Post by nina on Sept 18, 2021 10:24:35 GMT -5
Essentially I want to know a good set of procedures to do when you come upon a dog hit by a car. Last night I came upon a lady who stopped to help an injured dog. She was crying and had parked her car behind a dangerous curve and was trying to push an injured Rottweiler off the road. She said she saw the dog lying in the road and a car ran over it without stopping right in front of her. Probably the dog got hit twice. Naturally the dog had no tag and it was a country road. I checked a nearby house and no one was home and then went back to my own home a couple of miles away for supplies. (water towel leash kennel) I was worried the dog might turn aggressive any minute and wanted to move it to a safer location. The woman had called 911 who redirected her to animal control. By the time I got back there were more people on the scene but essentially doing nothing by fretting. Next thing you know a lady in scrubs pulled over saying she worked for a vet. She said the dog wasn't going to make and she had a gun. There was a man with a car load of kids all gawking at the scene so her idea of shooting the dog was vetoed. Animal control had not shown up so I decided to make a run with the dog to the emergency vet. They scanned the dog, and of course there was no chip. They also said it would be $500 just to do X-rays and assess her injuries. In the past I spent $300 on a healthy dumped dog getting it shots and examined and a month of time trying to find it a home and was really worried about how much time and money I was going to have to put into this dog when she just died on the gurney being rolled into the examining room. Apparently this vet will let people bring dogs in and sign them over to relinquish responsibility but I didn't know that. I still don't know what the legal ramifications are of putting someones animal to sleep or doing vet care or if all emergency vets let you sign stray dogs over. I think vets would then face the problem of people dumping dogs on them so they don't want people to know you can sign them over. So what to do? I know this particular Rottweiler was sweet natured and never tried to bite despite how much it must of hurt loading her in a car then a gurney at the vet's. She suffered a long time as a small crowd of people pondered what to do. Essentially most wanted to help but feared taking responsibility because who wants to spend thousands on a problem they didn't create? Also, personal injury is a real concern with large dogs. Earlier in the same area someone dumped a mastiff. Again a similar situation, another lady had stopped and tried to coax a the frightened mastiff into her car. That dog was nervous and trotted off in a field. I saw her calling for help so I left, thinking Animal Control can deal with that. A few days later I saw the mastiff's corpse on the side of the road. I wish dumpers know what happens to their dogs and how many people they hurt. The first lady was seriously traumatized and won't get over what she saw and the helplessness you feel when there isn't a lot you can do will stick with her. The vet suspected the Rottweiler was used as a breeder and dumped when she could no longer produce puppies. She looked like a quality well bred dog. In the past when I've called rescues and there are a ton of them in my town they won't help with dumped dogs always saying they are at capacity. Aside from my rant, it would be nice if there were standardized procedures to take when one comes upon an injured animal. My instinct was to give the dog some water because she was draining fluid from both ends. Someone said not to because she was facing surgery. My biggest regret was not letting the dog have a drink of water before dying and waiting so long before taking her to the vet. On a side note, my daughter's much loved Border collie Ruby has a chip that has migrated from its original position. Does she need another chip put in?