Ivy was horribly injured by another dog in her own backyard. There were open wounds all over her face and body. But her owner didn’t take her to the vet.
“Ivy’s injuries couldn’t wait,” said Inspector Natalie, the officer in charge of the case, “but it was also clear that her need for urgent care was more than a few days old. She was very skinny, and the infection around her ears made me think there’d been issues there for a long time.”
When an animal like Ivy is injured, it’s important to act fast. Otherwise, wounds get infected. Injuries worsen. Conditions become more complicated to treat, and the animal’s chance of recovering may be at risk. That’s what happened to Ivy.
Ivy was being kept in a small backyard with another dog when a fight broke out. When a member of the public reported a serious welfare concern, Inspector Natalie went to the property to investigate. The owner was compliant and admitted there’d been a fight. He’d been keeping a second dog for a friend but realised he couldn’t look after it anymore.
His friend’s dog had sustained minor injuries but otherwise remained in good body condition. But his dog – Ivy – had been seriously hurt. Although he knew it was bad, Ivy’s owner said he had neither the time nor the funds to take her to the vet.
Inspector Natalie asked him to bring Ivy out so she could assess the dog’s condition. When she heard a loud yelp coming from inside the house, she braced herself for what she was about to see. Ivy’s injuries were shocking. But Inspector Natalie could immediately tell there was more going on.
“Ivy was so quiet and lethargic; she didn’t react to anything. It was like she was still in shock, even though it had been days since the fight. It’s possible the pain was so overwhelming that Ivy was practically numb.”
After leaving a written direction for the other dog to be presented to a vet within 24 hours, Inspector Natalie seized Ivy and rushed her back to our shelter’s vet hospital. After being welcomed into the hospital by our veterinary team, Ivy was finally given pain relief medication. As they sat her down for examination, our team gained a more complete picture of her devastating condition.
“Her face was swollen and covered in bite wounds,” Inspector Natalie recalls. “One in her mouth was so deep, her jawbone was exposed. Her ears were so badly infected that the tissue was dying. And on top of her external injuries, she was also sick – this poor dog was emaciated, dehydrated, anaemic, had hookworm and a fever.”
Ivy spent a week in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where our team could monitor her closely. She was put on IV fluids and given a whole host of medications – antibiotics, de-wormers, and pain relief – which made her more comfortable.
As the days went by, the bite marks all over Ivy’s body started to heal, but it became clear that Ivy’s health issues were very complex and would require ongoing attention. For one, Ivy was struggling to put on any weight. Undernourished dogs regain their strength quickly once they’re on a feeding plan, but Ivy remained severely underweight. Her body was working hard to fight off multiple infections – especially in her ears. She needed to be put under general anaesthetic so the vet team could assess the severity, drain the fluid, and remove the dead tissue.
The infection was found to go deep into her ear canal and a sample was taken for analysis. The results would help indicate which medication had the best chance of bringing the infection under control, because there was a great deal at stake: poor Ivy was at risk of losing both of her ears! Not only would this mean more surgery and significant physical changes – it could also affect Ivy’s chances of being adopted.
Our team tried everything they could to heal the infection, including tailoring a special ear medication to her needs, and carefully administering it every few days. The other area of concern was her leg: Ivy’s limp was getting more pronounced, and x-rays showed she had a hyperextension injury of her carpus (the dog equivalent of a human’s wrist). The damage to her ligament wasn’t healing, which meant that Ivy was struggling to bear weight on her front right leg.
A vet specialist confirmed that the injury would only get worse over time, causing long-term pain for Ivy. She needed surgery to fuse the joint – inserting a plate and screws would allow her joint to heal at the correct angle. The recovery would be difficult, but at only three years old, Ivy deserved the chance to run and play without pain for years to come.
After a long road to recovery, and an even longer stint in our shelters, Ivy was finally adopted into a loving forever home. Now, she is living her best life in a safe and happy home with a family that provides her with the love that she deserves.
