We spent a beautiful Labor Day at my Dad's and his wife "B's" property (Papa D). The weather was perfect for yard work and with Papa D's arm in a cast and sling my bro and Caspian had their work cut out for them sawing and hauling downed trees for firewood. I spent my time doing dishes and chasing the Juveniles around the house and property while Lizzard napped and supervised from her tie-down in the front yard.
Things went surprisingly smoothly, considering the use of chainsaws, axes and log splitters dominated the work. The juveniles played until they could hardly move from exhaustion and Lizzard found a spot in the sun to nap.
Just after we finished dinner, Muirne took Lizzard for a walk around the cleared part of the property. When she was finished, Caspian tied her to the deck/porch that runs the length of the back and front of the house. The deck has slats in the railing which Lizzard was tied to. We went inside to clean up and let the Juveniles relax for a few minutes before we made the 45 minute drive home.
Suddenly we hear a banging on the door leading to the deck. Standing there with Lizzard in her arms is B Papa's wife (who is allergic to dogs). Before I could figure out why she was holding Lizzard Caspian jumps up and runs to the door. B yells for us to come outside and tells Muirne to stay inside.
We rush out and Lizzard is completely limp and not breathing. He tongue is purple, her gums white, and her eyes glazed. Immediately we try to get her to breathe. Nothing. I tell Caspian to lay her down and we gently rub her body and try to encourage her to take a breath. She starts to gag and cough as Caspian gentle whispers "come on girl". She starts to pant and take deeper breaths. Her eyes dilate then focus and she lifts her head. We move her to the garage and wrap her in a blanket. My dad has some oxygen that is used for welding, but none-the-less is purer then the air. We lay her down and tent her head and the valve of the bottle. After about 30 minutes her color returns and she stand up and wags her tail.
Caspian stays outside with her while I load up our belongings from the house. He is wracked with the guilt of tying her to the railing. He didn't think that she would jump off and make herself a noose out of her collar and leash. B said she was completely still when she found her by accident while locking the basement door. She was most likely hanging for a while. She had been out there for about 20 minutes before she was found. I guess we will never know for sure.
Lizzard spent the ride home asleep in my lap and Caspian and I were quiet. "You didn't know she would jump off." I whisper quietly to him. "It's not your fault." He nods his head ans stares down the road.
The Juveniles are asleep when we get home and we carry them into the house. Lizzard is turned loose in the backyard where she jumps and barks announcing her return to her domain to the squirrels. Once the juveniles are in bed Caspian and I decide to make it an early night ourselves, emotionally and physically drained from the day. Caspian lays Lizzard next to him in the bed instead of her chair that she normally sleeps in and pats her gently. "Good Girl Lizzard" he says. And there she slept, peacefully forgetful of the events earlier that evening.
