Hit by truck

[kiddo]

I have a 9 mo. old Ridgeback female.

She was run over one week ago last Tuesday. I do not know how she made it home, but she did. She either skidded or the vehicle drug her because abdomen and tissue between her legs was raw.

Took her to the vet, stitched a gash on right rear ankle and said the muscles, tendons and ligatments in the right hip were all torn.

Pain pills, antibiotics and antiseptic wash for the road rash.

Fever broke two days ago and Lucy was alert last night.

She is unable to get up by herself. She can if you help her, but the minute the weight hits her she starts crying and trying to get into a better position.

What can I do for the trauma and shock. A friend is building a "walker" for Lucy so she can be up, outside in fresh air, and gradually put weight and walk. Then letting her have more weight on her legs, etc.

What do you think? Vicki

[LetsPlay]

Hi there,

I'm am very sorry to hear what happened to your dog.
I would recommend to consult the vet regarding your friends "walker" just to make sure it's not doing anymore damage. Dogs that age still have very soft ligaments and bones and they could easily get even more damaged if they are forced into an unnatural position through the "walker".
Hip damage is something serious, take her back to the vet and make sure he/she does everything possible to make your dog more comfortable.
While she is still in pain just make sure she is as comfortable as she can be. Once her physical pain is gone work on her trauma. She might very well be scared of roads, trucks, loud noises, honking, certain colors etc now, but take it slowly and wait until she is physically fit again.
I hope she will recover fully. All the best!

[kiddo]

Thank you very much.

Lucy is extremely well developed and young. The vet said this was a big plus.

This breed has a problem with hip diplasia. Since a pup, I give her a daily treat of glucocmen (sp?) and that other type of stuff for joints, etc.

The vet said that was good also.

However, it worries me for her to be down any longer than necessary for that can also do damage to the muscles.

[SS34]

If you can find a good chiropractor that has been trained in working with dogs that could help alot! Good luck and I hope she recovers very quickly!

[MaxHollyNoah]

Hi kiddo,

I am very sorry to hear about Lucy's injury.
I would also consult your vet including a possibility of amputating her bad leg.

My last foster dog came with a broken leg (left hind leg). I tried to save her leg (she didn't seem to have pain but didn't use the leg most of the time) but the vet said that she would be better off without the leg, because the nerve was damaged and it stopped growing (she seemed to be like that for quite a while but who knows she was found as a stray).

Anyway, she had a surgery 2 weeks ago and became a 3 legged dog. She got adopted and the new owner told me that she has been doing great and she even went to a dog park to play with other dogs!

I am not recommending to remove Lucy's leg but I just wanted to let you know that dogs will adjust very quickly if she ever has to loose one leg.

Hope she will be able to keep her leg and get better quickly.