[nagdu] asuming cost my guides life.

[Stepper]

Hello to all    .
Every time I hear the subject of escape, or assuming the area is safe I feel the pain of more than twenty five years ago.
I was always very careful with my belovable guide Hart, a yellow Lab Male.
I was visiting a friend in the country with lots of ground. I was just letting him go to reweave, and to run around a while.
For several minutes everything was fine. We were all sitting outside talking and eating.
But Hart must have saw something like a rabbit or something, because he took off like a shot and went out to the road.
He was hit,  but not enough to even knock him down.
The car didn't stop, and I believe the driver didn't even see him, or know he had clipped him.
He had a small lump on his jaw at the back, and that was it. He didn't act like as if it was a problem at all.
Fast forward several months. One day while visiting some people in there home, Hart jumped up and started running all over the living room crying out with his jaws wide open.
Hart couldn't close his mouth. It was awful!!!
We took him to the vet, and the vet gave him a shot that put him to sleep while the vet put the end of a broom handle inside his mouth and he forced his jaws apart enough so they would  open all the way and unhinge.
This is when he told me that he could see some old damage at the back side of his jaws on the right side, and that's where his lump was when he was clipped that summer.
This happened three more times, over the next couple of months.
I than arranged for Hart to go to Aim's Iowa at there famous vet school. They told me they were going to try surgery and basically try to tie his jaw so it couldn't open far enough to open so far that it would come unhinged, but that they didn't know if it would or not work long term.
It lasted about two months.
Hart got so that when his jaws would lock open he could undo it himself, but it just kept happening.
So on Thanksgiving day me and my family couldn't watch this go on any longer.
My friend took me and Hart to the vet for his last ride.
I held Hart in my arms when the doctor gave him the shot, and felt the life go out of him.
This whole process from beginning was about six months.
What I learned was this, and I hope that others can learn from this painful story.
By the way I got another dog after Hart, but it was five years before I could try again. I was haunted about this for many years.
Even if its hard at the moment, or you think my dog will be fine because we are in the country, or the park, or, or, or, and so on. We can not know for sure what is there that can allow our dogs to escape, or we can't know in advance what may kick in all there doggyness, and over rides all there training and so on.
So please never assume, know that you have control of your dog at all times, inside or out side.
I remember reading on this list about a young blind lawyer that just opened his door to receive a package I believe or something, and his apartment was on a busy street, and the dog shot out the open door and in seconds was struck and killed.
It only takes a blink of an eye.
Please make sure your gates to your yards have locks so others can't by mistake not close them or open them without you knowing for sure those gates are closed.
I know this was long, but I thought it was a story worth retelling.
My second dog Bear, I had for thirteen and a half years, and never made that mistake again, and there were many times I had to take a deep breath and tell myself to remember what happened to hart, and slow down and do the careful thing instead of the quick and easy thing.

Thank you, Stepper 12