Sofia, a Havanese on the Dog Liver Disease site accidentally got out during a trip out of town and was hit by a car. Thankfully and miraculously she is alive and seems not to have sustained any major physical trauma thus far.
When I read that she had been hit, I felt my heart skip a beat. I think anyone who has witnessed or lost a dog to a car accident, or even almost lost a dog to an incident with a vehicle will not forget that sickening feeling for the rest of his or her life. I know I won’t.
I’ve been meaning to put a post up as a salute Alice, the Border Collie whom I met last summer and whose owner I befriended and became bonded with forever in one of the best as well as most certainly the worst day for me last year.
As a result of my involvement with Alice’s passing last summer, I have become completely paranoid about dogs and cars, especially since Willie our Min Pin is an escape artist and runner, Russell the Morkie loves to run out and stand in the road whenever she gets a chance, and Halle is so tiny, she blends in with the dirt road at our summer place.
When I hear my husband coming up the driveway, I would run out with limbs akimbo scooping up small loose dogs like a maniac. Even crazy-smart dogs can’t fully wrap their heads around how deadly vehicles are, especially the ones they are familiar with. Why would a vehicle they wander under for shade suddenly be cause for alarm?
I’ve been putting off the tribute to Alice because every time I think about last summer I have feelings of despondency and nausea. How I cried. How Jeff cried. He didn’t leave the house for days and I was in shock for what seemed to be like an eternity. I couldn’t stop reliving the moment involuntarily. I was terrorized and haunted by my memories.
The feelings of terror and guilt are awful, but even most rural environments are not free of motor vehicles and the most vigilant pet owner cannot always anticipate or prevent an accident from happening.
I’m almost ready to write about Alice, but for now I just want to pray for Sofia and for her human parents to emerge as unscathed as possible.
Please feel free to share your experiences in the comments.
Ming's Dog Blog 