The rest of the story....

As some of you may have heard, our dog bit Ava. But, I need to clear things up--for Loverboy's sake. When it happened none of us saw what happened and Ava wouldn't tell us. Naturallty, we assumed he bit her. While at the ER, the doctor commented that it may have been a claw, but by this time Ava had heard us all saying he bit her, and so was still saying he bit her, but that was all she would say. This happened on Friday, and all weekend she wouldn't talk about it, she would only cry--this has been traumatic for her. Finally, this morning, I had a chance to talk with her, just she and I, and it appears that it may not have been a vicious bite after all, but an accidental claw.
I feel so bad for Ava's poor little face--she ended up with eleven stitches. But, she bounces back quickly, and, while she doesn't necessarily want to pet Loverboy, she watches him through the sliding glass door and makes sure he is taken care of--telling me to get him more water, he's thirsty, or that he needs a few more toys.
I am really glad we didn't react to quickly. I was really struggling with this, because, darn it, I really LOVE him. I am glad it wasn't what we thought, and I feel really bad for not keeping his nails in better condition. I usually run with him and that kept his nails trimmed, but I stopped running with him a few months ago and have forgotten to take care of them.
We are currently looking for a new home for Loverboy (and it turns out that name does, in fact, fit him).

(Notice--still smiling!!)