Due to previous bad experiences with dogs, we thought it kindest to
our new 'girls' (or dairy herd) to keep our dogs tied up on our first
official milking day. On foot ourselves, we gently but firmly brought
them in - no noisy, smelly vehicle or relentless barkers and
heel-nippers for us, as we proceeded to lead them - like over-large
lambs to the slaughter, coming to meet their Milkers. And we were
confident at this, our second milking, there would be no repeat of the
morning's bedlam and mayhem following our exceptional and memorable
'false start'.
Now we were seasoned troopers, and as this second,
more educated approach began to near its end, we were almost ready to
heave a sigh of relief and congratulate each other loudly on achieving a
new world record of 1-1/2 hours only. Well-ll-ll...you know how you
shouldn't 'count your chickens before they're hatched'? Hmm-m, well you
shouldn't start whipping up a milkshake before you've milked the cow,
either.
Disaster loomed, and struck, from a totally unexpected
quarter. Our youngest dog wiggled herself loose from her collar and
chain, and came to see what Mum and Dad were doing. Gypsy understood she
should make a wide detour around these gargantuan beasts, but
unfortunately, this took her out onto the dirt road our dairy was close
to (for ease of milk pickup).
What she didn't understand was what a
road and traffic was, compared to the extra long driveway in to the
farmhouse where she had been born and bred, not to mention the care all
users had taken to ensure the safety of Mum Candy, and her 8 baby
puppies. Admittedly, there was not much traffic on this road, but what
there was went fast, and swerved for nothing smaller than a milk-tanker.
And
so a truck hit her and sent her helplessly rolling over and over
countless times. She was just barely able to painfully and groggily make
her way towards us as we came flying out of the dairy, alerted by the
truck's horn and the sickening thud.
My husband lifted her into a
corner of the milk-room of the dairy and gently placed her on a hastily
improvised 'bed' of hessian feed sacks. Then we faced Catch 22...truly,
all of that and more. Couldn't leave the cows whilst they were milking,
in order to get to the house and summon the Vet. And even if we could, a
Vet from where? We didn't even know that yet.
Necessity therefore
made the choice for us - just to keep ducking in and out to our darling
in the milk-room as often as possible between rows of cows, and finish
as quickly as possible. At first Gypsy was semi-comatose, but breathing
evenly, though her pulse was rapid (mine was even more so!).
By
the time we had finally finished completely, our beloved pet was fully
conscious, licking our hands gratefully, profusely and lovingly. She
took a little water, but still needed carrying home. Nothing, thankfully
was broken and it seemed shock and soreness, and some tearing of the
pads on her feet, were responsible for her inability to walk for some
hours after her accident.
Apart from bruises and scrapes, Gypsy
had survived - and never, for the rest of her long life of 17 years,
would she come near enough to a car to suffer possible damage...except
to jump on the back of our utility, of course.
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