I got attacked tonight, I'm soooo shaken up!

Oh my goodness!!! How terrifying for you.
 
I had the same thing happen to me when I used to volunteer at the SPCA, I was walking a Rottweiler and  put him in the exercise pens and started to pet him, and out of nowhere he started biting my hands and arms.
 
I did NOTHING to iritate him. Since it did break the skin I immedietly did tell the the Animal Care Worker/Volunteer Coorinator.
 
And unfortunetly Howard was euthanized. But he could not have gone to a home where he would have done this.
 
I applaud you for being so calm when I got bit I freaked out. I just did not know what to do, I was terrifyed and I'm sure I handled it horribally.
 
I'm glad your okay!

Perhaps he was trying to drag me down first? Or was he just playing and using me as a tug toy?

 
He put his jaws on you and it doesn't matter what it was in response to. Will you please quit trying to justify his attack on you? Report the dog. This time, it was just you. Tomorrow, it's a family with a 10-year-old child. I don't see how you did anything wrong, so you can stop that nonsense, too. I amazed that no one else found this in temperment evaluation before now.
 
Quit taking responsibility for other people's mistakes. Report the dog so that the right things can be done, instead of setting him up for an unsuspecting family.

Quit taking responsibility for other people's mistakes.

Ron2, right now she is in shock and trying to find reasons for what happened.  Give her a couple of days to realize that she will probably never know what happened.  She is going to be sore for a while and that will help her get angry - at the woman who didn't report the first bite and at the owners who probably ruined this dog. 
 
She has already reported the dog and just needs to do a followup this morning to be absolutely sure that the planned adoption does not take place.

ORIGINAL: ron2
I amazed that no one else found this in temperment evaluation before now.
done, instead of setting him up for an unsuspecting family.

Shows the reliability of temperment test.  Temperment test BAD!
 
Liesje, you have a lot of strength to continue your volunteer work after such a traumatic experience.  I admire you.

I'm glad you're OK. I will say that I DO NOT think this dog needs to be adopted out. I know that sucks. And I don't mean to be cruel or whatever, but honestly, there are TONS of dogs in shelters everywhere that have rock solid temperaments that need homes. This guy is not stable.

Imagine had that been a child he had bitten. There WOULD HAVE been blood and stitches because a child doesn't know to NOT pull away when being bitten.

This needs to be taken serious by the HS person. You did good to inform her. And don't feel bad. I know it's easier to say that, but honestly, if you would not have informed anyone, a child or another human could have gotten hurt and then you would have something to feel bad about.

I really hope that your bruises heal. I'm so sorry this happened to you.[]

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Do take Janet's advice.  This is not a dog that should be adopted out.  As to whether this is an "attack", it doesn't matter.  Imagine the fear this would instill in a child, even if no skin was broken. 
A dog that is trying to kill you will go for vulnerable parts of the body, mostly neck or stomach.  But, a dog that is biting with force hard enough to put black and blues on you, could certainly have punctured a child's tender skin, so he is IMO a candidate for euthanasia.  Sometimes, part of our jobs is to protect the public, as well as to save the dogs we can...

Shows the reliability of temperment test. Temperment test BAD!

Gah!  Yes, and I think the problem with their temperament tests is that all the employees I see are small, skinny women.  Maybe not relative in this case, but often they miss dogs that are terrified of men like my husband and completely handshy, because when they do the test of course the dog is not afraid of them.  And yeah, it's impossible to test for every situation in every environment.  Maybe I smelled funny to Wally?  Maybe he doesn't like black pit bulls?  Who knows.

OK you guys, I called but they don't open until 9 so I left a message with my name and number and said it was Wally who attacked and they could find the details in the e-mails I sent to the behaviorist and volunteer coordinator and the reason I didn't report it last night was b/c I was too upset and wanted to leave and I saw all the people there for training and didn't want to scare anyone.

Well, now it's on them, so we'll see...

Oh man.  Your calm in the attack is amazing.  As others said, you should feel no guilt.  I wonder what would have happened if you had not been so dog savvy and freaked out.  You should give yourself much credit for handling it the best way possible.  Hope you heal quickly, inside and out!

