approached an intersection, we stopped, looked for traffic and saw a car approaching a stop sign. The driver was slowing for the upcoming stop sign and made (what I thought to be) eye contact with me. So we stepped off the curb and started across the street. The driver made a rolling stop and hit us. I was barely bumped, but Ziggy was knocked over and his foot was partially pinned under the front tire. The driver reacted immediately, stopping the car and starting to get out. I gestured emphatically for her to back up to free my dog’s foot from under the tire. I moved Ziggy out of the street. He was able to hobble on three legs. As I snapped photos with my mobile phone, she called my phone so I could have her contact information. She was a very responsible driver and immediately offered to pay for his vet bills. My house was less than half a block away, so within minutes, Ziggy was in my car and on the way to the vet. The extent of his injuries wasn’t apparent initially. I’d called ahead to let the veterinarian know he had been in an accident and when we pulled up, he was led into the exam room immediately. X-rays were taken and, luckily, he had no broken bones or torn ligaments. But he did have something called “degloving” lacerations. There’s more information about that kind of injury in the sidebar on page 70. Basically, degloving happens when the surface skin stops moving; in this case, because the cement grabbed the skin and the tissue underneath the skin continued to move—the inertia from being hit by a car. The skin is torn off the underlying tissue. It is, in fact, as horrible as it sounds. The resulting lacerations required stitches and plenty of recuperation time and rest. As with any injury requiring stitches, bed or crate rest helped the healing process. Pain medication and anti-inflammatories helped make the first few days of healing more bearable. The Elizabethan cone helped keep Ziggy from licking his bandages and infecting the wounds. Fourteen days later, I’m glad to say the stitches came out and he’s healing nicely. It’ll be a while
before we can go for our normal morning runs, but I’m sure we will build back up to it. So, what lessons did I take away from Ziggy’s frightening accident? There are several.
Crossing the Street
Yes, the driver should have stopped at the stop sign, but it would have been smarter for me to wait to make sure she came to a full stop before entering the intersection. Better yet, waiting for the intersection to be completely clear would have been even wiser. (See Valerie Masi’s article on page 66 about safety tips for dog walking.)
Always Carry Your Cell Phone
Having my mobile phone with me was very important: I used it to document the accident and get the driver’s contact information. I used it to call for help to bring a car from home and to call the vet and let her know we were on the way.
Get Some Training, Just in Case
The accident made it immediately apparent that I am lacking in first aid skills and petcompanionmag.com | Spring 2019 69