This a real possibility for me. My dog has epilepsy and already had one status epilepticus seizure. This type of seizure does not stop on its own, and very often fatal. That time the vet managed to anesthetize her and stop the seizure, but I think the outcome may have been very different with even 5 minutes more delay.
Hopefull that won’t happen since the dog is on medication now. But it’s no guarantee. If it happens again while I’m drunk, yes, I’d definitely take the risk and drive.
The last time I called a taxi here it took 30 minutes. There just isn’t much demand for cabs in this small city. And if it happened at 3am, how long would it take to wake up a neighbor and get him/her in a car?
Shakes: Wassa matta boy… Don’ feel so good? You’re a good doggy dog. I love you. Wanna go for a ride?
Shakes Dog: “Cough Wheeze” … No… no… I’m fine… I’ve still got some woof left in me.
Shakes: Com’ on it’ll be fun. You like rides don’t you boy?
Shakes Dog: Yeah… it was a real amusing “ride” when you told me I was going with you to be “tutored”.
Shakes: Don’t be like that … sometimes I wish I could get rid of mine. They’re soo much trouble, and they make me do stupid things. That’s why I drink…
Shakes Dog: To forget?
Shalks: Nah… just to get shit faced so I can do stupid things. Let’s ride!
As far as the claim about .1% goes, I think they are right in that sleep deprivation is worse than driving drunk. But you are right that there is a misplaced decimal point for .8/.9 claim.
If you’re talking about 1 or 2 glasses of wine - ie - you might blow over the limit, but you’re still reasonably coherent, yep I would. My vet is about 2 blocks from my house.
If I was slobbering sloshed? Well, who knows. I haven’t been slobbering sloshed since I was about 19 so I don’t really know what I would do. Most likely carry him to the vet, get lost, pass out in a snow bank and we would both die of exposure.
Good thing I don’t drink very much.
I’m some what ashamed to admit that my cousin was killed by a drunk driver, so I actually have first hand experience with how awful for everyone concerned that sort of crime is. However, in my heart I know I would try to save my pet.
Sad to say, but I’ve driven drunk for far sillier reasons than a dying pet, so yeah, I would. (Disclaimer: I don’t drink and drive anymore, but I used to do it fairly often.)
Yeah, I suppose I am thinking of being in a high population dencity area where neighbours are a minutes walk away. Do you have vets on call locally who will come to you in an emergency?
Yeah, I mistyped when I put in 0.9 and 0.8, which is actually pretty obvious since I believe that would be a fatal amount of alcohol (I understand around 0.5 is when death starts happening, and maybe even earlier.)
In the U.S. the legal limit is 0.08, and it used to b 0.10, so assume I had correctly typed it as (0.08 and 0.09) and my post should make more sense. I was saying I didn’t find people who drove in that range to be especially heinous since it used to be perfectly legal to drive at that level.
I actually more prefer the older system, if you’re demonstrably impaired it is DUI. As tested by a field sobriety test, for example.
I’d explain the situation to my vet, and see if he would drive out to me. He does plenty of large animals, so I’m sure he has a truck full of vet gear (Although how applicable that would be to a dog, I don’t know).
If he couldn’t come out in an emergency–and it would surprise me if he couldn’t–I’d make a judgement call. But I’d probably drive.
You damn betcha I would… Of course, considering the fact that long ago in the mists of time when I was young and foolish I got pulled over driving home (about 0400) butt ass drunk and passed the roadside sobriety test with flying colors (all those dance lessons pay off eventually!) and I can still pass 'em while I’m 'faced (although I seldom drink and never drive after) I figure I have a better than average chance of being okay. Of course, if I KNOW I’m impaired I’m going to drive like grandma fershure…
In a heartbeat. I know, I know, but I’ve driven drunk off my ass before, and for no better reason than to get home from the bar. Fine example to the Youth of Today I am. To save one of my cats, I’d run over a nun.
It’s purely hypothetical since I don’t own a car, and I could easily get a cab or a neighbor in such an emergency, but yeah, I’d do it. I’ve driven drunk before ( though not for about two decades, before anyone starts a pit thread), for no good reason. I’d take my chances on the road for my cats, unless I was seeing double and the room was spinning.
I do live in a high population density area, middle of a city with a population of over 150,000. Neighbors are a minute’s walk away. But it still takes time to rouse one. And I don’t know any of them well enough that I’m confident they’d do it. There is an emergency animal clinic that’s open all night, but they don’t make house calls.
It doesn’t help that the city is built around car traffic. There are very few taxis in town because everyone drives their own car.
When my beloved cat tumbled out of a six-floor window, I was practically drunk with misery and grief as I drove him, aimlessly for a quite a while, to the animal hospital. I remember crying so hard that I kept swerving onto the other side of the road. I practically lost my mind when I got turned around wrong and couldn’t find my way back to the right road. But I wasn’t technically drunk, so I guess I’m not really answering the question.
I eventually got there in one piece, but the same can’t be said for my Ziggy. He was so bad off that I had to put him to sleep. But I wouldn’t hestitate to do the same thing for my other cats, even if I was intoxicated. I’d feel incredibly guilty if I found out my cautiousness ruined my pet’s chances of a positive prognosis.
(Of course, I’d feel even more guilty if I killed someone, but since I don’t drink, especially by myself, I can’t see this hypothetical happening to me anyway.)
Hijack: Just a bit of advice to pet owners, especially newcomers: find out where the nearest 24-hr emergency animal hospital is now. I spent a good thirty minutes searching through telephone books looking for one while my poor kitty lay on the floor bleeding and suffering, and then there was the awful getting lost thing. The panic of not knowing where to go makes a bad situation more stressful. Find out where a place is and keep the number handy. I wish I had.
If it weren’t for your location, I’d figure you must be one of our regular clients.
Folks, when you do drive drunk to your vet’s office, please don’t get all belligerent when they won’t accept beer bottle caps as payment or when they tell you that they couldn’t save your cat because he’s actually been dead for days, or when they tell you that the life-threatening tumor or hernia you saw is actually your dog’s happy bits and it’s quite normal.
Thank you.
