# I failed my dog



## DougAndKate (Sep 16, 2011)

And almost lost him because of it.

Just as a bit of a backstory, we stopped training 7 months ago right before we had the baby. Prior to that, we had intense 1 on 1 training every week to get Elroy ready, e-collar for off leash, and nailing down the bed command, which has been our savior. This was after basic puppy training etc. 

Elroy is very good off leash while hiking, I keep a long lead on him just in case, because most of our parks aren't technically off leash, and because we do have some major roads nearby. The only time I ever had a problem with him was when a herd of deer came running out of nowhere right by us as we were playing fetch, and he went after them like a cheetah. He came back 5 minutes later covered in scratches and mud with a smile on his face, and I let out a huge sigh of relief.

Cut to this Saturday. I've been working on a new fence for a few weeks now. I've been keeping Elroy tied up to a fence post on a long lead during this process. Well Saturday morning I had the hose out for concrete, a table saw, extension cords, and just work stuff everywhere in the driveway. He was getting tangled up constantly, and instead of just putting him in the house, I allowed my cockiness to get the best of me. I unclipped him, and let him just hang around us with his e-collar on.

He was obeying very well. He wouldn't go past the midpoint in the driveway when I told him not to. My brother-n-law pulled into the driveway. I put him in a sit, and he stayed until my brother-n-law approached and I gave the free command. We were hanging around getting some prep work done and he was great.

So my cousin and brother then pull up and park across the street. I again put Elroy in a sit. He really likes my brother so he's whining and his tail is going crazy. I looked away for what I thought was a split second and when I looked back up, he was in a dead sprint towards the street which my brother was now crossing. I had the e-collar remote in my pocket, I reached my hand in as quickly as I could and hit the button, just as Elroy crossed the sidewalk and got smacked by a car that never saw him coming.

I was in complete shock. I thought my dog was dead. He came running back up the driveway, which I figured was a good sign. He was bleeding heavily from his mouth and had bad cuts on every one of his joints. He wasn't limping. He hit the car so hard that he broke the windshield washing fluid hose, as the car was leaking all over the place.

My wife heard the commotion and came out of the house. She rushed him to the vet. After x-rays and examining him, he has no broken bones or internal injuries. He had a small cut on his tongue which is what all of the blood was from. A few nasty cuts on his elbows and legs from hitting the ground I guess. He's on antibiotics and some pain meds. He mostly slept all weekend. This morning he chased a squirrel in the back yard, which is another good sign.

I consider myself so lucky. I can't get the image of him getting hit out of my head. I will never put him in a position to fail again. I keep remembering my trainer saying about recall- "Pretty good isn't good enough. It's 100% or nothing." Never has it made more sense than now.

On an ironic note, we had already made an appointment to start training up again on Sunday. We went just to talk to the trainer about our plans going forward and to let him know what happened to Elroy. He was pretty distraught as well. Elroy had no problem bouncing around and trying to get to the other dogs.

I am so grateful that I still have my best friend. And I'm so grateful that my 7 month old daughter will still have many years ahead with him. I just know that I failed him and almost lost him, and it still hurts.


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## AcadianTornado (Jul 30, 2012)

I teared up reading your story. I recognize myself in it so don't feel guilty about what has happened, you may just have saved multiple V's/pups/dogs by sharing your story! I takes more courage to admit our mistakes sometimes than our success however we can learn more from our mistakes.

Thanks for sharing and perhaps saving my/our best friends also!

AT


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## GarysApollo (Nov 27, 2012)

Glad to hear he is going to be okay.

I could not imagine my bous getting hit by a car, I know I would also blame my self.


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

So glad he is ok!


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Thank you, DougAndKate, for being brave enough to share your story. As AT said, you just might have saved a life by doing so. I'm so glad to hear that Elroy is doing okay now!!! 

I lost a dog to hit-by-car when I was just a girl. The people who were too trusting were my parents. He had run off after a squirrel and we went looking for him, and so I was in the car when we found his beautiful, lifeless body by the side of the road. A police car had stopped to pull him off the road. It was many years ago, and still, as I type this, I have tears in my eyes. I was only about ten when it happened. My teachers reported to my parents that I was distracted, and had been drawing pictures of dogs wearing halos at school. 

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE everyone, be careful with your dog's life. You can be too trusting and end up with a terrible tragedy. My dog, Sam, was only about four years old. If recall is not 100%, it is simply not worth the risk. :'( :'( :'(


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## pippylongstocking (May 21, 2012)

Doug and Kate - How horrific for you. I can't imagine the distress you went through, seeing Elroy injured. So so glad he is going to be ok. xxx


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## CrazyCash (Jul 12, 2012)

So glad that he's ok - I can't imagine how awful that was!!! Things can happen in the blink of an eye, but so happy that you had a happy outcome. My brother's neighbor just lost his 6 month old puppy when he ran out of the yard and was hit by the garbage truck. :'(

Thanks for sharing because it really is easy for this to happen! Sending good thoughts for a speedy recovery for your boy!!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Things happen in the blink of an eye.
We can't avoid every mishap that life throws at us.
Its not for us to dwell on the past, but just to learn from it.
So glad he is back up and running.

When June was younger I lost her for 2 hours.
My guess is she took off after a deer or rabbit.
What I did wrong was running to many dogs at one time in heavy cover.


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## tknafox2 (Apr 2, 2013)

You are a very lucky Dad, it sounds like a miracle to me! 
I must add an additional pointer...a sad event that happened to a friend in Hawaii...she was running on the beach, and her dogs were just running around free when she noticed that her female Xena had crossed the road so she CALLED her... poor Xena obeyed and ran back across the road right in front of an oncoming car. She survived but bore life long scars, as did my friends Heart.
I have chosen to use the word STOP in training instead of the worn NO... no can be confusing in different circumstances to dogs, where as the meaning of stop never changes. just a matter of choice I guess. 
I will certainly pray for your Elroy, and send you both healing energy!


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## Rudy (Oct 12, 2012)

Doug and Kate You did swell to me

Very bad things happen to Very Good folks daily 

God bless your mate

No risks in life

No rewards

Be better then well

CHAMP

My Flowers are for all of you

Your Heart is Great trust me

I felt it some


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## luv2laugh (Oct 6, 2011)

I too teared up. I am so glad that Elroy is ok. Another person saying thank you for sharing your story. It is a good reminder for many of us, no matter how vigilant we are, most make little mistakes. I can't imagine how terrifying it must have been to see the whole thing go down. Sending good thoughts for the boy, what a blessing he is ok!


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## DougAndKate (Sep 16, 2011)

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and concerns. Elroy seems to be back to his crazy self, had the zoomies around the yard last night for like 10 minutes. I almost can't believe that he's going to be ok, it kind of boggles my mind. I always thought he was tough, maybe too tough at times, but now I'm grateful that he is so strong.

I'm going to use this second chance to rededicate myself to helping him become the best dog that he can be. And I'm going to finish that **** fence this weekend so that this hopefully will never happen again.

Doug


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## Laika (Mar 3, 2013)

Doug, I can't imagine how you felt at that instant. Very happy to hear it turned out well, and your Elroy is back to those crazy Vizsla zoomies ;D

A great reminder for all of us. Thanks for sharing this experience with the forum.


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## Shyla (Mar 11, 2013)

Wow what a tear jerking story! 
And what a wonderful dad you are no matter what.
Let the traumatic story of one Viz's lucky escape be a lesson to us all.


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