Manic Monday

The Bangles got it right when they penned the song Manic Monday.  And that's the way I felt yesterday.  One of our staff members is on crutches so when we received a call about a dog that collapsed from the heat, there wasn't any available staff-so I went.

When I arrived on the scene I found South Williamsport Police Officer Devin Thompson.  He directed me over the dike where he had carried a 100 pound Rottweiler down to the river to help cool him down.  What I saw was remarkable.  A woman was sitting in the river holding up the dog's head while the owner was splashing water over the dog's body.  The woman sitting in the river, (Cinda Jones), had been driving by and stopped to help when she had been flagged down by her nephew. 

The dog, Zeke, did recover consciousness, but remained still while in the river.   The dog owner's father arrived on the scene shortly after me.  I supplied a sheet to carry Zeke up to our ambulance.  Officer Thompson and the dog owner carried the dog up the embankment and into our ambulance.  I drove Zeke to  the dog owner's truck where we transferred him into the air conditioned compartment.  The owner immediately took Zeke to the vet. 

Unfortunately, Zeke did not survive.  His temperature on arrival was 105 F.  That was after having been in the river to help him cool off.  While I am sad about the loss of this family's beloved dog, I am astounded by the efforts of the officer, passerby and owner to help save him.  The lesson to take away from this is that there are wonderful people who really care about animals.  And, heat is a dangerous condition not to be taken lightly especially for our pets who cannot tell us when they are too hot.