog breed. My only hope is that my story spreads awareness.
Like you, I imagine, I never thought this could happen to me, and never in my wildest dreams did I think the aftermath would have such a lasting impact. But it did. And since I don’t want you or one of your loved ones to have to endure what I did, and since I believe dog bites are 100% preventable, I figured it was about time we had an open and honest conversation about it so we can figure out how to solve this problem together. What do you say?
Great! First, let’s see what we can learn from our shared experiences. Only then can we talk about making some changes…
Have you ever been bitten by a dog? How about multiple dogs? What could you have done differently? What could the dog owner have done differently?
Do you know someone who has been attacked by a dog? Was it their dog? Where were they? What were they doing? What kind of a dog was it?
Has your dog ever bitten someone? Why do you think your dog bit the person?
What measures do you think need to be taken to prevent dog bites?
Please comment below, and feel free to share this with others. The more we can learn, the better equipped we will be to make the necessary changes.
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