Helping an injured dog

After a long and hot day on the trails, all I wanted was a nice cold Pepsi.
Driving back on the Mountain Loop Hwy we rounded a curve to find 3 cars parked on the hwy and people helping an animal in the other lane. My first thought was that a small deer had been hit and that it needed to be put down. I got out of my car and saw the animal's legs flailing in the air and others were asking if i had a gun, apparently they had the same thought I did. I told them I didn't and got close enough and realized that it was a beautiful Weimereiner. She was foaming at the mouth and bleeding from a few spots. The owner was not around and neither was the driver that hit the dog. The dog was being held by a lady as i walked up to see if i could help. I was afraid that I was seeing this dog's last moments.
Her(the dog) owner showed up from the river and the dog was finally so spooked and in shock that she started running down the road. Her owner with no footwear took off after her. My only thought was to run too and try to help him if i could. I told Adam to move my car off the hwy if need be and i took off on foot. After 1/4 mile her owner was exhausted but i kept on. The dog was hurt, scared and on a busy roadway.
Another person at the original scene pulled up in his truck and picked up the owner as i continued on foot. If they could pass the dog maybe we could get her in the middle. She turned and started back toward me. I slowed down and started calling her name in a somewhat quiet tone to help calm her down. She easliy got past me and i turned around. Running back, others on foot were coming in my direction and hoping to put the squeeze on her again. This time she ran down to the river. I hopped the guardrail and ran down the river. She ran along the river's edge and I ran from boulder to boulder hoping that I wouldn't slip and get hurt myself. She was starting to slow and saw another person coming toward us. As I jumped onto another boulder (i was running as quiet as I could to not scare the dog) I slipped and fell into the river.
The dog saw that she was in the middle again and darted up the river bank. She fell on her first attempt up the bank but tried again. By now we had alerted those on the roadway (now we're right back below where she had been hit) and they were ready for her. When I got back to the roadway she was exhausted and standing in the grass and her owner was running toward her. When he got to her he gave her a big hug and started to cry.
I knew that she needed to get to a vet and I mentioned that I had a station wagon and could transport her to a clinic. I cleared out the back and she was quickly put into my car. The owner's brother rode in the back with her and the owner drove his car since his brother couldn't drive.
As soon as i got cell service i called my friend in Seattle and asked him to find a Vet's office along our route. Within 20 minutes we were at a Vet and the dog was being looked at.
She luckily didn't have any broken bones or internal bleeding! I was so happy to hear that I almost cried. She was going to make it! The owner told us how his dog, Deb, had been with him through a lot of hard stuff in his life and he was so happy that she was not seriously injured.
With some time she will heal and he has hopefully learned that even while playing in the river, dogs should be on a leash.
I am grateful that I was in a position to be able to help. Nothing brings me more happiness in my life than my pets. I'm glad that this guy was able to bring his best friend back home with him tonight.
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