Gina Winne, of Des Moines, said she is thankful to Iowa State’s Lloyd Veterinary Teaching Hospital for saving her dog Chloe’s life.

While pets are commonly referred to ISU veterinarians if they suffer from a complicated condition, Keith Eubank, Chloe’s veterinarian, said the dog’s story is far from ordinary.

Chloe’s name was recently added to the 2007 Iowa Animal Hall of Fame, sponsored by the Iowa Veterinary Medical Association, for saving a young boy from being hit by an oncoming truck.

“[My son] Devan wanted to go next door,” Gina said, relating the story, which began this past July. “[Devan] does it all the time. Then, the next thing I knew, he was pounding on the front window. I thought something had happened to him, but all he could say was, ‘Chloe!'”

Gina said her son had entered the street on his bicycle from the Winnes’ fenced-in property, unaware of a Ford pickup truck driving toward him.

Chloe, however, had apparently seen the truck. She pushed Devan off his bicycle and took the hit herself. The driver did not stop.

“She got completely run over,” Gina said.

Gina said it wasn’t initially clear whether Chloe was going to survive. She took the dog to Eubank at the Indianola Veterinary Clinic, where he kept Chloe sedated for the evening to treat her for shock.

“I didn’t know she had knocked the son out of the way and all that,” Eubank said, who often treats pets hit by vehicles.

Gina said she also didn’t know that part of the story then, since the day’s events had happened so quickly. She learned the complete story from Devan later.

“My son said he felt bad, like it was his fault,” Gina said, but she said she assured him he was not to blame.

Chloe had to stay at the clinic for the evening, so she could be X-rayed the following day, Eubank said.

“That [first] night was torture,” Gina said. “I knew she was not used to being in a kennel at all, and we weren’t sure if her back was broken.”

The X-ray revealed it wasn’t, but Chloe’s pelvis was shattered in two places, and her leg was broken in four different places, Gina and Eubank said.

Eubank recommended Iowa State’s veterinary teaching hospital, because of the life-threatening and complicated nature of Chloe’s injuries, he said.

After Chloe got to Iowa State, Gina learned that her bladder was ruptured as well. Gina said she traveled to Iowa State regularly when Chloe was at the hospital at first.

She would later find out that her diaphragm was herniated.

Gina said she noticed Chloe breathing oddly when she picked her up and brought her home. When she brought her back, she had to go into surgery again for a herniated diaphragm, which meant that her liver and intestines were pushing up into her lungs.

“They told me if I hadn’t noticed it, she would’ve died right away,” Gina said.

Altogether, Chloe’s surgeries and rehabilitative therapy totaled $9,000. Gina said after the first operation or two, she decided she had to carry through to the end.

Eubank said he didn’t know if Chloe would be able to walk again when he first saw her. She is getting around now, even though it isn’t as well as before.

Joanna Hildreth, veterinary technician at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, said she was optimistic about Chloe’s ability to walk again when she began treating her with therapy.

Hildreth helped Chloe recover from her injuries and surgery through various water and land exercises and said several veterinary medicine students helped with the dog’s recovery as well.

“Everybody knew Chloe, because Chloe was in and out of there frequently,” Hildreth said.

She described the dog’s personality as very outgoing and affectionate toward people.

Hildreth said she thought dogs sometimes had an ability to sense that their owner is in danger, and it was possible Chloe deliberately meant to save Devan.

“I think that animals try to look out for people – or at least some do,” Hildreth said.

She said she hasn’t worked with other pets that have saved their owners’ lives, but she has worked with police dogs, and they are “pretty heroic.”

“I think many times we don’t give animals enough credit for what they can do for people,” Hildreth said.