AN EPIC DOG STORY

We are going to veer off a bit from my theme of motherhood for a different type of post. However, I think you will still enjoy this epic story of Biscuit the Dog. For me, this story is one of those tales I’m pretty sure my grandchildren will hear about one day. Think of this post as the adult version of show and share for some laughs.

I was reminded of this particular story today because of two things. First off, I was literally at the scene of the crime in the same car headed to the same place I was when it took place ten years ago. Second, at the exact moment a segment on the Smiley Morning Show came on asking listeners for true stories that are so crazy they just have to be true. Consequently, I called in to the radio show and told the highlights of my Biscuit the dog story. The show hosts were in disbelief and laughed pretty hard throughout. It ended the segment as Smiley said this story would not be topped that morning.

In my story on the website,  I reference my nickname, Murphy. What can happen will happen. Exhibit A.

YOU DID WHAT? 

A bitter cold January morning, I made my way up Keystone Avenue taking my car in for repairs and an oil change. Keystone is a four-lane road running north and south on the north side of Indy through a pretty busy area of the city. I made my way north in the passing lane during rush hour morning traffic, and saw brake lights on the cars to my right. Suddenly, the car just a little bit ahead of me on the right SLAMS on their brakes and I instinctively hit the brakes as well. Too late. A HUGE white flash darts out barely missing my neighbor’s driver’s side bumper and I consequently DRILL the white dart.

Hard.

A direct hit.

As in front right tire, bump. Back right tire, bump.

OH MY GOD, I JUST KILLED A DOG!!! I looked in the rearview mirror only to see a large white heap on the ground. In other words, not moving. Done. HE GONE.

PREGNANCY HORMONES AND A DOG

It was rush hour and I desperately tried to get over to the right side to pull over while everyone rushed around me. While it felt like an eternity and the miles to match, I finally got over to the side. At this point, I’m sobbing. I should also mention, I was 8 months pregnant with Jake at the time. Then in a moment of complete confusion, I sat there on the side of the road, cars flying around me, thinking, I have NO IDEA what to do right now!!! So what any confused, super pregnant woman does…. I called my husband.

Jeremy answered and is quickly confused and probably a bit rattled with my crying (hello…. pregnant wife!!!).  I finally spit out I killed a dog on the way to get my car fixed (correct, the irony is not lost on me). Hence, I’m pulled over to the road side and now I’m not sure what to do. He then asks a keenly astute couple of questions, “why are you pulled over? What are you going to do, drag the dog out of the middle of the street in rush hour traffic eight months pregnant?” Touche, oh wise one.

Likewise, I had no idea. To begin with, it just seemed like the thing to do, but when you put it THAT way….

Jeremy agreed to look up animal control or some other number for getting the dog off of the road and text it to me while I waited for my car.

CAR REPAIRS

I pulled into Tom Wood Ford next (still crying) and talked to the technician. It was clear I had been crying, so the kind man asked if I was okay. I asked while they were making the repairs and giving the oil change, could they also check the front as I had “just hit a huge dog.” He tried to sympathize and asked me when I hit this dog. Through snotty sobs, I told Phil, “less than five minutes ago!!!!!” (cue more crying!) He walked to the front of my little SUV and I kid you not started to smirk and tried really hard not to laugh as he started pulling white hair out of the cracked bumper and broken headlight.

Good Lord ladies, please tell me your hormonal beings understand this!! I started CRYING again. He tried hard not to laugh, as any smart man would. I mean… hair in the bumper and headlight! Next, Phil said they would get started on the bumper and light as well. #thanks #animalkiller

Ordinarily, this would be the end of the story. But if you haven’t been paying ANY attention, I’m Murphy. Furthermore, this is only the beginning of a very long and comical story. In short, get your popcorn.

LOCAL COVERAGE OF AN EPIC DOG STORY

While waiting on my repairs, Jeremy sent the number for DEAD ANIMAL PICK-UP. For the most part, I would normally feel this is an insensitive name. However, it probably makes the google find pretty easy for someone. From the lens of this being someone’s pet though, coupled with all of my pregnancy hormones, you can imagine there were more tears. I left a message on the hotline with the location of the giant white dog in the middle of Keystone.

Next, I called my boss, Carl, to re-hash this story while sitting in the waiting room. He laughed at my emotional state. Furthermore, made comments regarding my farm girl roots and in general his surprise over my emotions on this one.

