Yesterday I couldn't get in to one of my hawking fields because of the snow, so I had to park near the road and use a fairly hard-packed snow bank to step over the fence. I had to help both dogs over because it was the type of fence that they could not get through.
After our hawking experience we returned to the same spot. I had fed Okie up and hooded her. She has tried to bate hooded from the fist a couple of times, so I have made it a point to hang on to my one field jess. But, I was a bit distracted lifting Chase over the fence and not concentrating, and at that point, Okie bated and her jess slipped out of my grasp. She flew about 30 yards at a 45 degree angle before coming down. Normally, they fly a much shorter distance than this, but, a fate would have it, she caught some wind.
I could not see exactly where she came down because of some bushes in the way,
but, it appeared that she may have landed in the road. And, as I was clearing the fence to get to her, a car drove by. When I got to where I could see her, it was obvious she had been run over. She was flat on the ground. And when I got to her, I could see that her hood had been knocked off. She could not get up and she was breathing heavily. I picked her up, hooded her and carried her to the car. I placed her in the back and watched her for awhile. She eventually sat up on her
hocks, but it seemed like she could not move one foot. I felt she had a spinal cord injury, so I headed home to call a vet for some steroids to reduce the inflamation.
As I was driving home, feeling pretty awful, I hear her bells behind me. I looked back and she was walking around. I put my glove on at a red light and got her on the fist, where she stayed until I got home. She was able to stand on both feet. Her wings were symmetrical, and she demonstrated no signs of internal injury. Without making it sound too "mushy"-when she got on my fist, it was obvious (to me) that she relaxed. I guess the feeling of the glove under her feet made her feel better. She roused and seemed content there.
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