Elderly lady hurt by dog

[mopar53190]

Elderly lady hurt by dog
I called my mother today to see how things are going down in Florida. She told my about her neighbor who is 70 years young had an accident while walking her dog. Apparently the lady was walking her Saint Benard and was on her way back to her house when the dog recognized my mother outside and became very excited with joy. The dog started running towards my mother and the elderly lady was unable to release the leash. I do not know if she had the leash wrapped around her wrist or what. The dog made her fall to the ground and was dragging her on the pavement. The paramedics arrived and took her to the hospital. The lady broke her shoulder and had some road rash. When I visited my mother about two years ago I saw this dog and it does not look that old. Let' say the dog is 10 years old, the lady would be 60 years of age. What is an 60 year old lady doing with a Saint Benard???? The dog is at her daughters house about a hour drive away from her, my mother takes her to the doctor appointments and checks up on her to make sure she is OK since she lives alone, and this lady can not wait to get her dog back home. She is 70 years young going on 20 I guess.

 

[Jean Cote]

That sounds aweful, almost like it came out of a movie, lol. But thanks for sharing as I had completely forgotten to write my article about leashes. I will be getting on this pronto as I don't want anyone here having the same faith.

 

[mopar53190]

It would be a pretty funny part of a movie!

 

[Jean Cote]

Ouch, I didn't read the part where she broke her sholder. That sucks, I'll get working on the article tonight. Hopefully I'll avoid another one of these situations from occuring in the future.

 

[CollieMan]

Never mind the leash, I think it shows the importance of obedience training your dog; particularly if your dog is so capable in its size.

 

[Jean Cote]

That too, but even if your dog is the most obedient in the world, I still wouldn't wrap a leash around my hand. A dog could get scared from something and jump in the road. I was walking my border collie one day while it was still dark, and she is extremely well trained on the leash, so we're walking and walking, and we pass a bush that was beside the sidewalk and a bunny jumps out of it. That scared the heck out of her and she jumped right in the middle of the road. Lucky there was no traffic, but you can see how a big dog could pull you directly into a driving car or something if you wouldn't be able to let go of the leash.

 

[l_l_a]

If it wasn't for the unfortunate injury ( I hope your mom's neighbor is doing better!), it would sound like a scene from that kid's movie "Beethoven" - the one about the Saint Bernard named Beethoven, who wrecks havoc in his family's house!

I'm very sorry to hear about the accident. I admire this lady for taking it in stride and looking forward to being with her dog again. I agree that even the most well-trained dog can STILL, even if just once or twice in its entire life, do this. the most well-trained dog can get distracted, all it takes is for a momentary lunge to yank you off your feet if the size differential between you and the dog is that great. Certainly if something scares the dog like a loud noise, the dog could bolt and lead to the same thing. And even if you can always bring your dog back under voice control within one second, by then you may already be injured.

I think the safest thing, as a backup to training, would be to hold the leash in such a way that you don't get stuck in it.