The animal got up and seems fine: should I still take it to the vet?

Yes, always. After a road accident many serious injuries give no sign of themselves in the first minutes: internal bleeding, a bruised lung or a bladder injury can appear hours later, once the best time to act has passed. An animal on adrenaline can walk and look normal despite serious damage. A visit lets the vet spot early what is not visible on the scene, so it should be done even when the animal seems unhurt.

How do I move it if I think its back or pelvis is broken?

The aim is to move the spine as little as possible. Do not pick it up letting the back sag: slide a rigid surface under the body, such as a board, a sturdy tray or thick cardboard, bringing it to the animal rather than lifting the animal onto it. Keep head, neck and back in line and, if you can, have a second person help you move together. With no rigid surface, a blanket held taut by two people works as a stretcher. Secure the animal to the surface with wide straps that do not press on its breathing.

Can I give it water or a painkiller during the trip?

No. Do not give water or food: if the animal needs to be sedated or operated on, a full stomach is a risk, and one that struggles to swallow could inhale. Do not give human painkillers or household medicines: many are toxic to dogs and cats, they can mask signs the vet needs and interfere with treatment. Pain relief, given safely and at the right dose, is for the clinic to provide.

Should I muzzle an injured dog before moving it?

It can help prevent bites, because even a gentle dog may react to pain, but not always. Do not tie the muzzle if the animal is vomiting, breathing with difficulty, has dark gums or tongue, or is bleeding from the mouth or nose: in those cases the mouth must stay free. A soft band applied gently is fine only on a conscious dog that is breathing without trouble. For a cat, wrapping it in a thick towel is almost always safer than any attempt to tie the muzzle.

Emergencies and first aid13 min readUpdated on August 5, 2026

Hit by a vehicle: the first minutes and getting your pet to the clinic

How to safely approach a dog or cat hit by a car, immobilise without making things worse, spot hidden internal injuries, and transport to the clinic.

Audience: Pet owners
Species: Dog, Cat
Scope: Valid everywhere

An animal hit by a vehicle should be treated as a polytrauma, meaning a casualty that may have several injuries at once, some obvious and some completely invisible. The scene of a road accident is also where a rescuer makes the worst mistakes, out of fear and haste: running into the road without looking, scooping up a terrified animal that then bites, or, at the opposite extreme, relaxing because the dog got up and is walking and putting off the visit. These are two sides of the same problem. In vehicle trauma what you can see matters less than what you cannot, and the job of the person on the scene is not to treat the animal but to get it to a vet alive and without making the injuries worse. This article walks through how: securing the scene, approaching an animal in pain, immobilising it, handling a suspected spinal injury, and transporting it while you call the clinic.

Your own safety comes before the animal

The first instinct is to run towards the animal on the ground. It is also the most common way to turn one casualty into two. Before touching anything you have to read the traffic: a dog or cat lying in the road can only be reached once cars are stopped or diverted. Switching on your hazard lights, wearing something visible and, if you can, having another person flag down oncoming vehicles is worth more than any manoeuvre carried out at a run under moving traffic.

The second danger is the animal itself. A dog or cat in severe pain and fear no longer recognises its owner as such: it responds with the only tool it has, a bite, and it will do so even towards the person it trusts most. This is not aggression, it is pain. That is why you approach slowly, speaking in a low steady voice, without leaning over the animal's head and without staring into its eyes, which in a dog reads as a challenge.

Read the traffic before the animal: reach it only when the road is stopped or signalled.
Approach from the side and low down, with a calm voice, without looming over the head.
Assume even the gentlest animal may bite from pain, and protect your hands.
Do not put anything around the muzzle if there is vomiting, laboured breathing or blood from the mouth.
If you are alone, call for help before you start moving it: shifting a large animal single handed is risky for you both.

