My baby got hurt-bad mama moment

Right now I'm at work and it's the last place I want to be. I can't stop thinking about my girl and just want to go home and cuddle her.

My babe got hurt this morning and I feel just terrible about it. We were running very early this morning as usual, and occasionally we run up to a city park that has very large, grassy (lit) baseball/soccer fields. At 4am in the morning, NOBODY is out and it's a great chance for us to race around off leash. We don't do it often, but when we do, Hazel loves it so much. This morning she "asked" to go there (by pulling when we got to the trail that leads to the park).

We were having a great time until Hazel decided to run up a mountain that is at the edge of this park. A very rocky mountain. In pitch dark blackness. There is only one very narrow actual trail, but the rest of the mountain is loose, very sharp rocks, cactus, and other vegetation.

She simply disappeared. Just like that. I called her back as soon as she started running up but she was gone. I used the flashlight on my phone to find the trail and head up after her. I could only hear the sound of the bushes rustling, and knew she was way ahead of me. I suspected that she was close to the top and would be heading down the other side, so I went back down to the base and ran over to the side I thought she would be coming down from. I was panicked. What if she caught up with a coyote? What if she ran into cactus?? I was terrified thinking of all the things that could happen to her.

Finally, I heard the sound of heavy panting, and knew my girl was close. She had already made it down the other side as suspected, and came running over to me. I was so relieved to hear her, and turned my flashlight toward her to check for injuries. All four paws were bloodied. :( I removed one small cactus spine, (thank GOSH there wasn't more) and checked her pads to make sure she was ok to walk. We were about a mile and 1/2 from home, and she *appeared* to be ok and was not limping, so we set off for home. She was not herself and was moving slowly. We made it home and I immediately checked her out. All four of the lower part of her legs were also bleeding. The hind legs are scraped up, but she has deeper cuts on the front legs. I can also see some scrapes on the barrel of her chest.

I cleaned her wounds the best I could and put some antibiotic creme on them. My poor girl curled up and went immediately back to sleep.

I had to leave for work early this morning, but hubby is home. He said she is mostly sleeping, but when she does get up, she's moving very slowly and is sore.

I feel like such a terrible mom who didn't protect her baby. Hazel needs to have some freedom and has been doing so.well. with recall when we're out, but my "recall" was no match for whatever scent she caught this morning. I feel very lucky. Things could have been much worse. I've never had a dog hurt "on my watch". :(

I can't wait to get home to her.