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| Shiloh |
As you all know from my previous posts on my blog, animals and especially dogs have a special place in my heart. I have saved two dogs in the past few months. Then, one of my worst nightmares played out in front of my own eyes on July 14, 2011 . Shiloh was run over by a car. As much as I blame myself, there were a chain of events that were not normal for any given walk that I normally take Stormy and Shiloh on.
I’m notorious for letting my dogs run free. I hate seeing dogs always being chained up and restricted in everything they do in life. I like to let them explore as long as they listen to me. We live on the corner of a very busy street in Forest Cove subdivision. Part of our house faces Chestnut Ridge, which is a main gateway in and out of the subdivision. Shiloh was a very high energy dog, always bouncing around and full of life without a care in the world. She had a great personality as well and wasn’t scared of anything. She even duked it out with a possum one night. And one thing was for sure, Shiloh was my dog. She followed me everywhere, about 3 weeks ago I was mowing the grass and she followed me around and around for an hour and half while I mowed. Constantly barking at the mower but she wanted to be next to me as well. She even started to dry heave because of the heat so I had to take her inside. I would go ride my bike on the trainer in our workshop and Shiloh would wait for me in the sunroom while Stormy and Bambi would be in the bedroom. Shiloh worshipped the ground I walked on.
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| Trio |
On this horrible day, I got home at the normal time I usually get home, but we had contractors at our house working on the floors. They were finishing up and I quickly changed clothes and put on my sandals. Shiloh jumps through her skin when she sees me put on the sandals that I always wear when I walk them. She gets so excited and starts jumping around and breathing heavily. I usually take Stormy and Shiloh out the front door because it’s the safest route for letting them run free, away from the busy Chestnut Ridge road & down our side street instead. But on that day a contractor was blocking the front door way, finishing up. So, then I tried taking them through the garage; the other route I randomly take them on their walks. I usually have them sit and stay before I give them the go ahead to cross Chestnut Ridge & they’ve been really well at minding that. Contractors were blocking that path as well, using the garage for all the tile cutting. At this point I start looking for the leash but everything was packed away because of the construction, so I gave up.
From here I went out of our side gate instead which sits right next to Chestnut Ridge. I never take the dogs out of this gate. As soon as I open the gate Stormy heads straight across Chestnut Ridge with Shiloh on her tail before I could even shut the fence door. I’m yelling at the top of my lungs for them to stop, but no success. They sometimes play with another dog across the street so that is where they were headed. We have about 10 ft of fenceline before it opens up to Chestnut Ridge, so I didn’t see most of what happened, but I do remember hearing something and remember me cussing out loud to myself because I knew this wasn’t going to end well. What I did happen to see was Shiloh coming out from under the front right tire as she was run over, the driver of the Cadillac (the lady had to be her late 70’s or early 80’s) never once stepped on her brakes. She rode a half a mile down the road before she turned around and came back, and the only thing she said to me was “I saw her chasing the other dog.” There was nothing for me to say, the damage was done. But any normal person would have hit their brakes, swerved, or just about any other thing that this old lady didn’t do. I chalk it up to slow reactions, poor judgment, and an old lady who probably shouldn’t be behind the wheel. What if that would have been a kid, it would have probably ended the same way with a kid being ran over.
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| Look at that face! |
So Shiloh gets up and it looks like only half of her body is in working order as she tumbles in the ditch. It appeared as if she was bleeding from her legs only when I first glance at her, so I leave her in the ditch to run & go grab my keys, phone, and wallet because I was going to rush her to the vet’s office which is probably 3 miles away from our house. When I came outside I was surprised to see Shiloh standing in the middle of the driveway staring at me when I came outside – I’ve always said she is a tough cookie. I grabbed her and Stormy and loaded them up in my truck and off we went. At this point I started to see Shiloh ’s eyes going back and forth and she smelled like death. I never knew death had a smell but I smelled it that day. I rushed her into the vet’s office and they quickly took her back and connected her to IV. Bambi showed up to the vet’s soon after and we were ushered into a waiting room with Stormy. After about 10 mins the vet came in and said it did not look good after the X-rays, her stomach wasn’t where it should be and she could see internal damage to the lungs. She said it was a long shot and she rushed out to go check on Shiloh . The next time she came in (2 mins later) she was there to tell us Shiloh wasn’t going to make it and to come say our goodbyes….. one of the most heart wrenching things I’ve ever done (drip drip).
We adopted Shiloh in November of 2010, but she had come as much a part of the family as anyone else. Dogs are great because they love you unconditionally day in & day out. I still get sad and sometimes tear up when I think of Shiloh . She was around 2 yrs old, full of energy and personality, and loved on everyone. She and Stormy were a match made in heaven, constantly playing and following each other everywhere. The thing that hurts the most are all of the “What Ifs” that horrible day. What if the contractors weren’t there? What if they weren’t blocking both of my paths? What if it wasn’t an old lady driving the car? What if I decided I wasn’t going to walk them that day? Or walked them just 2 minutes later? What if it was Stormy and not Shiloh? All I know is that the stars were aligned and it was Shiloh ’s time. The Truitt Family will miss you Shiloh , farewell.
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| One of her favorite things to do, ride around in the truck. |
