I had two of my dogs in the van with me yesterday. I was on the road for a while and thought it would be nice to bring them along.
As I was leaving work, I opened up the crates, and for a minute, thought of letting Jett ride shotgun. It's my way of telling her that she's special. It's her turn to hang out with me. It's her privilege.
I had her out of the van and was just about to put her up front when I decided not to bother.
In that moment, I saved Jett's life.
Not fifteen minutes later did I make a left turn, when a car coming in the opposite direction, ran a red light and t-boned me.
I saw the car coming. I saw the red light. Funny, I wasn't scared. I knew the car was going to hit me and I knew it wasn't going to be a small accident. But in that second, I turned to look at my dogs in the back. I was so afraid for them.
The car hit us at full speed. It didn't even try to brake. My van took a direct hit, lurched up on two wheels and almost toppled over. It then righted itself and came down hard at which point we were hit again by another car. We spun until we stopped facing in a macabre direction.
I remember looking back and seeing Jett bounced around. I don't recall watching Porter. But Jett bounced in her crate.
When we finally came to a stop. I put the car in park. I couldn't move. All I could do was shake.
Some very wonderful people came running to help us. A lovely woman with a very soft European Accent came to my aid immediately. It was really hard for me to talk. She held my hand and told me I was OK. When I was finally able to speak, I asked her to check my dogs. I could see the look on her face. I think she thought the worst. I had not seen the condition of my van at that point. A man came up and asked what I needed. I asked him to check my dogs. He ran to the back and flung open the back. He yelled that they were fine. Jett was doing her happy dance. I couldn't see as my glasses were thrown from my face. It was dark and I couldn't find them. But I could hear Jett greeting everyone who came to look at her. I was so relieved. The police checked on them, the fireman checked them out, and the paramedics did a quick check of them as well.
In the end, we all walked away unscathed. A little sore, a little shocky and somewhat traumatized but OK. The police officer told me over and over how lucky we were. It could have been much worse. He told me that if my dogs had been loose in the van, they probably would not have survived the accident. To tell you the truth, I heard the words but I didn't "hear" the words.
This morning I got a ride to the dealership to survey the damage and get all my stuff out the van.
In the light of day, it was much worse than it appeared the night before. I actually had to stand quietly for a while and take it all in. My Van is a write off. I went to the back and opened the lift gate and it was then that I saw the condition of the crates. Porter was nearly pushed right through his crate into Jett's. The force must have been quite something. The crate was bulging on one side the the top of the crate was buckled.
My dogs would dead today if they had not been in their crates. They would have been thrown through the windows. Everything in the front seat ended up in the back. It would have been horrific.
Sometimes I find myself defending my use of crates to friends who don't use them. They think it's terrible that I confine my dogs. They actually believe it is inhumane. They think a dog should be loose in the vehicle with their heads out the window.
I love my dogs. I always have and I always will. From this day forward, the best thing I can do for my dogs is make sure they are in a crate when we travel. I will show them how much they mean to me, every time I close the gate, and slip the latch. I won't fall for the sad eyes that beg to come sit up front.
I'm very sore tonight. The Jett and Porter seem quite happy. There is no appearance of any soreness with them. They're wrestling around in the living room right now. Life is good. I bought some very special bones for Jett and Porter tonight. I think we will have a quiet evening together, on the couch, watching Glee.
Hug your dogs tonight. They deserve it.
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