My GSD and a couple of hard days.

It has been a trying 48 hours for me. I started to write this post last night but never did finish it.

I never owned a dog before and recently decided to add a dog to our household.
I looked at maybe thirty or more puppies and adults from breeders and shelters. Finally, I decided on the dog.

I came home with healthy eight week old German Shepherd Dog.

Everything was going well up until about one in the morning last night. The puppy needed to go outside. My wife said she would get up this time and took the puppy out. I had done it every time up until this point. Meadow (my dog) already had the housebreaking down and we were working on getting her comfortable with the leash.

My wife put the leash on her and brought her outside. They walked for a good distance and the dog goes to the bathroom. It was a little cold outside but my wife started to play with the pup for awhile and then they started running back up to the house. Well, Meadow ran through my wife's legs, which caused her to trip. According to my wife the dog knocked her off her feet and the leash caught her ankle, which caused her to fall hard on the dog.

Well, I hear screaming and come running out of the house. The dog is yelping and ran over to them. I picked up Meadow and she was bleeding in the mouth. I brought her inside and started to look at her mouth and head. A few seconds later she had blood bubbling out the nose and goes completely limp. I swear, I thought Meadow was dead. I wiped the blood from her noise and mouth while screaming at the dog to wake-up. It felt liked I screamed her name a hundred times. Finally, she responded. I honestly don't know how long she was out but it felt like forever. Well, I grabbed my keys and cell phone and started towards the VET. Couldn't get him on the phone. I finally just called 411 and they connected me with a 24-hour emergency care about forty-five minutes away. I was stopped for speeding right before I reached the place but the officer just lead me the rest of the way there. I really appreciated that.

First they did a quick examination and her awareness had started to improve but her breathing was very labored. They took x-rays and were concerned about the diaphragm. And of course, head trauma. She went into an oxygen tent. It was a long night and many possibilities/outcomes were discussed.

Well, today they told me that her lungs have cleared up a lot. She is breathing better. She had a couple of nice clean bowel movements. No blood.

They told me about an hour ago that she started to bark again and being somewhat playful. Tonight they told me that there was a lot of bruising but the diaphragm looks good. So, hopefully we are out of the woods and they stated she might be ready to go home by tomorrow.

One thing that really upsets me about this place is that right after the initial examination they wanted the lower of the estimated cost of treatment right then or they weren't going to treat her. Here I am standing in a T-shirt with blood all over it, shorts, and slippers. I didn't even bring a credit card in the hurrying. I needed two thousand dollars. Well, I had someone come with cash but they weren’t willing to give me a day. It really was all about the money.

Well that was the post I started last night and never finished. Meadow just came home. Her breathing is great. She is very much acting like a normal puppy. I’m suppose to not let her run or let the kids really play with her for a week. They said to limit her activities to short walks on her leash.
LOL, Of course my wife isn’t permitted to touch her. J/k- My wife is really horrified and still can’t believe what happened. She hurt her back and leg and I hadn't even given her a little of my attention until today.

But seriously, I still can’t believe they would have let my dog die (if it had come to that) if I didn’t get the cash there as fast as I did.

Dennis,

I am glad that Meadow and your wife are OK. I understand what you went through. Thankfully your wife wasn't hurt worse or you'd have an even sadder story. Imagine a broken ankle to go with all of that?

We have an animal emergency care here that has saved the lives of two of our dogs. Yes, they also require payment up front, and they require payment over the phone before any kind of intervention but, if I recall correctly, they have a finance plan where one can be approved on the spot. I don't know what they do with the non-credit worthy.

Good luck and enjoy Meadow. It's like having another child though this one never grows up, is always happy to see you, and forgives everything.

Whew, I am so glad to hear that the pup is OK. What a terrible experience for all of you!

I saw an episode of Emergency Vets where a guy had found a stray cat whose jaw had been broken and it couldn't eat or drink. He had to raise the money for them to operate on it or they wouldn't treat it. It wasn't even his cat, he just found it! Otherwise they were simply going to hand it over to a shelter where it most likely would have been euthanized if no one claimed it. (that's if it didn't die first)
And I thought vets were supposed to love animals?

Awwww Dennis......what an awful deal, I bet your wife just felt horrible, though any of us can tell her that it wasn't her fault. Puppies do silly things like that.

I have never understood the vets that can sit and let an animal die if you don't have the cash up front to pay for life-threatening injuries. If it is a minor thing, perhaps....but to sit and watch an animal die, well...it defeats the purpose of what a vet should be a vet for, IMO. Yes, I have had the costs of running a clinic and such explained to me before, and understand if it is something that isn't life-threatening. But dang.

Another reason I am so thankful for the vets I have.....I can (and have) called them at 3 am, the office phone rings through to the house of whichever one is "on call" for the night, and yep....they say, "Meet you in the office in 20 minutes". They will ask, AFTER treating the animal, how much you can pay today.....but if I tell them I can give them $500 out of a $1000 bill, they say that's fine. They are more worried about the animal's life than the money.

Anyhoo.....sounds like all turned out well, and I'm really glad to hear you got your GSD puppy! As Jim said, they are just like kids, but usually better-behaved, lol....and will be an unconditional friend and furry family member.

I am a bit upset, however, that I haven't sen any pictures yet.

Thanks everyone.

Cathy, I will try to get some pictures up soon.

Originally Posted by Dennis Hultman

Awww, what a cutie pie!! I'm glad she's OK!!!

Originally Posted by lucille

Awww, what a cutie pie!! I'm glad she's OK!!!

Thanks. Her paws are huge. She is going to be a big dog just like her mom.

I almost went with a white GSD but I decide on her instead.

She's beautiful Dennis.