The attack left Johnson, an 85-year-old Sebring resident, in critical condition at Tampa General Hospital.
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| Thomas Johnson holds a photo of his beloved poodle, Buddy |
Johnson spent a month in the hospital, including eight or nine days in intensive care, said Eunice, his wife of 63 years.
"He was pretty confused the whole time in ICU," she said.
Her husband remembers the other dog coming toward him, but "nothing after that."
[An earlier article describes the dog as a Rottweiler mix.]
Thomas Johnson's recovery has been slow but steady. When the dog attacked, Eunice Johnson said, her husband fell and struck his head on the pavement.
He initially was taken to Highlands Regional Medical Center, where Eunice Johnson said a CAT scan found a lesion between his skull and brain.
Eunice Johnson said she rented an apartment in Tampa to be near her husband and spent the nights on a couch in his room in ICU.
She also contacted daughters Karen Franklin of Boynton Beach and April Jenkins of Conyers, Ga., who helped her and their father.
Franklin brought her clothes from the Johnson home in Sebring; Jenkins, who "knows how to talk doctor talk," made sure her father ate after he got out of the hospital.
"Both were immensely helpful," Eunice Johnson said.
Although Johnson is doing "very well," his wife said, he is struggling with depression and walking with a cane.
He also faces the possibility of surgery to his left shoulder that would leave him without the use of his only remaining arm for six to eight weeks.
Johnson acknowledged his struggles and said he misses Buddy.
"I wish it had never happened," he said. "I loved him more than I ever loved another animal. He loved me more than any animal had ever loved me.
"We were inseparable."
Buddy's loss is so painful to Johnson he says he won't get another dog.
Johnson is grateful for the love and care his wife and daughters have showered upon him.
"Nobody ever had a better wife and daughters than I have," he said.
Without such love and support, Johnson said, he wouldn't have recovered.
The debilitating attack is not the first the former Sebring High School teacher and Highlands County School System administrator has endured.
While fighting in Europe during World War II, Johnson suffered a serious injury to his right arm and was captured by German troops. Doctors at a prison camp amputated the arm.
Johnson married Eunice several years after the war ended and the Florida natives moved to Sebring in 1954, where they have lived ever since.
The Johnsons say they are touched by the outpouring of support they have received since the dog attack, which includes at least 70 cards.
"People have been so wonderful," Eunice Johnson said. "I cannot even tell you the phone calls, the cards, the visits.
"It's good for us to have a way to say thank you to all the folks in the community who showed us they care."
The well-wishes and kindness of friends and strangers alike has helped his recovery and eased his depression, Thomas Johnson said.
The Johnsons also commended the nursing staff of the Palms of Sebring for the excellent care they provided.
Eunice Johnson hopes her husband's injuries will help people realize the importance of securing their pets.
"We do have a leash law here and it is important to keep your pet secure," she said.
(Highlands Today - October 11, 2011)
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