Struck By Lightning
with Carol Stull of Amber-Aire

I had a very close call on Sat.  We were having a very serious electrical storm.  I had my Airedale puppies out in a large pen I made out of 2 x-pens.  They were under cover but I decided to pull part of the x-pen into the garage so they would be out of the wind until it was over.  As I was standing in my basement the light in my ceiling fan stated to sizzle but didn't blow.  I immediately turned it off and went into the garage to pull the x-pen in.  As I was doing this I could hear my breaker box sizzle and crackle.  The thunder was deafening and occurred within a split second of the noise in the breaker box.  As I went to bend over the x-pen I received a shock and a spark flew off of the pen.  At this point,all of the 11. 5 week old puppies were huddled up against the pen.  They all received the same shock as I did as I completed the connection by touching the pen.  I do not remember how I got the puppies out but I do remember picking one up and getting a shock from one of the pups.   I was very dazed and quit upset as I was here alone.  I remember calling someone and asking them what to do as the weather did not let up.  I was standing in the basement with all of the puppies loose and wondering where we would be safe.  I have an x-pen in the whelping room.  I did not feel this was a wise choice with the storm.   Again I have no memory of how I got them out of the pen.   After it passed and the sun came out I put them back outside and tried to gather myself.  I check on everyone and they seem fine.  I called  my neighbor to come up, she use to raise Shepherds.  As we were talking I saw that the puppies had difficulty walking and seemed like they had no control over their hind quarters.  With that I called my vet.  She had no advice to give me other than keep an eye on them and if they did not improve take them to the emergency clinic.  As the night went on they seemed to recover.  By Sunday evening they were all back to normal.  I myself felt like a got hit by a truck on Sunday.  I slept until 12:30 PM and was  barely walk around to do my chores.  It was a very eye opening experience.  Mother Nature is definitely in charge.   My vet felt that the electric impulses from the brain to the muscle was temporarily short circuited.  That could also explain why when I tried to step over something I fell and landed on my elbow and shoulder.  My leg did not respond to my brain.  I feel very lucky to be alive.  It could have been much worse.

 As it turns out my neighbor’s transformer was hit and all we can figure out was the lightning coming back out of the ground.  Fortunately, I had just seen a diagram of how it dispersed after it strikes.  It comes up all around the strike zone.  I never want to experience anything like this again.  Thankfully we are alright.

I wonder if all of these puppies will be afraid of thunder. 

Carol Stull......glad to be here!  

I flew across the room and unplugged the cord. Ani continued briefly to just lay there stunned  ; her tongue and gums were blue gray.  I called the vet and they had me come in immediately. Of course there were garbage trucks and trailers with backhoes in front of me on the 2 lane country highway going 40-45 nearly the entire way with continuous oncoming traffic--so no passing. I was about out of my mind with frustration and concern by the time I arrived.

Ani looks Ok, but we are taking no chances. They are following full protocols: ecg, blood panels, lassick to keep fluid off the lungs, anitbiotics, and a lung panel. I pick her up tonight.

OUTCOME:

Ani being a terrier may be what kept her alive. Chances arethe fact  she grabbed the cord with her front teeth and her tongue back in her mouth is what kept her from serious harm. If her tongue had been in contact with the chord, the vets speculate that the electricity would have flowed through her and done serious damage to major organs. Fortunately, the x-ray came back without major concerns. She is on 48 hr. watch with minimal stress and activity.  As it is, should ANY breathing difficulties surface she is to go to Cornell  asap. I get the bloodwork results Sat.

Ani was fine. With all that had gone on around here then  and the trips to the vet, I had asked them if they just wanted to keep the credit card. Little did I know then how true that statement would be.  A litter of pups would be born by C-section on April 19^th, 2005 at the same Animal Hospital =) 

 

Intruder Alert! by Kathy Steedman
with Sweetmont's Clever Endeavor

Tonight about 11:30 when my son took Porter out for his last break before bedtime, something was not right.  Porter started sniffing and growling as he ran around the yard and sure enough, there was a strange man in our yard.  My son yelled for me to call the police and get my husband as Porter continued to stand about five feet in front of the guy and bark his little heart out.  Quite a show!  I am so proud of my little dog.  I am glad no one got hurt and the police were here in about two minutes.  The man was obviously in an altered state and did not understand why we were upset that he was in our (completely fenced) yard.  I do believe he was looking for something to steal.  Tom has been building a large garden shed this weekend and there are materials in the yard.  All the tools are locked away in the house, but I'm sure this guy was not just taking a shortcut like he claimed.  Who takes a shortcut through a fenced yard? 

 

Porter had to be picked up and carried into the house and he continued to "talk" for the next 10 minutes.  He and my son did a good job tonight.