Bentley is a happy active one year old husky who was running off leash when he was hit by a car. His owners rushed him into our hospital where we immediately started emergency treatment for shock. Fortunately, his shock was only moderate and he recovered well from that. However, his right front leg was seriously damaged with skin abrasions and several bones in his carpus [wrist] were fractured. The biggest problem was that the abrasion in the skin went all the way through into the joint with the fractures. We treated him aggressively with antibiotics, topical honey, and sterile bandages, along with anti-pain medication. Topical honey is a treatment used in the ancient Greek and Roman world that has recently become popular again. Scientific studies have shown that it is a very effective aid along with antibiotics, to treat skin wounds and abrasions. Wounds that go through the skin all the way to joints and bones are the most difficult to treat. We were concerned right from the beginning that conservative treatment alone was not likely to cure his leg, and that more aggressive treatments would probably be required.
After a week of conservative wound bandage care, it was clear that this infection was not going to go away. Fortunately, dogs have 4 legs and can get along just fine on only 3 legs. For a human, a leg amputation means a life altering, devastating change. For a dog, it means only a few days in hospital, followed by a normal happy dog life. After several discussions with his owner, leg amputation surgery is what we decided would be best for Bentley. The surgery went very well and he recovered quickly, never missing a meal. He now romps around home as well as he did before his accident. The biggest change is that it is unlikely that he will be allowed to run off leash again for a long time.
