Angel

HAS BEEN ADOPTED!!

Maltese x Poodle (Mini)

Approx 18mths old

WARNING!

VERY GRAPHIC PHOTOS THAT MAY CAUSE DISTRESS AND/OR STOMACH UPSET

Found as a stray, she was in a dreadful way. Matted so badly, walking was almost impossible. She had a very badly swollen front paw which needed urgent care.

 She came home with me on Friday 30th December, 2005  and is now undergoing appropriate veterinary treatment.

After 3 hours of shaving under heavy sedation (due to extreme pain) we removed the matts that were so thick they were actually rock solid.

Pre-Grooming

Apart from the glaringly obvious injury/damage, the stench coming from her paw was sickening enough without the atrocious mess found under the filth of her fur.

Half way through being groomed

Angel has been in excruciating pain for well over a week from her fur cutting off the circulation to her paw. She has obviously tried to literally chew through her own leg in an attempt to stop the pain thus causing extensive damage to her entire front leg.

Paw pre-grooming	What we found underneath

   Considering she still had some feeling in the paw, it still had a decent enough blood flow and after finally removing the tight fur around the leg we were confronted with the true extent of her injury and suffering.

The white you can see is where she has chewed down to the bone and horrifically.... maggots had infested the wound under the fur.

Whilst maggots are disgusting, vile creatures, thankfully they do have a good purpose in that they feed on dead (necrotic) tissue... they have actually kept the very deep wound clean and only mildly infected (cellulitis in only small spots of tissue higher up the leg). Had this wound been severely infected, she would have died quickly from toxic shock.

It is hoped that pain killers, anti-inflammatories, antibiotics and massage will aid in Angel keeping her leg.

Throughout this entire ordeal, where many dogs (and deservedly so) would have snapped and bitten, Angel has shown herself to be a divine little girl with an adorable, snuggly and friendly nature.

Still dopey and before properly cleaned up

From the day I picked her up she has a tail wag for anyone who so much as looks at her and has taken all treatments, no matter how painful for her, completely in her stride with only a slight whimper of protest (or pleading).

She is a young girl who at some point has been loved, yet someone has been feeding this dog KNOWING how urgently she needed veterinary attention!! She is COMPLETELY approachable and willingly goes to strangers so could have easily been caught and taken to a vet MUCH earlier!

UPDATE: 6/1/06

Angel saw the vet again today.

Her leg has started to heal, is clean, no sign of infection and the swelling has gone down a little since last week. She is gingerly starting to touch her paw to the ground for a bit of stability when going to the loo but aside from that, keeps her paw well off the ground.

X-rays were done and Angel has shattered the outer Metatarsal bone (that white bit seen in the pics above).

Her leg has now been splinted as plastering is not an option with the open wound. The nerve on the outside of her paw has been severed and obviously, she has no feeling in the outside toe, though can very much feel the rest of her paw and leg.

It is unlikely that she will ever regain full use of her leg but we have decided to have a wait and see approach in regards to how well she heals over the next 3 weeks.

If there is little improvement in healing, movement and most importantly, pain level, then she will need to have the leg amputated.

For now, she is in minimal pain (on pain killers) and the leg is healing well. She is a happy little girl, eating well and behaving herself exceptionally well.  

A much happier little girl!

UPDATE: 8/2/06

Angel is doing SO well!

Whilst her broken bones will not heal, the wound is healing remarkably well and she is now using her paw more often. She can walk on it when moving slowly, uses it when eating and when she needs some extra support.

She is now playing and running around happily.