r/interestingasfuck • u/Alarming-Studio-720 • 1d ago

Utah police dog survives injury after leaping from overpass

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u/MrSomething_or_Other 1d ago edited 21h ago

I adopted my dog when she was 5 months old. She was a dream puppy. Smart, sweet, easily trained. 3 weeks into our beautiful relationship, I, like a complete idiot, had her in my lap while driving down busy road with my windows down. One moment she was there, one moment she was gone.

I heard a loud squeel, followed by tires screetching and horns honking. I pulled over, got out and started running........ there she was. Under a tree. I won't go into the details, but after an emergency trip to the emergency animal hospital, she made it out ok.

We went on to have the most amazing 14 years together.

Edit: will you guys freakin' stop with this empathy?😆. Now you've got me ugly crying down in the basement while my wife and babies are upstairs in bed.

My Dog's name was Gemma. She was my best friend and until our son was born, part of me just figured I'd check myself out once she was no longer with me (that plan has long since been thrown out).

I can't talk about her in real life because I can't keep it together. So it's nice finally sharing something about her with anyone. More pics have been added to the comments below. Please enjoy.

Edit #2: For any of you who are still struggling with the death of a pet, or any loved one, really. The words that always come to my mind, despite making my heart hurt worse, also give me some comfort: "Grief is the price we pay for love." It only hurts so much because the love was so strong. We're lucky to experience that kind of love in our lives.

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u/eightbitboss 22h ago

😭

Gemma is gorgeous and I know she has a wonderful spirit. I don't know how you feel about cats, but please have a cat to ease your heart. Ignore the human. He is there only to hoist his majesty.

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u/MrSomething_or_Other 21h ago

Thanks, my friend. I support all animal friends. If your cat's name is Ferdinand, then you get 1 million internet points automatically.

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u/eightbitboss 21h ago edited 21h ago

His name is Lieutenant Lincoln Mercury, goes by Mercury, but I asked him and he doesn't mind being Ferdinand for a night. Says he'll do it for Gemma.

His older brother passed away a few years ago from Struvite. He's twelve now. A bonafide elder. It was a sad day in the EightBit household.

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u/muerto_dentro 14h ago

Thats such a nice dude of a cat

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u/eightbitboss 8h ago

Yeah, he's a pretty nice frickin' kitty. Talks A LOT, but after twelve years, it's an accessory to my comfort that I can't live without.

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u/MrSomething_or_Other 1d ago

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u/BeMyBrutus 23h ago

This is one of the most beautiful yet sad things I've seen in a while.

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u/Fluid_Disk3235 23h ago

Beautiful story and photos! Seems like she had a great parent. I cried reading this.

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u/MrSomething_or_Other 23h ago

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u/pumpkins21 23h ago

OHMYGOD this is the best dog costume I’ve ever seen 😂

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u/MrSomething_or_Other 22h ago

Thank you! She loved playing dress up.

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u/pumpkins21 21h ago

Beautiful. Mine just freezes and looks at me like “why are you doing this to me?”

You had the bestest girl :)

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u/NollieBackside 5h ago

Farty Krueger lol

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u/MrSomething_or_Other 23h ago

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u/Repair_Turbulent 21h ago

Oh my lord that precious face 🥰🥹

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u/bobear2017 23h ago

This just happened to me with my 4 month old puppy today! My daughter was holding him with her window down, and he lept out of her lap onto the highway (during rush hour). I was in a school zone and going slow, so thankfully (and miraculously) she did not get hit and was completely uninjured. So scary though

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u/I_am_up_to_something 10h ago

So you're going to safely strap in your puppy from now on, right?

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u/bobear2017 6h ago

Yes! I already have a doggy seatbelt so he will be strapped in the car going forward

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u/notyouraveragedenial 21h ago

Lost my best friend and soul mate (dog) on Friday. I really needed to hear that last edit. Thank you so much for sharing.

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u/MrSomething_or_Other 20h ago

Jesus you guys are fucking killing me with this stuff. I'm so sorry that this is still such a raw ache for you. We all cope and morn in our own ways, but I'm with you on the soul dog part. I don't know if I'll ever have another dog, but I suspect I won't. Other people may adopt another shortly after. Either decision is ok! We enter these relationships knowing that it's a short contract, but it doesn't make it any easier when the time comes. The fact that they are forever reliant upon you for their needs only means that they are just children that never grow up. I imagine you had your dog for a large portion of its life, if not the majority of it. How wonderful of a thought it is to know that after you came into their life, they never had to know what life was like without you.

