So this dog walks into the Emergency Department...

Not a joke, a story:

Buddy the dog limped into emergency at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Bellflower on Wednesday and sat in the waiting area at about 1 p.m., officials said.

"We were on a routine assignment, and we got a Code 2 that a dog had wandered into the hospital," said Wendy Alexander of the animal control unit. "When we walked in, he was laying on his bad hip. At that time, we didn't know that there was an injury. He was shaking. I thought, he knew he needed help, and he knew where to get it."

Hospital officials called the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority in Downey, and agency officials picked up Buddy and brought him to the shelter for treatment of a fracture.

"We don't know where he got hit by a car, but we're happy he chose the right place to get help," Capt. Aaron Reyes, SEAACA's director of operations, told the Whittier Daily News.

Through an identifying microchip implanted in Buddy's skin, SEAACA officials were able to locate his owner, who adopted him from the animal shelter about five years ago. Fabian Ortega, Buddy's owner, owns a construction equipment rental business about a block from the hospital.

"We didn't teach him that," said Ortega. "I don't know how he figured that one out."

Ortega said he had been searching the area for his dog since he ran away about two weeks ago from the yard of the business while the fence was repaired.