Liesje,
 
It sounds like you are getting better and thinking with a clearer head.  Yes, it is up to the "them" to decide what to do with the dog and I am sure they will act responsibility.  If not, I am glad you are there to voice set them straight.  What to do with the dog and the decision on its fate is up to those involved.  It is no concern of anyone else.  If there are resources available and the organization wants to spend, maybe the dog can be rehabbed.  If they decide to PTS, then I respect that.
 
Question for you because of all these kitties in your sig.  How come we are more forgiving to cats when they attack us than with our dogs.  At least for me, when I clean their cages and they hiss and scratch me, I forgive.  Why is that?

Question for you because of all these kitties in your sig. How come we are more forgiving to cats when they attack us than with our dogs. At least for me, when I clean their cages and they hiss and scratch me, I forgive. Why is that?

I was actually wondering the same.  An acquaintance on another forum responded to me with "Blah, see this is why I've never liked dogs, only cats." and I wanted to remind her that to date, my most dangerous bite has been from my gray cat.  He bit me in the wrist and DID puncture quite deep.  I believe that cat bites have an infection rate around 80%.

Maybe it's because a cat generally will not attack a human to exercise dominance.  They attack when threatened, cornered, etc, but my cats would NEVER attack me when I have my back turned.  Also, they don't differentiate in where they strike.  If I'm annoying my cat, he'll bit my hand or whatever part of me is annoying him.  This dog lunged from behind and grabbed my shoulder/neck.  Besides some neurological disorder, I've never heard of a 10 lb domestic cat attacking someone's neck.

But it is a valid question.  My cats are "food aggressive" in dog terms.  They growl at me if I try to take away a treat, and they slap each other if one gets too close.  But I think in general, they just react in defense and that's it.  One cat will growl and slap the other so it doesn't eat her food, but she doesn't pounce on him and continually strike just over a piece of chicken.

You are an amazing person to have the courage to keep your composure, to assess what was going on when it was happening and warn DH off, to think about the reactions of the volunteers, and finally to worry about the future of the dog. I admire you.
 
Please, please listen to janet. The other people at the shelter must know ASAP about this. Another person walking this dog could have fallen and smashed their face or head---a child in a new family or even an adult could be seriously hurt or killed.
 
I read your last post and I understand you are looking for answers as to why this happened. Sadly, we may never know what triggered this.  There may be something PHYSICALLY wrong with the dog. This attack seems all out of whack---and there may be an organic reason for it.
 
This dog obviously has some kind of problem and you are the unlucky one to discover it.
 
I say "unlucky" but I honestly believe that it was anything but unlucky for many people.
 
Think about this:
 
How many volunteers at the shelter would have had your compose and good sense? How many would have had their DH walk by at that moment with their dog? What if you had stopped to chat with someone or tied your shoe or something else so you didn't encounter anyone on your walk? How many times had he been walked and NOT done something like this? How many days until he was going home with his new family?
 
Whether it was fate, or luck, or divine intervention,  uniquely qualified YOU were with that dog at that specific moment when he exploded.
 
Maybe there is a child or adult out there who you will be saving from injury or worse and you'll never know.
 
Good luck with contacting the shelter and know that many people are thinking of you and wishing you well.

I'm wondering if the dog was simply trying to play with you. Not that his behavior was excusable in any way, but if he was trying to hurt you it's a bit weird that no blood was drawn. The leaping on the back, the darting and nipping at ankles, the tugging on the limbs, all screams "inappropriate play" to me. If so, he may be easily rehabilitated.

That was my thoughts also mudpuppy. I'm surprised that no one else mentioned this. It is not excusing the behavior as it is pretty obnoxious behavior. I have one that I'm working through this problem with.  I'm wondering how old this dog is. The dog that I have is about  6 months and this is the reason he is staying with me. I guesss I've finally decided that he is a failed foster. He's really a lovey and just can not contain himself with his excitement. If someone else were to have him, I'm afraid that they just wouldn't know how to deal with this and may in fact think he was biting. I've been working with this since he was about 2 and one half months old. However, had no one worked with him, I'm sure his grabbing would be much rougher than what it is.  He's now getting it pretty well figured out, but like I said, he's young and just has a hard time containing himself. He's got it where he will lie down now and wait for me to pet him, but as soon as I do, that stimulates the excitement level again. The older he gets the more control he has with it. It's a balancing act for sure, to figure out to treat him when he does the right thing, but not get him stimulated enough to the point that his excitement is out of control. He's a cattle dog and we think, jack russel cross.