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u/submitaticket 4h ago

I understand it's a really personal choice, and I respect it.. but I also kind of do hope you open your heart and home to another dog at some point. You can never replace one you've lost, of course (and sadly I have lost a few over the years, I still mourn them all) but you seem like you were such a wonderful and loving owner and another dog in need would be ABSOLUTELY blessed to have you. Much love, Gemma was a sweet baby! 

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u/FilmoreJive 22h ago

Brindle baby!!!! What a sweetheart. My brindle baby passed a few years ago. I am so happy you all had many good years!

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u/MrSomething_or_Other 21h ago

I'm sorry to hear about your loss well. The Brindle Pitties are the cream of the crop!

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u/Guess-Jazzlike 23h ago

Nobody steals your heart forever like a pitty.

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u/AngelicXia 20h ago

My Haya. I lost my Aly in 2020, nine months to the day after her sister, and eight days later his breeder said that the current litter was both not full Chartreux and he specifically was rejected by Mom Cat, and I was at the top of the list for getting very young kittens because my vet vouched, did I want one or did I want to wait for my spot for a papered cat. Best decision ever. I got him at 7.5 weeks, finished raising him, and have the best allergen alert Adventure!Cat I could ask for. His best friend is a talking raven I've named Flynn, and they see each other at least once a week. He comes almost everywhere and is the best catte ever.

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u/MrSomething_or_Other 20h ago

He looks like he's living the pampered life that a sweet boy like him deserves ❤️

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u/AngelicXia 20h ago

Himbs in himbs stroller. He's the bestestestestest

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u/Meal__Team__Six 23h ago

It's not that crazy to have your window down. I've seen dogs completely unrestrained in an open truck bed at 50+ mph. Like they must know what they're doing, but.... do they? And even if they do, driving is just unpredictable.

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u/Responsible_Word7018 23h ago

Cute 😊.

Oh the dog’s adorable also.

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u/MrSomething_or_Other 20h ago

Oh stop it, you silver tongued devil 😘

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u/redditisweird801 21h ago

I bet your family would like to hear more about her, or at least what you feel :) . It's easy to keep those feelings down in the sake of being strong, but imo, it shows more strength to be able to break in front of the ones you love most. It's incredibly hard, and I'm a bit hypocritical myself, but I helps a lot to be vulnerable and talk about these things.

I'm glad you were able to share about Gemma through here though. She must of been the best girl!

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u/OzzieBorealis 20h ago

I had to put down my 14 year old lab retriever, Baymax, this year. He was my best friend for the 7 years i was lucky to have him and talking about him is hard. I plan to get his ashes in a tattoo soon. It may be hard to talk about but its so satisfying to share those happy memories.

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u/submitaticket 4h ago

I'm sorry for your loss of Baymax. I hope you are able to get the tattoo ♥️

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u/f4eble 19h ago

She looks like my baby I just lost to cancer ❤️

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u/Freestoic 19h ago

Gorgeous dog. My pup fell out the car window a few weeks ago when someone slammed on the anchors in from of me. He was so so lucky to walk away with only road rash but reading your story reminded me of that.

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u/RainbowsShadow 19h ago

I wasnt expecting to get this tense nor this relieved when reading some random short story of a dude with a dog.

The "murphys law" approach was very useful so far when it comes to my cats: If they could do something, they will, and so I prepare accordingly.

That said, no shame or judgement for fucking up. You are just human.

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u/TheMapesHotel 22h ago

I love her so much! Thank you for sharing her precious little face with us. She looks like the bestest of baby girls

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u/MrSomething_or_Other 20h ago

She could cast shade when she wanted to!

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u/TheMapesHotel 12h ago

Girl you can cast shade in a cute xmas sweater!

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u/Conscious-Bite1 23h ago

I hope you were not too hard on yourself. Yes, a mistake was made, but clearly your dog didn’t hold it against you. Glad it had a happy ending!

