What happens to your dog if she is in the car with you when you get in a car accident?

Question

I take my dog everywhere in the car with me, which has led me to worry, what happens to your dog if you get in a car accident? What happens to her if you're unconcious but the dog is fine? What happens if your dog is hurt? Do they take her to the emergency vet? Is it your responsibility to get her to the vet if you're fine? Is there an official policy for paramedics about this? Is there anything I can do to make sure my dog isn't left to die?

I didn't mean to seem like I'm freaking out, I just can't find anyone who actually know what happens. Everyone I have asked says, "Good question... I assume they do something for the dog?" I want an answer from someone who knows exactly what happens, not just a guess.

Answer 1

There's not usually an official policy on this. As a paramedic, my only priority is the safety of the patient. There is no time to take care of your dog if you are so critically injured that you are unconscious. I'm nearly positive that the police (which always show up to traffic accidents like that) would take the dog to animal control temporarily until the owner or his representative can take the dog home. If the dog is hurt, I'm sure the police would take the dog to the vet to be treated. If you are OK and able to take the dog yourself, then it would be your responsibility, although I'm sure the police would drive you if your car was nonfunctioning and your pet was severely injured.
It's very important to keep your dog in a crate, doggie seatbelt, or some other means of containing your dog while he is in the car with you (a crate is the best!). There are a lot of dogs that will bite if scared, and nothing will scare a dog more than a car accident followed by an injured owner. The police are far more concerned with your safety than the dog's, and I've heard of the police shooting dogs that become aggressive and can't be contained. A crate is the most secure way to contain a dog during travel. Also, if the car is totaled, chances are that the dog will get loose if not contained in a crate, and run (and you may not find her). Another point to consider, a scared (and possibly aggressive) dog running loose in your car will delay your care, while the paramedics try to figure out how to contain the dog and gain access to you.
Just some things to consider. Hope this helps!

Edit: Dominique mentioned something about the paramedics and/or doctors taking a look at the dog to see if he or she is OK.
I don't know about the rest of the paramedics out there, but aside from being able to tell you if the dog is dead or alive, I can't treat a dog. They are very different from people! And I doubt a doctor would be able to do much better. The paramedics will NOT treat the dog as if he or she was a human involved in the accident. They will treat the dog as something in the way (harsh but true) if the owner is severely injured, and if the owner is fairly OK, they might be able to take a look to see if the dog is alive, but that's about all. The anatomy and physiology is different, and my two years of training did not cover pets (although I kind of wish it did)

Answer 2

If you are hurt and the dog is fine, I believe that the dog is taken to the shelter to be cared for if you don't have another plan in place. I think that they have to make a decision based on the severity of your condition as to whether she would then be up for adoption, but in no case should your dog be put down because of this.

If your dog is hurt, she should be cared for. The Humane Society or ASPCA in your area should have that covered.

If you are fine and she is hurt, then it will most likely be your responsibility to get her to the vet, but that depends on the severity I imagine. If she is VERY injured, there may be measures in place as above.

Contact your local Humane Society, ASPCA or vet and ask them. They would probably be your best resource to answer this.

As to what happens when you are injured and she is not, make sure you have a plan in place and that people know about it. If you were injured, do you have a friend she would go to? If so, make sure that friend is listed as an emergency contact for you. Make sure that whoever else the hospital would contact if you were injured knows the plan for your dog so she will be taken care of either way.

Answer 3

The dog will die, unless you have them in a doggie seat belt. If you are unconcious or dead, the dog will stay at the pound until they contact your family or next of kin and they can pick the dog up. Paramedics or the police would never just leave the dog...they would get it to the vet if it had any problems.

Answer 4

Most likely the paramedics and/or doctors will take a look at your dog. if it is hurt they'll probably call in a specialist. If your not hurt I would take her to the vet, because the paramedics could get called to somewhere else. Overall if your dog is in the car with you, paramedics would treat the dog as if there was a human passenger with you in the accident.

Answer 5

They make car seats/seat-belts for dogs. Check PetCo/PetSmart/E-bay and so forth. I have one for my pug. He hates it, though. He prefers to sit on the jockey box between the seats so he can see. I make him buckle up in traffic though.

To answer your actual question, what happens to your dog and how he/she is treated will depend greatly on the jurisdiction you are traveling in and time of day, (weekday, weekend, holiday, after hours, etc.). It will vary depending on availability of animal control, emergency vet services, etc. Most police departments have emergency veterinary care contacts or guidelines if they have a K-9 unit. (Or you might get lucky and get a "dog person" at the time.) If you drive mostly in one city or state, look on-line and see if your primary traffic enforcement agency (highway patrol, city police, etc.) has a policy regarding animals from collisions/scenes/etc. If not, you can call a watch commander and ask what their policy is. (All departments have a policy and procedure manual in addition to other guidelines like a collision investigation protocol, etc.; every officer should have one.) The most likely scenario is that an officer would secure the animal at the shelter for safekeeping if it were un-injured and/or transport the animal to the on-call animal hospital if it were injured.

Drive carefully and consider a restraint system for your dog. Make sure your dog has tags to identify her and get her home to you in the event she runs away from a collision scene or some other catastrophe. Most animal shelters can scan for microchips now, too, if that is an option for you. Good luck!

Answer 6

The best thing you can do is to put them in a sturdy crate inside the car and bungee/tie the crate down. Sometimes, when cars are in accidents, a door opens and the poor freaked out dog runs off never to be seen again.

Paramedics probably wouldn't be worrying about the dogs much, you would be their main concern. A crate is the safest way for your dog to be in a car.

Answer 7

If she's hurt they will most likely call animal control to come get her and take her to an emergency vet. If you're unconcsious and she's fine, she will be taken to the closest animal shelter until your family is contacted to come get her. If you are fine and your dog is hurt then it is your responsibility to get her somewhere. Paramedics are too busy dealing with hurt people to worry about your dog.

Answer 8

You just can not predict unforeseen circumstances. If your pet is around the wreckage, someone should come to their rescue. We take risks every day, just believe that whatever happens it will all work out okay if such a terrible thing should occur. I think you can get some sort of harness to hold a dog in the back seat -- like a doggy seatbelt. Your concern for your pet warms my heart.

Answer 9

no way to tell how bad the dog will be hurt but if they are im sure the paramedics will do something abouot it if you cant they arent all heartless assheads so just dont worry so much adn drive safe and there will be no problems if an accadnet does happen then you will have to roll witht he punches and do waht sounds right at the moment

Answer 10

Since dog don't have a seat-belt, i think it will be terrible for her (unless you have a dog-seat-belt, or something to protect her).

About the medic (if you're unable to help your dog), it depends on where do you live, if the society there loves dog, then i believe they will also help your dog, but in some country like mine, i don't believe they would (unless we're very lucky and found by a very good person who coincidence loves dog).

I suggest, you make a safety device for your beloved one...