Tibbe is OK. We had a very, very close call. I was drying Tibbe after a bath and had him standing on the kitchen counter, he kind of whirled his bottom to one side and stepped off his towel onto a pair of scissors. They were closed but the clatter caused him to run straight to me and right off the counter in sudden fear! I had backed up a tad to look at him after I'd trimmed a long tuft of hair from his head with another scissors so dropping those scissors, the drying towel and trying to catch the suddenly fast moving wet dog was impossible seeming but I remember thinking I had to catch Tibbe no matter what.
Not so easy! He went through my hands and arms headed down before I could clasp onto him. He was moving that fast! I guess I was moving forward in around him still more as I was partially grasping him, crouched, jutting my knees forward, butt out and kind of shrugged my shoulders, chest, arms inward/up and forward very hard and fast, I guess, and caught his hips with my hands, my body all bent over as his feet landed on my knees and my head bumped the cabinet. He was about 16-18" from the floor when I finally stopped his fall. I felt the most awful, sharp, stabbing pains in my mid-sternocostal area as my body kind of folded in & up so hard and fast for the catch, all bent over trying to get the fast, falling, flailing wet dog. I haven't ever felt pain there before - or knew that area could feel as if it moved forward kind of separately!
I got a better hold on him, righted and lifted him up and he seemed alert, looked surprised, then excited, kissed me and tried to twirl around on the counter in excitement over his big happening. I palpated, pressed him all over, checked joint ROM, hips, head, eyes, ribs, waist, spine, neck, tail, limbs, tummy, chest, lowered him to the floor (to the accompaniment of a great deal of that s-c chest pain) and set him slowly on the floor. He bounced off and ran into the den with me telling him to stop. I didn't want him running if a hip or other joint was swelling, or anything else maybe happening, internally etc. His tummy is still soft, pliant, nontender and still not swelling or lumpy. I must have checked him all over 6 times now. We finally has a kissy, love fest once I was pretty sure he was OK. I finished drying him in my lap.
Now about 3 hours later, he's still nontender and has full ROM, his hips aren't tender and his head is fine. His pupils are okay, reactive. Good gums each check. That foot neuro test is normal. I've relived the fall mentally many times and he didn't hit anything during the fall/catch and seems okay. He was too far out to hit into the wooden cabinets, his feet landed on my knees and I was holding but not yet catching him as he went down though my hands though I couldn't clasp well until I got to his muscled-up little hips as he was so slippery and fast. His feet touched my knees about the same time I got good hold of his hips. I guess it was like a dog jumping off a stand into the trainer's arms in a circus act of something except this wasn't cute or funny!
I have finally let him play, eat and drink and also let him take a nap now. He's easily aroused from his nap from just calling his name. He's chipper as a chipmunk since the fall/catch. I feel like I have a big lump in my chest and it hurts to lift my arms, shrug, lift the laptop, lift Tibbe or do much of anything upper bodywise but I seem to be okay, too. My forehead's tender but no lump. I think I will feel this a while.
Tibbe has never even gotten close to the edge of that cabinet before after a bath but stepping on those scissors really scared him and he just blindly ran forward.
Next time Mr. Tibbe will be wearing something to keep him from running off the kitchen cabinet after he gets a bath in the sink!!! This kind of thing can NEVER happen again.
Any ideas what would be safe for him to wear after his bath while he getting dried and trimmed up? I am still shaking as I type this.