Tinkus Trauma

this is Frida:







This little dog packs more personality into a small body than I ever would have thought possible. She's incredibly tough too. My son got her a little over a year ago (passed on from a friend, he is the 3rd owner, as it were) and named her Frida. Of course the husband and I immediately started calling her Tinky as a joke name for a typical small dog to tease him, but it stuck. It gets other baby-talk iterations like Tinkus, Tinkus-binkus, etc - you get the gist ( )

It took her a while to warm up to anybody but with the kid working she kind of became more my dog. She goes with the other ranch dogs in the truck and horseback. She has as much stamina as either of them - at first I was overprotective and tried to make her ride when they were running but soon realized she could go as fast and as far at them. She works the cattle - funny to watch her go after a bull who's ear probably weighs more than her. Takes no guff from any of the other animals - including the cats (who are both bigger than her).

I do something a little dangerous with the dogs - I let them run when I am driving slow on the rough dirt roads around here. When we go down to turn on the pump at the well that is 5 miles from the house, we have to go on a paved county road for a short distance, then another dirt road for about a half mile. The dogs all know the tree where I stop to let them out to run (and sniff and pee and chase lizards, rabbits etc) once we get on that dirt road and yesterday I did that as usual. They were really happy to get out for a run because they had been cooped up at the house for three days while I did taxes and caught up on laundry from the pump being out for 10 days (again).

I went on to the well while they were busy at some bush doing dog things. Right at the approach to the well the road is washing out pretty bad so I have been cutting off to the side and making a new trail. That involves a right turn and then a quick left around a mesquite bush/tree. I have only been doing this for a couple of trips so it is a new route.

Yesterday I ran over my little dog.

I wasn't watching and thought she was way back with the others but she had taken off to catch up with me (she is frigging fast) and as I made that left around the mesquite she was right at the drivers side rear wheel. I think some lower branches kept her from getting out of the way as the back wheel came to the left of the path of the front one.

She screamed and I knew in an instant what happened. Jumped out and saw her on the ground right in the tire tracks. I was so afraid I had killed her or was going to have to finish the job. I picked her up and was surprised her head was ok, and that she didn't try to bite me out of pain (although that could have been a bad sign too). I was FREAKING out. Pretty much got religion and begged for her life. I can not believe how much this little mutt has weaseled into my heart. I didn't know what to do. Should I rush down to the vet with these other dogs in the truck? Is she even going to make it? Were there internal injuries? I don't have the kind of money to be able to treat a pet like a human being in terms of drastic or heroic medical treatment that might not work. But I was damn close - calculating the balance on credit cards in my mind, how I would talk them into letting me make payments, all that stuff.

I set her on the seat of the truck and watched her breathing and her eyes. She was clearly traumatized, but she wasn't fading or showing real signs of shock. Her gums had color. After a few minutes she kind of wiggled herself into a more comfortable position. She seemed like she was more or less stable so I felt around and couldn't find any obvious broken bones - pelvis was OK, legs OK and obviously skull was intact - jaw fine, teeth all normal. No blood anywhere. I began to feel hopeful she wasn't going to die right away so I decided to take everybody back to the house and ditch the other two dogs before taking her to the vet. As we got to the house she wobbled to her feet and stood on the arm rest like in the center photo above. She wasn't anywhere near that balanced or mentally that alert, but she knew we were at the house and wanted to go in.

I brought her in and put her on the bed under some covers to see what she would do (she loves to burrow) and went to change my shirt. When I looked back at her she was lying there pretty sad but she wagged her tail and that was the sign that told me she was going to be OK. I decided to wait a while - maybe even until somebody else got home so I wouldn't have to lock Lupe in the house. She was freaking out even worse than me, making weird noises and acting so strange. I'm still not sure if it is concern or predator instinct about a small wounded creature but whatever it was she wasn't going to let me just drive off with Tinky and stay there in the yard. When the son got home I went to get her and she was already trying to get down off the bed. I brought her in and told him what happened. We put her on the daybed in the living room and huddled around worrying and decided to wait until today to see if she needed to go to the vet. After we got her settled in the new spot he went to shower and I was doing stuff in the kitchen and more laundry, checking on her every couple of minutes and getting the great waggy tail reaction. Right as I was about to come check again here she came hobbling around the corner! She pushed the screen door open before I could pick her up and went out to the back yard. She headed for the door to the kids' bathroom, jumped up the step and went in. (their room is through there and the damn door is always open)

She got up on the couch and stayed there for the night. She even ate a little hamburger (cooked mind you, wouldn't touch the raw I offered) last night. I now think I just got her right front leg somehow. There is no way she would have survived a whole body squish, even an empty pickup bed is too heavy for a little dog (although Dumbass survived it when the son backed over him a few years ago, but that is Dumbass - his head is like a boulder)

This morning she went out and peed in the grass, and walked around the house a little. She even gave me a little kiss. Her right shoulder is pretty swollen but the leg is fine and while she is for-sure limping on that leg she is putting weight on it. And she has had a few ounces of water and some more beef. Now she is resting on the bed - definitely not 100%, but she is going to be alright. Now I can't quite figure out exactly what happened, but I am SO grateful she is going to be OK. OMG I ran over Tinky.