A bad weekend for Sunny

Sunny before the accident....happy, smiley, content

This was not the best weekend for our 2-year old border collie, Sunshine.  

She got hit by our truck.

It was an accident. We were driving a load of materials from one side of the property to the other, an occasion in which the dogs like to scamper along. Since we were driving across grass, we were moving about 5 miles an hour. 

Our older border collie Cowboy likes to chase the truck, and Sunny likes to chase Cowboy. Apparently, she got too close to the wheels because all of a sudden we heard a garbled howl of pain.  I thought we ran her over.  Jake slammed on the brakes, we got out, and saw Sunny hobbling away from the vehicle, whimpering.  

We rushed over to her, told her to lay down so we could give her an inspection.  She didn’t whimper upon having her limbs and paws prodded and squeezed, which led Jake—the animal whisperer—to conclude she was fine.  Had she been really hurt, he said she would have run off into the woods—a collie trademark—or wildly lick or paw at the injured area.  Instead, she just lay there, submissive, docile but excited.  She actually had a goofy grin on her face, which I think was from shock.  

Judging by her limp, it looked like her left rear paw had been run over. Thankfully, we were on grass, and the soil—made soft from the recent rains—provided a cushion.  Had we been on pavement, her paw might have been crushed.  Jake thought all she needed to do was “walk it off.”  

I thought we should take her to the vet.  But Jake kept insisting they’d give the same diagnosis…only charge $150 for it.  He reminded me again that dogs aren’t humans; they’re much tougher and more resilient than we are.  Especially hearty breeds like collies, who have been bred throughout the centuries to survive farm life. They can fall off a truck going 35-miles an hour (our old dog Junebug), have their paw run over by a Bobcat (Junebug), and get kicked full-force in the face by a horse (Cowboy), and be fine. 

I want to believe him—I do believe him—but as the day worn on, I watched our little dog become more and more lethargic.  Maybe she’s simply not as resilient as our other dogs.  Maybe she’s…like me—a genetic wimp.  Not every species can “tough it out.”

If that had happened to yours truly, I’d be on life support.

What if she has internal bleeding?  What if she’s suffering psychological trauma?  

Sunny after the accident....lethargic, depressed

I kept her home with me today so she could rest.  I notice she didn’t eat her breakfast, and I have to call her numerous times before she’ll come.  When she does come, she walks slowly with her tail between her legs. Her gait looks a little off, but she is otherwise walking okay.  

I’ll keep a close eye on her. If I see her condition deteriorate, I’m taking her to the vet, border collie resiliency be damned!

Tagged as: Sunny