Why a check is always needed, even if the animal gets up

The most dangerous mistake after a road accident is skipping the visit because the animal seems fine. Many serious vehicle injuries give no sign of themselves in the first minutes and appear hours later, once the best window to act has already closed. A dog that gets up, wags and walks may have internal bleeding building up slowly, a bruised lung that will only fail as the inflammation grows, or an injured bladder that gives no immediate pain. The rule is simple: every animal hit by a vehicle needs to be seen, including the one that runs off after the impact looking unharmed.

Internal injuries that may not be visible straight away
Area	What can happen	Why it is missed on the scene
Chest	Bruised lung, pneumothorax, air or blood around the lungs	Breathing can worsen gradually over the following hours
Abdomen	Internal bleeding, ruptured spleen or liver, bladder injury	Blood pools slowly and the pain is mild at first
Diaphragm	Diaphragmatic hernia, with abdominal organs pushing into the chest	The animal compensates until the breathing effort rises
Pelvis and spine	Pelvic fracture, spinal injury, nerve damage	An animal on adrenaline may move despite a fracture
Whole circulation	Shock from blood loss or from pain	Pale gums and a weak pulse appear once it is already advanced

How to approach, check and immobilise

Once the scene is secure, the aim is to prepare the animal for transport while moving it as little as possible. This is not the moment to wash wounds, offer water or hunt for fractures by pressing on the limbs: every needless handling raises the pain, the risk of a bite and the chance of shifting a fracture or an internal injury. The sequence below is there to stabilise, not to treat.

Observe before you touch
Look at whether it is breathing, whether it is conscious, whether there is obvious spurting or heavy bleeding, whether a limb sits in an unnatural position. This information helps the vet and you can report it by phone without moving the animal.
Protect the mouth only if it is safe
If the animal is conscious, in pain and breathing well, a soft band around a dog's muzzle lowers the bite risk. Skip this step if it is vomiting, breathing with difficulty or bleeding from the mouth, and for a cat use a towel instead.
Control obvious external bleeding
On a wound that is bleeding heavily, apply firm pressure with a clean cloth or gauze and hold it. Do not lift the cloth to look: if it soaks through, add another on top without removing the first.
Prepare a rigid surface
For an animal that is not moving, or with a suspected back injury, you need a rigid surface: a board, a sturdy tray, the floor of a boot, thick cardboard. For a small animal a rigid box or a carrier opened from the top works well.
Move the body as a single block
Slide the animal onto the rigid surface keeping head, neck and back in line, without bending it and without lifting it by the limbs. With two people, one guides the head and neck and the other the pelvis, moving together.
Secure without squeezing
A taut blanket or a few wide straps keep the animal on the surface during the journey. Do not tighten across the chest or abdomen: they are there to stop it falling, not to restrict its breathing.

Moving an animal with a suspected spinal injury

When the impact was violent, or when the animal is not moving its hind legs, is dragging its back end or cries out at the slightest movement of its back, treat it as if it had a spinal injury, if only as a precaution. In these cases any bending or twisting of the back can worsen damage to the spinal cord. There is a single guiding principle: keep spinal movement to a minimum and hold head, neck and back on one line.

Do not pick the animal up letting its back sag: that is the movement most likely to worsen a spinal injury.
Slide a rigid surface under the body, bringing it to the animal rather than lifting the animal onto it.
If you have no rigid surface, use a blanket held taut by two people as a stretcher, moving slowly and in step.
Keep the body straight: stop the back from sagging or twisting during the move.
Secure the animal to the surface with wide straps that do not press on the chest, so bends and braking in the car do not roll it over.
If the animal fights back hard and you risk wrestling with it, stop: sometimes gently confining it in a carrier and driving slowly does less harm than a struggle.

The cat deserves a note of its own. An injured cat tends to hide and to defend itself with force out of all proportion to its size. Often the safest option is to wrap it in a thick towel leaving only the muzzle out, then place it gently in a rigid carrier, which offers containment and protection during the trip better than any bare handed hold.

Transport and the call to the clinic

The transport rule is to arrive early without adding harm. That means driving smoothly, avoiding sharp braking and tight bends that jolt an already fragile animal, and it does not mean driving dangerously fast. With two people, one drives and the other stays beside the animal to watch its breathing and keep it still on the surface. If you are alone, settle the animal so it cannot fall and set off.

