My poor little dog got hit by a car yesterday.
He often escapes from our backyard by digging a hole under the fence. We are constantly repairing the fence in various places because of this. Sometimes he comes home through the back, and sometimes he comes around to the front of the house.
Yesterday, he was gone less than an hour. We didn't even know he was gone. I looked out back, and asked, "Where's Taquito?" My husband didn't even know I'd let him out.
So I looked out the front door, and there he was. But he was leaning against the house in a strange way. I opened the door, and he came up to it, slowly, and slowly hopped inside, with his tail between his legs, like he'd done something very, very wrong. He stopped walking, and turned around to look at me with sad doggie eyes.
I bent down, asking, "Is something wrong? Are you okay?" And that's when I saw the huge gash in his leg. I immediately began changing my clothes, and hollered at my husband that I had to take him to the vet right away. I told the dog to go to bed, to get him out of the way of my 3-year-old. He walked all the way to his bed, and lay down. I changed into clothes as fast as I could, called the vet and told them I was coming, and went to look at the dog. He was closing his eyes, as if to sleep. At that moment, I thought he was dying.
I ran for his leash, which is the one thing that can coax him out of any spot, and luckily, I was correct this time, too. He hobbled out of his condo, I snapped the leash on, then gently picked him up, avoiding the gash in his leg. I yelled for my husband to open the door, then yelled for him to push the button for the garage door. I got my dog to the car, then to the vet. Brought him in. Put him on the scale in the room. And after observing him for a couple of seconds, the tech got the vet right in there.
Now, I thought he had cut his leg pretty bad. I thought a big dog had bitten him. The vet came in, and began examining him. She lifted the skin at the gash. And that's when I almost fainted. The skin flap kept going up and up and up....all the way across his "shoulder" and up to his neck. It was a huge flap of skin that had been ripped right off his muscles beneath. He was, in that section, literally skinned alive.
The vet and tech took him to the back to give him an IV and clean his wound, and also to get him away from me, because I was quickly becoming somewhat hysterical.
The doctor suspected that he had a dislocated shoulder, and as such, recommended I take him to the animal hospital, because if he did need surgery, someone at the hospital would be there for him overnight, but nobody was overnight at my regular vet's. Okay, here we go again. This time we take him in a blanket to the car, with an IV stuck in him.
I drove to the hospital, carried him in, asked repeatedly if my vet had called as she said she would, etc. They took him immediately to the back. I sat down. And then I didn't talk to anyone for about an hour, which sucked. It pissed me off, but there wasn't much I could do. The TV was playing one channel: Some Dude's Wild America. Those wildlife shows with the ultra-mellow narrator. Good god.
After a long time the vet came out and told me they wanted to x-ray him. I knew this was going to happen, so I said, "Yes, yes, do it and tell me what's next. I know you have to x-ray him!"
So she did. And you will not believe this. Bighorn sheep butt heads in slow motion!
No, that's not what I want to tell you. The unbelievable thing was this: NO broken bones. NO dislocated shoulder. Absolutely unreal. So the vet gave me an estimate of what it would cost to sew him up. I paid. I then left, and picked him up at 8pm.
My poor little doggie was walking, slowly and carefully, but walking. Drunkenly, but walking. I took him to the car, and he HOPPED into the front seat. He promptly laid down, but I was amazed.
He's been in his condo all day, resting. I took him out 3 times to pee. Each time he looks better and better. He ate a bit today.
This 9-year-old doggie is now an indoor doggie. I'm so glad he's alive. I can't believe he survived being hit by a car, which is what the vet concluded, with some conviction. He probably got clipped by a bumper, which ripped his skin.
He's so small and quick........I hope the people didn't see him. If they did, they'd better steer clear of me. I'll bitch slap them up the street.
My poor little doggie. He's such a lucky boy. I hope he comes out of this whole thing okay.
Just this morning I was discussing a "good rejection letter," with a novelist friend of mine. She had received one. This afternoon, after a particularly harrowing day at work, I received one as well.
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