Close Call

Its been long enough I think I can finally commit this experience to words.

This past Monday night, I was leaving my house to make a cab run. I put Boudain, my Dachshund, on his leash as some bikes were riding by. He went nuts, which was not unusual. What was unusual is his cable snapped, and he took off running.

I went in pursuit, but knew from experience not to make it a game. After all, I had a twenty foot range of control with the cable still dragging behind him. He was down the block in a flash. He sniffed briefly at some bushes, but he clearly wanted to play chase as well as explore. He took off down the narrow shoulder of busy county road 1973, better known as Liberty Road, but accurately Liberty PIKE. Its a busy road. I called out his name as traffic was approaching, and he did the unthinkable. It should have been unwatchable. He dodged into a moving car. I heard a sickening thump, and another car swerved to avoid his lifeless body.

unhesitatingly, I went out and scooped his body into my arms, as I hear a painful groan. It was almost a bark, almost a moan, it was definitely a new noise for me. As I walked back hurriedly to my house, I calmed him down in hushed tones. He never squirmed. As I sat on the front step, I quickly called and canceled my ride, and started to look for the number for my Vet. I saw the number for one of the girls that gave me the dog and I called her. I quickly told her what happened, and found the address of the 24 hour emergency clinic. They agreed to meet me there.

Lexington is not a typical grid road type city. The spokes and wheels of roads require a series of compromises in almost any cross town route. The girls agreed to meet me there. On the way, I could see his abdomen moving with his breaths, so I could tell he was still alive. I knew nothing else of his condition. I just knew I had to get him to the hospital. As I made the final turn to the hospital, he squirmed to get comfortable. I took that as a good sign.

When I got inside, the girls were already there. First he needed to be weighed. He is fifteen pounds. He has graduated from Miniature Dachshund to Standard. The only barrier between the "breeds" is weight and the boundary is 14-15. He had been fourteen pounds. In the examination room, he could stand on the table and started to walk around, but a little unsure of his step. He did not appear to be the squished waffle dog I was expecting. I was sure his back would be broken, and his entrails would be exposed. I saw the thing happen and he collided with the car, and he is the size of a tom cat. He did have an abrasion above his eye.

I agreed to have him stay over night and be watched. He was put on fluids, as well as pain killers. The next morning he was a bit groggy, but looked back to the path of normalcy. I took him home, and we took a nap. After about two hours he woke me up, needing to go out. The mail man came buy and the dog went nuts, as usual. The mailman knows its all part of the greeting and actually likes the dog. Substitutes, are not so understanding. But this crazy behavior was a sign he was recovering.

What we think happened is, he dodged between the front and back left tire. He struck his head on something under the car. It could have been the axle or even the other tires. In any case he flattened down and was in the center of the lane when the car passed over him. Fortunately the car behind him swerved to avoid him, and no further damage was done.

This is the luckiest dog. He caught Parvo as a pup, and survived. He got lost and was found, also as a pup. Now he survived being run over by a car. I think he takes after his master friend.

Kronick
aka Kevin 3.1

[...driving by in the Red Car...]