Pet injuries are scary at any time but when on the road they can become even more scary.
Our Great Dane K’Ehleyr faltered while jumping into the truck and fell back. I tried to catch her but with her at 123 lbs. there wasn’t much I could do but slow her fall. She seemed fine and successfully jumped in the truck on the second try. Later that night I noticed her leg was swollen from her toes to above her knee. Not sure it was the fall I gave her some Benadryl in case it was an insect bite. The next day all balloon flights were cancelled at the rally so I decided it was best to stay close to a city and seek out a vet. Local friends got us an emergency visit at their vet who took time out of his Father’s Day to see us, thanks Dr. Johnson at Richfield Vet Clinic.
Turns out is was just a sprain but it took almost 2 days for the swelling to go down and she is supposed to rest for the next couple weeks.
How to be prepared
Luckily this wasn’t extremely serious. We do carry a first aid kit for the dogs and we have acquired friends in most of the places we travel and most of them have dogs, go figure. I also carry a copy of their vaccination records, their veterinarian’s info and of course they are microchipped. Microchips need to be registered and updated with current information when things change. I use PetLink. For a nominal fee you can register any brand of microchip with them and update data online. If your dog came from a rescue with a microchip don’t assume the information was updated to show your info. It probably will have the rescue’s info which can lead them to you but why take the chance?