The call to the clinic should be made while you are already on the way, not before you leave. Warning them that an animal hit by a car is coming lets the staff prepare what is needed and tell you exactly where to go, and in some cases guide you on what to do or not do during the journey. It is a phone triage: the clearer the information you give, the better the team can get ready before you even arrive.

What to report by phone while you are on the way
Information	Why the clinic needs it
Species, size and rough weight	Guides the preparation of equipment and space
How it breathes: effort, rapid breathing, open mouth, noise	Breathing is the first thing the team assesses on arrival
Level of consciousness: alert, dazed, unresponsive	Separates a serious emergency from a very serious one
Visible bleeding and where it is	Prompts them to ready dressings and equipment to stop blood
Whether it moves all four legs or drags the back end	Points towards a possible spine or pelvis problem
Time of the accident and what happened, if you know	Helps estimate how the injuries may evolve over time

What to do and what to avoid, in short

In the chaos of an accident it is easy to lose the order of priorities. This table holds together the decisions that matter, the ones that reduce harm and the ones that add to it.

The useful actions and the mistakes to avoid
Do this	Avoid this
Make the road safe before reaching the animal	Running into traffic without looking
Approach calmly and protect your hands from bites	Hugging or scooping up an animal in pain
Press on obvious bleeding with a clean cloth	Lifting the cloth to check how much it bleeds
Move the body as a block on a rigid surface	Lifting the animal by the limbs or with the back bent
Go to the clinic even if the animal seems unhurt	Putting off the visit because it got up and walks
Call the clinic while you are on the way	Giving water, food or household painkillers

None of these actions replaces veterinary care: they only serve to get the animal to the clinic in the best possible condition. First aid in vehicle polytrauma is almost all here, in doing a few right things and avoiding the ones that worsen a situation that is often more serious than it looks.

Frequently asked questions

The animal got up and seems fine: should I still take it to the vet?: Yes, always. After a road accident many serious injuries give no sign of themselves in the first minutes: internal bleeding, a bruised lung or a bladder injury can appear hours later, once the best time to act has passed. An animal on adrenaline can walk and look normal despite serious damage. A visit lets the vet spot early what is not visible on the scene, so it should be done even when the animal seems unhurt.
How do I move it if I think its back or pelvis is broken?: The aim is to move the spine as little as possible. Do not pick it up letting the back sag: slide a rigid surface under the body, such as a board, a sturdy tray or thick cardboard, bringing it to the animal rather than lifting the animal onto it. Keep head, neck and back in line and, if you can, have a second person help you move together. With no rigid surface, a blanket held taut by two people works as a stretcher. Secure the animal to the surface with wide straps that do not press on its breathing.
Can I give it water or a painkiller during the trip?: No. Do not give water or food: if the animal needs to be sedated or operated on, a full stomach is a risk, and one that struggles to swallow could inhale. Do not give human painkillers or household medicines: many are toxic to dogs and cats, they can mask signs the vet needs and interfere with treatment. Pain relief, given safely and at the right dose, is for the clinic to provide.
Should I muzzle an injured dog before moving it?: It can help prevent bites, because even a gentle dog may react to pain, but not always. Do not tie the muzzle if the animal is vomiting, breathing with difficulty, has dark gums or tongue, or is bleeding from the mouth or nose: in those cases the mouth must stay free. A soft band applied gently is fine only on a conscious dog that is breathing without trouble. For a cat, wrapping it in a thick towel is almost always safer than any attempt to tie the muzzle.

What to do next

Make the road safe before reaching the animal, approach calmly while protecting your hands, press on any obvious bleeding, and move it as a single block on a rigid surface without bending its back. Do not give water, food or medicines, call the clinic while you are on the way and report breathing, consciousness and bleeding, and take it in for a check even if it looks unhurt: the most dangerous internal injuries can appear hours after the impact.