A buddy of mine had a similar thing happen, his dog survived too, but had to have a leg amputated. No bueno, but it all worked out.

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u/MrSomething_or_Other 20h ago

Oh gosh, that's brutal, man. The pooch still around? Glad they made it, though.

I still get upset at myself for the accident. Needless to say my kids will likely suffer as a result. No trampolines, skateboards, overzealous sessions of hide and seek. Their oversized bubbles are currently en route 😅

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u/Conscious-Bite1 10h ago

Yea this happened like 2 years ago, dog is doing great!

And accidents happen bro, learn from it and don’t dwell on it. Your kids will be kids, and not allowing them to take risks mean when they do take them they won’t be prepared for them. I have 3 kids now, yes they get hurt, yes I freak out when they do crazy shit. It’s life…

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u/pumpkins21 23h ago

She was absolutely precious. You gave her a fantastic life and she knew how lucky she was. I know nothing I can say will dull the pain of losing her, but just know she left this world knowing how loved she was and still is.

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u/rollfootage 21h ago

Wow I feel like I could have written this comment. I can’t talk about mine either and ours look a bit similar, but with reversed coloring. May they forever be frolicking somewhere in the sky.

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u/ThatsNotARealTree 23h ago

Please please please start with the happy part next time. I was crying by the time I got to the end

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u/MrSomething_or_Other 20h ago

Sorry! The fingers just kept moving! I wasn't aware where I was even going with my story at the time lol. Here's your complimentary Gemma pic!

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u/thehoodooeyedo 22h ago

Cute dog and owner!

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u/MrSomething_or_Other 20h ago

Came for the heartache, stayed for the flattery! 😆

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u/Civil_Jello7634 20h ago

I hope you're not inferring we should have some compassion for this cop? It's negligent at best. It was his actual job to keep the dog safe. And I am against working dogs so there's that element that also gets under my skin but I digress. The cop should be reprimanded and never work with dogs again.

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u/MrSomething_or_Other 20h ago

I think we should all have more compassion as whole, but no, I wasn't sharing that to garner sympathy for the officer. Dogs behave similar to small children in a lot of ways, and just like children, it's the responsibility of the parent to ensure their safety. Nonetheless, horrible accidents can and do happen. He did not so everything he should have in order to prevent that animals accident, just like I didn't do everything to prevent mine.

Lesson: Dogs can and will do dumb shit sometimes. Know your surroundings in order to better mitigate any risk.

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u/I_am_up_to_something 9h ago

Lesson: Dogs can and will do dumb shit sometimes. Know your surroundings in order to better mitigate any risk.

Exactly.

You didn't mention precautions afterwards btw. Did you secure your dog in the car after that incident? After such a thing I would hope so, but since you didn't mention it I thought I'd ask.

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u/Civil_Jello7634 6h ago

Let’s hope so. My problem is he is trying to elicit sympathy in a manipulative way of what HE did. It wasn’t the dog that did “stupid shit” HE did. Dogs and kids have no autonomy. They depend on us to keep them safe. Their brains aren’t wired like a grown adult. Even a trained dog needs our supervision (aka the cop).

In my county driving with a pet on the lap is the same as driving and texting and is distracted driving. You get a ticket when caught.

Unfortunately there have been deadly accidents due to both scenarios. And with a dog in the lap it can kill people in another car from the distraction. I’ve owned many pets and never would I do this.

And as a volunteer for two shelters I do a lot of fostering for injured and sick animals. I’m numb to the excuses. I’m glad when people change, but when they want “compassion” I refuse to oblige. Learn from the mistake and teach others the dangers of your infraction. It’s healing.

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u/Civil_Jello7634 20h ago

Don’t agree with your last statement. Animals don’t do “dumb shit”, people do. Pets have no autonomy which is why animal cruelty and neglect laws exist.

But the cop will get special privileges I guess. And he of all people should know better. Leash laws are pretty much universal.

I work as a volunteer for a local shelter as well as our county animal control. My compassion is reserved for the victims, which are those that can’t speak for themselves. Lessons must be learned, but just like when I look back on the stupid shit I did that could have harmed others, I want no compassion. I want people to learn to keep others safe.

That cop could have caused an accident and killed someone. If that was my loved one in that scenario? Lord have mercy.