My first New Year in Dominican Republic

Present:
The web site www.colonialzone-dr.com is coming together more and more everyday. The problem now is that I keep thinking of more stuff to add but can't find all the info I would like to include. I guess I shouldn't complain as the site hasn't even been on the net for 2 months. But as always, when I want something I always want it YESTERDAY!

PAST:
My first New Year in DR was going to be great. My friend Juan Antonio came and took Sniffy and I to his home in Bani. We were going to go to the beach relax. Since I don't have my journal with me here now I'll try and remember the events as they happened but I'm sure I'll mess up on the time line a bit, sorry.
The day before New Year's Eve Juan Antonio came and picked Sniffy and I up in his Gua gua. Sniffy loved it because she had not ridden in a car since we arrived in DR. She loved riding in cars. When I went anywhere she went with.
We went to Juans home in Bani, beautiful place. Sniffy was, of course, afraid of his cat. But she made herself right at home. She never thought of herself as a dog. She was 100% human in her mind.
Juan was going to take us to the playa for the day. So we got all organized and hopped into the Gua gua. We were half way there and we got a flat tire. He was fixing it and I was hanging with Sniffy on the side of the road. There was a house across the street. She spotted a dog and wanted to go and take a sniff. I told her she could go and she was so happy. There was no traffic in the road so she crossed the road all happy. She and the other dog spent a few minutes sniffing and she had enough. She was crossing the road all smiles (yes, she did smile) when this jeepeta(SUV) came over the crest of the hill, moving fast. It never even slowed down or swerved. Sniffy didn't even see it coming. She went from a split second of being all happy to being hit with the truck. And there was nothing I could do. I was screaming for her to go faster. It all seemed to be in slow motion. Even by the time Juan got up to see what I was screaming Sniffy was down and had crawled under the Gua gua. The damn jeepeta didn't even slow or stop!
I drug Sniffy out from under the van. She was covered in blood. One side of the face was hanging off and her eye was gone. The only place that had blood was her head. The jeepeta hit her dead center. It was high of the ground so it didn't smash her. It hit her head then she was bashed into the pavement and she went under and out the back of the truck. Not one tire hit her! Even though she was hit God was with her. It was a miracle that not 1 tire touched her. She did not have 1 broken bone. It was her head.
The man from the house across the street came running with a bucket of water and I got my towel. We wrapped her head and I held her on my lap. She just laid there. I was trying not to cry cause I didn't want to upset her. I was talking to her and telling her I loved her.
Juan finally got the tire changed. We got her and I into the back of the van, on my lap of course. She wasn't moving much.
We got into town and started looking for a vet. There were none open since it was holiday. We drove to 3 different vets and finally he remembered a vet that had an office in his home.
We went there and the vet was home! I got Sniffy into the house and laid her down. I was covered in blood. She wasn't moving much. Her 1 eye was gone and the other was white and swollen about 3 times its size.
After the vet started looking at her I lost it. I was shaking and almost passed out a few times. That dog was my baby. I brought her with me to live in Dominican Republic. She was about 10 years old at this time. I got her from the humane Society when she was between 1 and 2 years old. I gave her a breed because she didn't have one, she was a Miniature Barrel Shepard. She was a bit fat, 13 inches tall and 60 pounds. Funny looking, her back side was a little higher than her front. I worked with her a lot to get her to be friendly, to get her to listen, even to get her to bark took time. After all the work I had me a best friend. She went on vacations with me. The policy was "love me, love my dog". She went jet skiing and boating with my friends. Even when I received an invite Sniffy was included.
Anyhow...the vet kept her. He said he fed her chicken because he saw she was a special dog. We met up with the vet later that night at the park and bought him a few beers. The next day I went to visit her and called the vet about 4 times to check on her.
We went out that night to Juan Antonios families home to celebrate New Years Eve. I tried to join in, it wasn't easy. I just couldn't stop worrying about my baby and feeling guilty for being out and her being in the hospital.

More later....