In Case of Emergency
Know how to react before an accident occurs
By Jenni Terry
Roman Sigaev/shutterstock.com
Geoff Kratville and his wife, Courtney Trombly, of Arlington, recently experienced the No.1 thing every pet owner hopes will never happen but should always be prepared for.
Kelsey, the couple’s yellow Labrador Retriever, was struck by a car in the road adjacent to a neighborhood dog park one March evening during a game of fetch.
As with every accident, a simple chain of events took place: A ball was tossed to Kelsey’s side; she missed it; the ball kept bouncing as she kept missing it and propelling it toward the road.
In that quick moment, the couple said they saw on-coming headlights and began calling and running after her, but Kelsey was determined to snag the ball.
“After that, we are really unclear what happened,” Kratville says.
“We heard the tires screech and a sickening ‘thump.’ So as we rounded the cars, expecting to see the worst, we were shocked to find Kelsey nowhere to be found! A blond streak in our peripheral vision drew our attention back to the park where we found Kelsey covered in blood, whimpering, holding her paw up.”
Fortunately for Kelsey, her owners are trained for crisis situations—by the U.S. Marine Corps—but the couple says they did not immediately know where to take her for emergency care.
“We rushed her to VCA Alexandria, a 24-hour pet hospital referred to us by our veterinarian’s off-hours, automated phone system,” Kratville says.
“We had never looked up emergency pet information before, so it took a few minutes to figure out where to go, who to call, etc. Since we had called ahead, they had personnel ready for our arrival and, upon our arrival, immediately took her to triage. The staff at VCA was professional and exactly what a concerned pet owner needs at a time such as this.”
Kelsey was kept overnight following soft tissue surgery to close up her wounds, which were exposed tendons and bones.
“We consider ourselves to be very lucky that this was her only injury from the accident, and that no bones were broken,” Kratville says.
After three weeks of healing that included special care for her bandages at the hand of the couple’s regular vet as well as antibiotics and pain killers, Kelsey’s stitches and bandage were removed. By then, an unfazed Kelsey was ready to play again, Kratville says, but that meant no longer being able to milk her injuries.
“Kelsey learned she could use her injured paw for attention—and treats,” Kratville says. “Everyone in the vet office fawned over her injured paw, and [they] were quick to dispense with treats.”
The couple says the experience taught them that every pet owner should make it a point to know the closest 24-hour emergency hospital and to have the phone number for it.
Like Trombly and Kratville, pet owners can find a 24-hour facility through their veterinarians. There is also “an app for that”—the Informed Pet Emergency Pocket Guide app, a resource with emergency contacts and reference numbers as well as a host of additional information such as how-tos on first aid, including CPR and the Heimlich maneuver.
The Red Cross’s online store offers cat and dog first-aid training DVDs to teach owners how to handle a variety of pet emergency situations.
As Trombly and Kratville learned, accidents do happen, and that means to everyone.
Even the most doting, attentive pet owners can’t always shield their pet from harm, and, unfortunately, 911 is not an option for securing help for four-legged family members.
(August 2011)