Sunday 1 July 2012

Todays Story

"Excuse me!"

Her body hung limp in his arms.

"She's been hit by a car."

I asked the gentleman to take a seat as I went and got the vet.

"She's gone, she's gone!" I heard the gentleman cry as I told the vet that we had an emergency just arrive.

I went over to the dog, slumped in her owners arms. I lifted her lip to look at the colour of her gums, extremely pale and her tongue was blue. I touched the corner of her eye to see if there was any reaction, nothing.

The man sobbed as I went and got a stethoscope.

As I knelt down to listen for a heartbeat I saw a small twitch in her front leg. Maybe she is alive? I thought to myself.

"I'm sorry, I can't find a heartbeat, I will get the vet to double check but I think she's gone." I honestly don't know how I managed to utter those words without crying myself.

I walked back into the consult room and mentioned to the vet that I thought the dog was dead. He grabbed the stethoscope from me and went out to where the gentleman sat, sobbing with his dog in his arms.

As I had suspected, she was gone.

I comforted the owner and we spoke about what to do next. He left, leaving his beloved pooch behind.




Working in a veterinary clinic always has its ups and downs. Todays events were certainly one of the downs. Sometimes it really affects me, sometimes I hardly bat an eyelid. Today it affected me. Seeing two grown men cry over the loss of their much loved dog is quite sad.

It made me think about my dogs and what it would be like if they were to suddenly leave me. It made me think about the guy who hit the dog and kept driving. It made me think about responsible pet ownership and keeping your pet safe and secure.

Who's fault was it that the dog was hit? The driver? The dog? The owner?




If you have any opinions or stories, share them with me. I would love to hear them! I can already feel another post coming along.....pet ownership.......

2 comments:

  1. Well handled:-) Tough day:(
    I,d say it was a bad accident, but the driver should have stopped.

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  2. Very sad. Hope you're day got better xx

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