my dog and i hit a tree head-on

11-14-222 mins read

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Words by Walker E. | As told by GUNNER

 

My buddy, my dog and I were headed out to the blind a bit before sunrise. It is a pretty curvy road but it made it a lot worse with such dense fog. We didn’t think much of it so I was going around the speed limit, 40-45mph. The road got a lot worse than I had expected and the fog didn’t get any better. We took the first hard curve and I didn’t even see the second one. 

I tried my best to hit the brakes but the next thing I knew there was a 100-year-old live oak in the windshield. When you try to imagine what hitting that big of a tree dead-on sounds like, a bomb is the only way I can try to explain it. 

I was really shaken up but the first thing I thought of was to make sure my buddy was alright. Next thing that ran through my mind was “oh sh*t, my dog is back there!” 

I tried to open the door but both front doors were crushed in. We crawled to the back and they were crushed as well. 

We ended up having to bust out the back window in order to get out and check on Ellie. When I finally got back there, she was just sitting there in the kennel. It was sitting upright and she seemed to be fine. I took her and the kennel out of the truck to double check and she was just a bit shaken up. It was nice because I was able to throw her back in the kennel while we called our parents. 

The only sign of being in a wreck between me, my buddy, and Ellie was a cut on my buddy's hand. We called an ambulance just to make sure everything was alright, which it was. Nothing more than being a little shaken up and a few dings/scratches on the kennel. 

We never would have thought this would happen but that’s usually how it goes. Ellie has always been me and my dad's dog. My dad passed away back in 2020, so this made me even more thankful the kennel did its job.

We were able to get everything taken care of and meet up with our friends later that day to kill 15-20 ducks. I damn sure at least wanted to get y’all some pictures and videos after saving my dog's life… let alone keeping Ellie safe enough to hunt that same day.

I wanted to get my dog the most bad*ss sh*t on the market, so I got a GUNNER. I still use that same kennel that was in the wreck everywhere I take Ellie. I truly believe that it saved her life.