Sunday, Sept. 9 around 7:30 a.m. our dog, Accio — accidentally loose in the neighborhood — was struck by a car near the Dorchester entrance on Smallwood Drive.
The driver did not stop, even though he/she severely injured Accio and struck with enough force to tear off a portion of their wheel-well mudguard.
My eldest daughter was searching for Accio at the time of the accident. While I got my car to help search, my daughter witnessed the accident and was the first to reach Accio afterward.
She didn’t realize that a dog in pain will bite even a beloved family member and sustained a bite on her arm requiring several stitches. She ran toward home, but stopped halfway and sank to the sidewalk in pain, waiting for me to catch up.
A jogger, obviously tired and sweaty, crossed Dorchester Circle to ask my child if she wanted help. She accepted, he scooped her up and quickly carried her toward home. I met them at the end of our street and couldn’t thank him enough.
As I soothed our injured Accio at the side of the road so she’d let me pick her up, a couple crossed Smallwood to tell me they had witnessed the accident, and called emergency help for Accio. An SUV stopped and the woman driver got out, also offering help. She removed the piece of the offending car’s bumper from the middle of eastbound Smallwood to the shoulder. It was large enough itself to cause an accident if left in the road.
While I tended to paperwork at the emergency vet in Waldorf, one of their nurses used her limited off duty time to treat my daughter’s bite and sooth her wounded spirit.
Accio has a broken right hip and her pelvic bone –fractured in three places– has separated from her spine. We are not certain if she will live. Her emergency care will cost nearly $800. If she survives the next day or so, corrective surgery will cost from $1,000 to $3,000.
I’m so thankful for the people who went out of their way to aid my daughter and me this morning. I’m sorry that I didn’t get their names to thank them again, personally. Their generosity allowed me to get both Accio and my daughter medical aid as quickly as possible.
Their unselfishness greatly eased the bitterness I felt toward that driver who injured our Accio and took no responsibility to help heal her. I hope extenuating circumstances and not callous disregard prevented the driver from stopping.
.
Anna Dailey, Waldorf
Editor’s Note: Ms Dailey submitted her letter here as a private citizen and not in her professional capacity as an editor for TheBayNet.com.