Flash forward a couple of days and I’m at work no longer thinking about the misfortune of the dog. Carl sent me a text, “the dog you hit the other day, was it by chance a Great White Pyrenees?” I quickly googled the breed because I couldn’t think of what they looked like.

Great Pyrenees – Biscuit the Dog

“Go to Indystar.com, Mission of Mercy is the story.” I could not get the website to pull up fast enough. What on Earth?!  There it was. The story of the dog I hit and his miraculous survival.

DISBELIEF OVER BISCUIT

Incidentally, the dog lived. He was apparently knocked out by the direct hit just north of the White River bridge, but awoke later. Afterward, he somehow made his way down to the shore of the White River. Lying on a piece of ice, likely to pass away from his injuries peacefully by the water. The ice broke free from the shore and started floating down the river with him on it. Families living on the White River saw the floating dog and called the Indianapolis Fire Department. As a result, there was a rescue mission to save the dog floating down the river on a piece of ice. #can’tmakethisstuffup

All of the local news outlets were there to cover the story.  The IFD saved the dog from the water and got him to a local veterinary clinic to gauge his injuries. Incidentally, this included the need for hip surgery from “what appeared to be injuries related to being hit by a vehicle.” #foreheadsmack

I sat at my desk in disbelief and apparently made some noises to match. Therefore, my co-workers started to gather to see what was happening. As I shared the details from the local paper, one of my co-workers, Dawn, bursts out laughing. She saw the rescue mission on the Weather Channel that morning!! “I had no idea it was the dog you hit the other day!! I was just intrigued because it happened in Indy and they were covering it!” Hence, tons of laughter and disbelief.

THE STORIES START TO ROLL IN

Another co-worker, John, immediately got on his computer to find out more about this. He announced indystar.com had a donation fund started to help cover the cost of the dog’s surgery. There were lots of comments, including one who saw the accident. While they did call out it was an accident, they also said “I thought the person would have stopped though.” I DID STOP!! UGH!

The dog’s name was Biscuit and he lived in a Great Pyrenees rescue located in Broadripple. He had been with the rescue volunteers at the local dog park, gotten spooked, and ran away, making his way out of the park the day before I hit him. After a number of dog owners at the park and other volunteers tried to catch him, he disappeared into the woods near the White River. As night approached, search attempts were paused to resume the next morning.  Therefore, why he was by the White River and ran up on Keystone only to find the right side of my Ford Edge.

Have you ever been so shocked about something, it makes you almost dizzy? This. This is the feeling I had. This dog was now a local celebrity and had even made it’s way onto the Weather Channel. In short, I was in a state of shock and also laughing pretty hard about the randomness of all of this.

I also jokingly asked why no one had considered starting a fund for my car which had $1500 worth of damage! By the way, for those curious, I did not donate to the dog fund online. Before you judge me, the fund grew quickly and more than covered his surgery and injuries. In addition, I figured the damages I had to pay for my car served as a good compromise.

THE REST OF THE STORY

Biscuit needed to be adopted in addition to his surgeries. With all of the local coverage, a number of people were interested. Particularly, the fireman who rescued him. However, he ended up with a family in Carmel, IN. Why do I know this? The follow-up story on Channel 13 news A YEAR LATER, of course!

By the way, we can’t forget about the Today Show. A couple weeks after the incident, we received a call from our friend shouting, “TURN ON THE TODAY SHOW RIGHT NOW!!!” There was Biscuit, his rescuing fireman, and a veterinarian being interviewed. The vet said multiple times, “based on the injuries sustained he was clearly hit by a vehicle before being rescued from the ice.” I screamed at the TV, “I KNOW! I hit him… It was an ACCIDENT!!”

Subsequently, a number of stories from friends emerged after the fact with connection to Biscuit. For example, friends driving through Broadripple the day Biscuit escaped the dog park. They saw groups of people running around and stopped. After hearing people were trying to help catch a rescue dog, they joined the search party.

On a weekly conference call with my counterparts in our Boston office, I shared the epic story. One of the guy’s expressed complete amazement. In shock, he re-hashed coming home to his pregnant wife crying on the couch. She had watched the rescue of Biscuit on the Weather Channel and was super emotional about it. “I can’t tell her you are the one who hit that poor dog!!” To this day, I still don’t know if he ever told her it was me.

In summary, stay tuned as you never know what Murphy will encounter next. I can assure you though, it’s bound to be entertaining!!