Veterinary Specialists in Tucson Assist Injured Pets

Fatal crash spares pets - barely

From the ARIZONA DAILY STAR | February 19, 2005

Blaine Lindsey was just a few miles from his destination Jan. 29 - transporting his friend's two dogs from California to their new home in Oro Valley - when the SUV he was driving flipped three times and crashed on Interstate 10.

Lindsey, 41, was thrown out of the SUV and died at the scene.

Zaynah, a 9-year-old boxer, was catapulted through the windshield. Jabari, 7, a small pit bull mix, was tossed around the vehicle's interior.

Lindsey was not wearing a seat belt, according to a state police spokesman.

While mourning the loss of her friend, Kimberly Foxworth is dealing with the injuries her pets sustained.

The animals were not restrained within the vehicle, either.

To protect her dogs during future car trips, Foxworth plans to buy them car restraints.

The elderly boxer was injured in the crash, then hit by at least one oncoming vehicle after being thrown from the SUV, said veterinarian Bonnie Lilley, manager of Pima Animal Care Center, where Zaynah was taken after the accident. Lilley found tire marks on the dog.

The other dog was found hours later, running along a road in Marana about four miles from the crash site. Jabari had minor injuries.

Foxworth, 45, said she got a call from Lindsey at around 5 a.m. Jan. 29 saying he and the dogs were several hours away. She expected to see them that morning. By late afternoon, though, they still had not arrived. That's when Foxworth got a call from Roy Alexander.

He and his fiancee were driving to their rural Marana home when they spotted a small brown dog running down the road, dragging its leash. They stopped to pick him up and called Foxworth's cell phone number listed on the I.D. tag.

"She hadn't heard about the wreck," said Alexander, who offered to keep Jabari at his house until Foxworth could drive out and get him.

Minutes after Foxworth hung up, she received a call from Lindsey's sister in Nevada. Law enforcement officers had just informed the family about the fatal crash.

"I could barely talk. I could barely sit down. I could barely stand," Foxworth said.

She immediately called the state Department of Public Safety. "I asked about my boxer because everybody else was accounted for so far."

Foxworth learned the dog had been taken to the Pima Animal Care Center. By the time she arrived, Zaynah was resting under a pile of warm blankets, but hours earlier, Lilley and her staff were hard at work trying to stabilize the boxer.

"She was almost dead," Lilley said. "I'm really amazed she came back."

Foxworth had Animal Care staff transport Zaynah to the Southern Arizona Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center, 141 E. Fort Lowell Road.

While Foxworth was at the vet clinic, a co-worker drove to Marana to pick up Jabari. The small dog had a gash on his leg that required stitches.

The emergency team spent about four days stabilizing Zaynah before the surgery team took over, said veterinary surgeon Mary K. Quinn. Once they could operate, vets repaired a dislocated hip and multiple torn ligaments, and grafted skin from her abdomen onto her severely damaged hind leg. Zaynah has nerve damage to one of her front legs, and Quinn suspects it eventually will have to be amputated.

Foxworth estimates she's spent at least $10,000 so far on vet care. If Zaynah requires an amputation, Quinn estimates the expenses could top $15,000.

Zaynah was stable enough to leave the clinic Friday. She will continue receiving care at home. When the dog was still at the clinic, Foxworth brought Jabari to visit his canine companion every day.

"It's been a group effort from multiple doctors here, and the staff has been amazing at taking care of her and keeping her comfortable," Quinn said.