First Aid

Today was an awful day. Moose was bitten by a pit bull at the dog park. He was bitten badly enough to break the skin but I described it to the vet and he did not think it was serious enough to warrant an after hours emergency visit so we will wait until morning when they are open. We were very lucky that it was not much worse since the bite was in the windpipe/jugular area it could have been much more serious. We got some first aid by an EMT at the park because as usual I forgot that I carry a first aid kit in my car! I am a little clueless about what to do for a dog though. I have been meaning to take a Red Cross pet first aid course but have not done it yet and now feel very guilty about that so plan to take the next one on June 1st in Miami. For now I cleaned it with water then peroxide put neosporin and a bandage (loosely) on it. I did not really expect that he would keep it on but so far he does not seem to mind. Good thing he does not know how silly he looks!
We were both very traumatized and the saddest part is I am not sure if I will feel safe enough to take him there again. I am not one to normally think that all pit bulls are aggressive since I have known many who are very sweet but I have to wonder whether it is sensible to bring a dog that was bred (though not necessarily trained) to fight other dogs to a dog park. Any kind of dog is capable of biting but I wonder if the pit bull is not more capable of doing serious damage? I think the real problem was that the other dog was on a leash (inside the fenced dog park) and a lot of dogs get overly defensive when they are on a leash and the other dog isn't. So when Moose went up to greet him as he does all dogs he was instantly bitten and the pit bull would not let go which is something I have heard is a bit more specific to the breed. The owners had 2 pit bulls with them, 1 was on a leash and 1 was not and it was the leashed one that bit moose, so i have to wonder if he was on a leash because they knew he was capable of aggressive behavior... If so it might have been nice of the owner to give a heads up! The dog did not even growl or anything first, if he had, Moose would have bolted! Anyway, whatever the reason I feel awful that I could not keep him safe and just hope he is not going to be more defensive himself now that this has happened. In the past he has run at the first sign of confrontation and that is how I want him to stay. Poor baby.