Skip to main content

Injured Lost Pet


We get a lot of lost pet reports but this one made me think that if someone had done something then the dog might still be alive. A woman stopped in to see if her dog was here and brought us a photo in case we got him in and she went out searching her neighborhood. She called the next day and reported that her dog was found on a local city street dead on the side of the road, hit by a car. Obviously she was very upset and so was the LHS staff and I got to thinking about it, do people even know what to do if they hit a pet with their car. I wondered how many people drive off because they are afraid of being shouldered with the expense or don't know the basics of how to handle the injured pet.
The first thing is to STOP your car and see how bad the injuries are on the pet. First and foremost, use caution, injured animals may bite out of pain or shock so always approach slowly and carefully until you can asses the behavior. If you are able to, wrap the injured animal in a towel and take him/her to the closest vet. If you are unable to handle the pet or it is running away call animal control or the police department immediately and if possible do not leave the animal. Animal control or the police will make sure the animal gets the veterinary care it needs. If you are traveling out of state on a state highway, call the state police and they will assist you or direct you to the proper authorities.
This is all very basic information and there are websites dedicated to pet first aid that you can check out for more detailed information but the basics can save lives. If nothing else, call the authorities but don't ignore the animal that you or someone else hit.
The picture is of a cat that was hit by a car that was brought to us this past summer. She is now happy in a new home after getting the treatment she needed from Peaks View Animal Hospital.

Comments

  1. UnknownMarch 3, 2010 at 11:04 AM

    Sadly, so many people that hit animals do not care or cannot stop.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

When the tables turn

It is not unknown for people to be scared of dogs. Animal shelters throughout history were built on that fear. Dog catchers were employed to capture packs of nuisance dogs that were roaming and pestering communities. Pounds were built on the edge of towns near the dump to remove stray dogs from towns and in most cases, destroy them to prevent public endangerment.   Fast forward to now and shelters are referred to as centers, instead of strays we say adoptable, we don’t say animals we say pets, and dogs are family members. Getting a dog without a home into a family is a community effort and #adoptdontshop is a movement.  So how strange it is that the COVID-19 pandemic has made us fear being too close to people and has increased our desire for pets?  People want to foster or adopt pets, now more than ever! At the Lynchburg Humane Society’s Center for Pets there has been an increase of 85% more pets in foster care than at this time last year. The Lynchburg Humane...
Post a Comment
Read more

What I Now Know

What I Now Know.... When joining the Lynchburg Humane Society as their new Executive Director last month, I thought I knew A LOT about this community shelter.  After all, I was from Lynchburg and had adopted many of my family's pets from LHS over the years.  I knew that the shelter had once been housed in a cramped cinder block building back behind the City Stadium, and that the community had rallied around the need for a new facility - - -  coming together to build a beautiful new building on Graves Mill Road in 2015.  I had visited this new facility on numerous occasions, sometimes with a goal of selecting a new family addition and other times simply wanting to have cuddle time with those pets waiting to be adopted.  I knew that that I always left these visits feeling uplifted by the wagging tails of the dogs and the purring and "biscuit making" of the cats.  Like I said, I thought I knew a lot. BUT... Since working with our staff and volunteers for...
Post a Comment
Read more

Kittens Kittens, Kittens!

Kittens...482 of them! Yes. you read that number that correctly. Since July 1st, the Lynchburg Humane Society has taken in 482 kittens under the age of 6 months. Of those, 260 were under 8 weeks old. We see day old kittens who need bottle feedings every 4 hours to litters of 6-week-old kittens who just need a little time to grow. The shelter is not a hospitable environment for a tiny unvaccinated kitten because of all the viruses and illnesses that can be present. Our foster program is instrumental in saving these precious lives. Since kittens are not able to be adopted until they are 8 weeks old, the foster program allows us the freedom to use the space at our Center for a pet that is ready for adoption. It also gives the kittens a jump start into socializing, staying healthy and learning what home life is all about. And another bonus - foster parents are really great at finding homes for their kittens! We have been asked about what affects kitten season and how do we handle it. S...
Post a Comment
Read more