Did Your Dog Get Out?

By: Joel Allen

It was a clear, sunny day and the wind had picked up a little. I was visiting a friend, and as I was in my friend’s front yard, I looked across the street and saw one of his neighbor’s dogs come out of the front door because it was not latched. Well, I was informed that the small-to-medium-sized dog that was pit mixed was not a nice dog, and I had Houston with me. I immediately put him back in the house.

As I watched the dog get out the door, sniffing and marking everywhere, I noticed another dog that came to the open door. It was a white, medium-to-large-sized dog, and it seemed to be nervous. The wind was making the porch storm door blow open and then close, and it repeated again. The dog looked nervously at the swinging door, and I said, “Oh, this is not good,” as the wind blew the door open again and the nervous dog hesitantly went through the door to follow its friend. Well, they went into another neighbor’s yard, and the smaller dog seemed to be leading the bigger dog. They went to cross the street; suddenly, I heard tires screeching and saw the bigger of the two dogs get hit and scream out as it took off for the hills. The little dog went to its dog house and hid itself.

I immediately started yelling for the owner to come out and find her dog. I was angry and upset because here I see another dog owner who is neglectful of their canine family member. Anyway, that day was long for the dog who got hit. In the end, the dog turned up approximately 4 miles away from where it had been hit. The Lady who hit the dog apologized, and I informed her that she was not flying through the neighborhood and the dog should not have been out. Later that evening the dog was found and taken to the vet. What a hard lesson to learn.

So, let’s make ourselves more aware of what is going on in our lives including our canine family members. First, does anyone check their doors regularly to ensure they remain closed or sealed? I know I do. I treat my dogs like they’re my kids. I don’t allow them to run loose. I will push on the door they are behind to make sure it is latched.

If they are in a fence, I will walk the fence periodically and ensure they will not escape. If we are out riding in the vehicle and the day is nice, I will leave the windows down and tell them to stay. Woodrow will still get out if he has a mind to. He is an old Great Dane. So, there are times I will roll the windows up half way to stop this. We all just need to stay aware of our surroundings and use the common sense we were all given.

There is something that many people are not aware of; it is their responsibility to ensure their dog is put up and safe. If the dog causes damage of any kind, this falls to the owner to make things right between the offended person and themselves.

Let’s take this a step further…What if your dog gets out and it causes someone to wreck and die? You are responsible! That is something to marinate on. Folks, think about these things because no one should get into trouble for the lack of using common sense.

Update: The dog who was hit is doing well. I have seen the dog since the accident over a month ago, and he seems to be in high spirits. So, be good to your canine family. Check your doors and locks. Ensure the fence and yard are always checked. Check your gates too, and place chains and locks in place so no one gets a “Scrabbles” as I had, who was a Great Dane and could pull a gate open with his mouth, even a locked gate…hence the need for chains.

By: Joel Allen