Dog Community

Belly wound

Posted : 8/20/2006 6:33:34 AM

Hey all.

Friday night I was going to head into town to see a friend. As I was going to leave, it was raining pretty hard outside. Naturally, my dog (an outside dog) will find shelter from the rain, sometimes crawling under our cars. Usually he will crawl out as soon as he hears us coming, but that night I made a quick call after I got in the car, and he must have crawled back underneath. As I began to back up, in a hurry as always, the car seemed to be dragging a bit. I was confused at first, then horrified as I heard his whimpers over the beating rain. I stopped immediately, frightened and somewhat in shock at what had just happened. I saw him limp off into the darkness and opened up the door and called his name. He didn't come. I got out of the car and ran around the yard calling his name without any luck for probably five minutes before I finally found him. I called my friend and talked to his mom, who is a nurse. Following her advice, I felt up and down the leg he was favoring but I didn't feel anything out of place, and he definitely didn't react to any of this as if it was causing him excess pain. Yet, he was obviously in pain. A few years ago he was hit and his hip was broken. I thought that might have been reinjured. But his leg just didn't seem to be causing him the pain. I even gently lifted the leg up quite a bit (as he was lying on his side) before he pulled it back. I was confused.

Then yesterday, with the aid of sunlight, I noticed something I hadn't seen the night before. There is a good sized gash along his belly, on the same side as the leg he is favoring. I don't think it had bled at all, but it looks serious. It is easily half an inch wide and probably four or five inches long, going from front to back. It has a pinkish color to it (looks like muscle tissue). I can't really tell how deep it is, but I can't see any bones or any other internals. I asked my mom about taking him to the vet but she is pretty insistant that we can't afford it.

I guess my questions are as follows:

1. That gash (laceration?) is definitely causing him a lot of pain. Could it be the cause of the limp as well?
2. Can I treat the wound myself? If so, can I use just any antiseptic, or do I have to get a special one for pets?

Monday morning I plan on calling our vet and explaining the situation. I hope he can find it in his heart to at least take a look at the poor guy (free, or minimal fee) and give me some kind of idea as to what needs to be done.

Also, in case it is important to know, my dog is a Chow-German Shepherd mix, more the size of a Chow than a Shepherd, and almost 5 years old.

I apologize for rambling on an such. It's almost 6:30 and I haven't had any sleep, mainly because of this whole situation.

Thanks in advance,
Mark

mrv

Posted : 8/20/2006 6:48:33 AM

I would have him at the vet now, if my vet was not available, the nearest emergency vet. If you live in the country there may be a large animal vet willing to make a farm call. The vet may be willing to do a payment plan or an inkind trade of services if you has some skills that are needed.

Lena (Penny Forever)

Posted : 8/20/2006 7:18:54 AM

OMG, I felt sick when I read this.
I would get the poor baby to the vet right away, you don't know if there are internal injuries.
Firstly, why would you let a dog sleep under your car. If he had a collar on, I would be terrified that he could somehow get caught on something when he is under there.
Do you not have a better place for him to lay such as a garage or shed. Allowing your dog to lay under a car is just asking for trouble.
Regarding the vet, most times they will accept payments and I would call right away to find out how to get him in right away. I have 4 children and 5 dogs and am on disability and I always manage to get my dogs the care they need when they need it. My vet works with me when it comes to payments and I always make sure that I pay on time and also give a little more money then we have agreed on. I know how hard it is when you are financially strapped but priority is the key word.
I do without lots when it comes to getting things for myself, my kids and furkids are more important.
Good luck with your baby and I hope it is nothing serious.

dvet

Posted : 8/20/2006 12:24:33 PM

forget about the limp, that can be taken care of in time..for the gash, use any antiseptic or antibiotic ointment and cover the would ...if large, a sterie femanine

ad with and ace bandage works fine but cover it before any more contaminants get into it...the limp can be taken care of at any time but thegash is the biggie..

Lynn

Posted : 8/20/2006 2:39:31 PM

I hope you vetted the dog today. For a dog to show pain, then it is quite a bad injury. Dogs will "hide" pain unless it's really bad. You can drive......so you can drive the dog to get the help it needs. I don't intend to sound mean, but to make a point: If you were hurting and obviously injured, would your mom take you to the doctor? I hope so. And it is your responsibility to take that dog and get help. Vets will allow you to work something out with them. This isn't a time to wait and see. There could be serious internal injuries, and, also the gash could become infected. The dog could survive what happened, but end up dying from a massive infection from the wound he received. This is not a time to wait and see. I hope he is alright. And, in the future, some amount of time needs to be taken to train the dog not to ever,ever get under or be around cars. Surely, he has a dog house to stay in when in rains? Animals need to never be around vehicles. They just don't have the ability to think things thru. They are in our care.