The Accident

Saving Shiloh

When a small dog tangles with a school bus, you know it’s bad news. My dog, Shiloh, is about 20 pounds. When he was hit by a bus one afternoon, there wasn’t much hope he’d survive.

This is for my friend Maggie, her cat just got ran over by a car an died :(

When a small dog tangles with a school bus, you know it’s bad news for the dog. My dog, Shiloh, is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and he only weighs about 20 pounds. When he was hit by a bus one afternoon, there wasn't much hope he’d survive.

I love Shiloh. He’s always there to greet me when I come home. He follows my brother and sister and me around wherever we go, and he loves to sit on my lap when I read. I can tell him anything and I know he won’t say a word. Shiloh makes me laugh, too—like when he used to steal the sock right off my foot! I know people always say this about their pets, but Shiloh really is like one of our family.

The Accident

When my older sister Erin and I got off our school bus that day, my grandpa and my aunt were there to meet us instead of my mom. Before I could even ask why, my aunt said, “Shiloh was hit by a school bus.”

“Is he hurt?” Erin asked, immediately worried.

“He’ll be okay, won’t he?” I chimed in. I was sure the answer would be yes. It had to be.

“I don’t know,” my aunt said, shaking her head. “He’s hurt pretty badly.” Erin and I both started to cry.

My aunt explained what had happened. My mom had been on the front lawn with Shiloh and my baby brother, who was playing with a ball. Suddenly the automatic sprinklers came on and my brother started to cry. My mom went to help him, dropping Shiloh’s leash for just a second. When she turned around, Shiloh was lying in the middle of the street, with the school bus stopped just in front of him. Some of the children on the bus were crying.

A Dogged Recovery

Shiloh was hurt so badly that our vet sent him to the big animal hospital at the University of Minnesota, almost an hour’s drive from our house. Shiloh had three broken legs, and the two front legs were so bad that the doctors thought they might have to amputate them. One leg was “de-gloved,” which means the skin had been ripped right off it. The doctors told us it would be very hard for Shiloh to survive without his front legs. They could operate, but they couldn't promise that they’d be able to save his legs—and if it didn't work, we’d have to put Shiloh to sleep.

We knew we had to give Shiloh a chance, so the doctors went ahead with the surgery. Three days later, we finally got to visit Shiloh. As much as I wanted to see him again, it was really hard. He looked so little and hurt, it broke my heart. One front leg was completely wrapped in a cast, and it was still a little bloody from the surgery. The other front leg had pins sticking out of it to hold the bone together. There were pins in one of his back legs, too—pins they left in for good—but you couldn't see them.

We brought Shiloh home a week later. He was still in bad shape, and caring for him was a lot of work. We had to carry him outside several times a day to go to the bathroom because he couldn't walk at all. We gave him lots of medicine every day so he wouldn't be in pain or get infections. And for three whole months we made the long drive back to the animal hospital every other day to get his bandages changed. For two months after that, we took him to the vet every week until they were finally able to take the pins out of his front leg.

Shiloh had more surgeries on his legs, too—five, in all. It was so expensive that our family gave up vacations for two years to pay his vet bills. At first I was sad about missing out on the trips we would have taken, but it was worth every penny. My sister and I also set up a lemonade stand to raise money, and we both donated some of our savings—altogether, more than a hundred dollars.

A Happy Ending

Today, Shiloh is pretty much normal. The surgeries did save his legs, although he still has to wear a special sock on one foot to protect it from hot pavement and the cold. He lost all of the fur on that foot, and it won’t ever grow back. Other than that, though, he’s still the same old Shiloh. He can run faster than me, and he jumps so high it’s incredible—you’d never know he almost lost his legs!

Shiloh’s accident was definitely the worst thing I’ve ever been through. I hated seeing my dog suffer like that, and worrying that we might lose him was a horrible feeling. Going through it made me realize how important it is to be grateful for everyone you love in your life, because things can change so quickly. Now when I have a bad day or I’m feeling mad or sad, I think about that time and tell myself that things could be worse—a lot worse—and suddenly whatever is bothering me doesn't seem so bad. I can let the little things go, as long as I’ve got Shiloh. I guess you could say I’m his number-one fan!