My Dog Got Hit By a Car! ***Updated One Last Time

As a lot of you know I have a 2 year old border collie named Odin. When I work midnights, like I did last night, my parents often watch the kids and the dog for me out at their place in the country. My dad dropped over and picked the boys up today (dh got called into work this AM) and invited Odin to hop into the van too. I fell asleep around 9 AM. At 1:20 PM I woke up to the phone ringing. It was my dad saying he was going to bring the boys back into town because the dog got chasing something and wound up getting hit by a car. The good news was that the dog was still alive, the bad news was that no one could get near him.
I told my dad I would rather head out there thinking that way one of us could go looking until they got too tired or cold and the other could watch the kids at the house and keep an eye on the visible fields and ravine from there and hopefully see him. As luck would have it when I pulled up I saw that my Aunt from Toronto had stopped in for an unexpected visit. She offered to stay with the boys so my dad and I could go looking for Odin. We split up on separate sides of the ravine hoping to corner him in the bottom.
Eventually we lost track of each other and got separated. I was trudging around the edge of the ravine in a partially frozen, partially muddy corn field -- not easy in the 3 inch wedge boots I happened to grab as I was running out the door. I finally found some muddy paw prints in the snow. I wasn't sure if they were Odin's or a coyote, but I followed them anyway. I wound up following them down to the bottom of the ravine when I couldn't find any more tracks in the snowy/muddy ravine I stood there for a few minutes pondering my next move. It was then that I finally caught movement that wasn't a wild turkey out of the corner of my eye. It was hard to make him out at first, but sure enough it was Odin camoflaged in the brush about half way up the ravine!
I tried calling him, but he didn't budge. I realized right away that if I moved towards him he would run away again so I stayed still. I had my cell phone on me and by some miracle it worked from down there! I got a hold of my dad and by that time my husband had gotten to my mom and dad's house too. We were about a kilometer away from the nearest road in a ravine that separated two corn fields so it took them a couple of hours to find us. The three of us tried to box Odin in and catch him, but he managed to get away again. By this time it was 4:30 and he was tired and cold. Good thing too because I was in such a hurry to get out there that I had forgotten my hat and gloves on top of throwing on those stupid wedge healed boots! Odin finally was so tired that when he tried to run through the creek to get away that he just didn't have the strength to pull himself out and we caught him.
I went and knocked on the nearest neighbour's door just to let them who we were and why we were on their property. The poor people had just moved in and hadn't met me or even my parents yet. The wife looked shocked to see me in a big bulky winter coat, standing well over 6 feet tall in those boots after chasing a dog through the woods all afternoon! I bet I looked lovely! My dad and the neighbour's husband wrapped Odin up in a blanket and put him on a kid's wagon to pull him along a deer trail until we could get to a tractor path my dad's truck could get down without getting stuck in the mud. We got Odin to an emergency vet clinic. The vet said that he doesn't think there are any broken bones in his torso at all so hopefully there aren't any internal injuries and that the fact he led us on a chase like that shows that he's still got quite a bit of spunk! He didn't want to stress him out too much and he could see that I was still shivering from being in the cold for so long so he gave Odin some pain meds and an IV and will examine him better when he's warmer and less shocky. We should know more tomorrow and will hopefully be able to bring him home soon!

***Update: I've had an hour's sleep since yesterday so I hope this makes sense! The vet called this morning and said that it looks like the injuries aren't too bad. He's got quite a bit of road rash around his face and mouth (which we already knew) and lots of bumps and bruises, but he really doesn't think there are any broken bones. His big concern at this point was that Odin hasn't peed yet and he wants to make sure there are no tears to his bladdar before letting us take him home.

***One More Update! Odin's home now and doing well. When he first saw me he cowered away, but once I knelt down and he saw I really wasn't mad he ran over to me crying and licking my face. His face is a bit swollen and his front right leg is bandaged up a little, but he looks much better than he did on Saturday. I bought a couple of cans of the soft food they've been feeding him and will pick up some more later so that he can eat without pain, but other than that and trying to keep him from over exerting himself I shouldn't have to do any special after care for him.

Oh poor dog, I hope he's okay, and you get warmed up.

Wow, how sad and scary. I'm glad you were able to finally get Odin and hopefully all will be well.

Hope Odin will be his sparky little self again soon.

Poor Odin, he will recover soon hopefully. Get warm, drink hot cocoa or something stronger.

((((oh Rebecca)))) I am so sorry!! I cant imagine the horor you were feeling the entire time! I am glad that you were able to get him out and that he is recieving treatment! I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers! and Odin too!

That has always been my biggest pet fear. Loosing a dog to a car.

I am so glad to hear that Odin is alright. Please keep us updated on his status.

Im sorry to hear it happened, but glad you were able to find him and that he should make a good recovery

Oh no! I hope he is ok, and you can bring him home soon!

I hope everyone recovers ok. You could get sick from being so cold too Rebecca. Take care!

I hope he recovers soon. Poor thing, must have been so scared.

Oh Rebecca! I'm so sorry that you went through all that, but I'm happy to hear that he's doing well. I've had a few dogs hit by cars and one died but most of the time they were just banged up and didn't even break bones. In fact, for years we had a dog who got run over at least 2 or 3 times every summer. He liked to sleep under the farm truck and we always shooed him out before moving it but he would slip back under it if he got the chance. He got run over by that same truck at least once a month during the summer and he was always sore and sad but never really hurt. The vet said that if a car isn't going too fast when it hits, dogs usually heal up.

I am sorry...I hope he makes a speedy recovery.
I had a border collie when we moved to WV. I loved that dog, she would only listen to me or my dad. One foggy morning she tried to follow my dad to work, and got hit and killed. I hated that so bad.

Rebecca, I hope you get some sleep. Odin will be home - safe and sound, soon.
*crossing my fingers and hoping for the best*

your update sounds promising! let us know when he is given the all clear!

Awww poor dog and poor you! That sounds like a miserable adventure. I hope he is recovering well.

Glad he is home, poor guy.

I am so glad that he is home safe and back with his family!!!

That's wonderful, Rebecca! I'm so glad to hear he's doing well.

Awe, I'm so happy to hear Odin is home now.

Thanks everyone! We really missed him while he was in the animal hospital. His pain meds wore off today, but he was more sleepy than anything else. He's drinking plenty of water and is eating well so I expect him to be back to normal soon!

I am coming into this thread very late. I am so glad he's doing better. I can only imagine what you went through trying to get ahold of him. It sounds like he's had great care, though.