The pain from a broken tail bone and the bumps and bruises to her knees and ankles are daily reminders to Mary Jungers to the seriousness of her motor vehicle crash on Jan. 27.

It was broad daylight on the Saturday afternoon as Jungers drove west on CR-23 over the TH-97 bridge at I-35 only to be hit head-on by a speeding car that veered into her lane.

In an instant, Jungers was dazed and dizzied from the impact and the thrust of the air bags. But as she sought to gain control of her situation, her only thought was of her two front seat companions, Buster and Billy, a pair of nine-year-old Yorkie/Lhasa Apso dogs that travel everywhere with Jungers.

As Junger’s car moved close to the intersection of W. Freeway Drive in Columbus, Busy was on her lap and Billy was asleep in the front passenger seat.

When the eastbound car hit Junger’s 2003 Buick Century head-on, Billy was sent flying and Buster was pinned between the air bag and Mary.

As much as her own injuries were cause for worry, Jungers is convinced her dogs would have died had quick action not been taken to help the animals by citizens and emergency personnel who came to the scene.

Now more than two weeks beyond the crash, Jungers is healing and both dogs are once again perking up.

The crash, Jungers says, is a reminder to pet owners to have a plan for what to do with animals in the event of incidents such as the January crash.

“A lot of people haul their pets in their vehicles and they don’t think about it,” Jungers says. And being prepared is a must for pet owners, she says.

Dogs were lucky

Jungers admits she and her two beloved dogs were lucky.

She was just 10 minutes from the home of her friend, Mark Peterson, as he was quick to the scene after being called.

“People were amazing,” Jungers said. “There were a ton of people there.”

While some were helping the two motorists, others cared for the dogs. The animals were covered with blankets until they could be removed from the car.

“They were both in shock,” Jungers said.

Both dogs had lung bruising and Buster had trauma to the head. Both were taken to Midwest Veterinary Specialty Group in Blaine where they were treated and hospitalized.

Had Jungers not been able to quickly get in touch with an animal hospital, she fears the two would have perished. “My dogs would never have lived,” she said.

As a pet owner, the fact her dogs were being aided helped push to get help, too. “I couldn’t stand up and I could hardly sit,” she says. “I wouldn’t have gone to the doctor.”

She is now back at work in St. Paul and both dogs are bouncing back. When she travels in the future, she will keep important telephone numbers at hand in the event her animals need help.

“Have a plan,” she says. “Have an idea of what to do.”

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