# Our First Traumatic Experience



## Pineapple Princess (Nov 20, 2009)

So..... Hobie almost got hit by a car last night. I'm still sick over it and cannot quit replaying the events in my head. I feel like the worst mother in the world. 

Hobie started squatting on the carpet in the family room, so as usual I quickly picked her up, said "Outside Hobie" and placed her in the back yard to prevent an accident. 

She peed.

Then took off for the front yard, which she's never done before.

Down the driveway and into the street. Running full speed down the MIDDLE OF THE ROAD, in the dark. I took off after her, trying to remain calm, calling her and trying to coax her toward the side of the road. I knew it was only a matter of time before cars would come. We live on a cut-through type road, and almost no one obeys the 25 mph speed limit.

Sure enough, two cars came in opposite directions and Hobie ran across the road right between them. I tried to stop them, jumping in the street, arms flailing. Common sense obviously out the window at this point.

Never in my adult life have I screamed so loud. My husband heard me scream and ran out to see the cars slamming their brakes and me standing in the middle of the road. As it was happening I was praying that she would escape with broken bones and nothing worse. All I could do was watch. As one of the cars was almost on top of her, I felt myself saying goodbye to her, there was no way she was escaping tragedy.

The woman in the car missed Hobie by less than 5 inches. She didn't even see her, it was so dark and I know she was speeding. She rolled down her window and asked what happened. She had slammed on her brakes so hard that her own dog in the car with her hit it's head on the dashboard. 

Never again will I let Hobie out without a leash. I don't care if she pees a spot the size of Texas on the carpet. The leash goes on first. The invisible fence cannot come soon enough. It may not wait until spring. And we're starting obedience school tomorrow morning. :'(


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## DragonTheRevolutionary (Feb 15, 2009)

wow, good thing she's safe :'(, give her a nice big turkey leg from me ;D, plus work on some commands since she's still young so you can avoid this in the future


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

Get that fence in as soon as possible. 
A long time ago one of my Vizsla's, Rush, chased a fox out of the yard and into the road. he got hit by a Ford Bronco. He didn't get killed but he lost his front leg. I had let him out to do his stuff multiple times during the day and never in 6 years had he left the yard before, with or without the fence being used. 
The electric fence had been taken out by lightning a few weeks prior to the event,and I procrastinated getting a new one installed. What a mistake.
This was a trained dog that I could command like remote control in the forest, but for that brief 15 second time window.

Bottom line is that the surgery for Rush then was over $3000.00, A fence would have only been about $150.00.

Rushie lived a long life after that,and he was still a frisbee chasing, hunting bird dog that loved to sleep in my truck. When he was running you couldn't even tell he only had three legs. 

Get the fence as soon as possible and there's no need to berate yourself. They can get away so quickly, even when trained.


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## Pineapple Princess (Nov 20, 2009)

Thanks. We are off to puppy class. I think she's gotten double her normal dose of hugs & kisses since the event. :-*


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## DragonTheRevolutionary (Feb 15, 2009)

oh and also don't go to puppy class, waste of money


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## Vlicked (Jun 19, 2008)

I cannot imagine how you must have felt. How terrifying. I am happy to hear everyone came out untouched. In our puppy class, they told us to not only teach our pups the common recall command. But to have a second recall command that you would only use in case of emergency. The example they gave was in case your dog was running into the road! The premise is that whenever you used this command, the dog would get a high valued treat and something they would only get when you use this command so that it's special. Like chicken or beef or something. I figured our emergency recall command would be "oh sh*t" since that's probably what I would be saying if Loki was running in front of a car. 

You'll have fun in puppy class. We learned a lot since it had been a long time since either of us had a dog.


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## Crazy Kian (Aug 10, 2009)

Pienapple,
Glad everything ended up for the better.
I guess that was a tough one to learn, eh.

Puppy classes are fun, she will get a kick out of them and it's a great foundation for the both of you to learn the basics.

Good luck and be safe.


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## Kailua (Feb 12, 2009)

I'm glad to hear that you two are both alright. Your dog may have forgotten the episode but I know that you won't ever. I had a similar episode with Snickers. I tied him to an iron chair with my sister next to him. He went to smell around him and the chair tipped over. He got so freaked that he ran-with the chair through the parking lot. When my sister finally got him, both were shaken up and his nails were down to the quick and bleeding. That was trauma for all. AND we just came back from dog class and he just got his Good Citizen certificate. I would encourage you to go to puppy class-for training and great socialization.


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## Pineapple Princess (Nov 20, 2009)

With each passing day the incident has become less "raw" in my mind and I've felt less guilt about moving on, do you know what I mean? 

Hobie had a great weekend and is TUCKERED OUT!!! Some doggie play dates, our first trip to the park for a walk now that the snow has melted, and our 1st puppy class. So fun. We couldn't believe how quickly she picked up on the lessons.

And I bought her some new pup accessories. She's graduated to the next sized collar. I can't believe how fast she's growing!!

*Sniff* :'(


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