Star pet - Lottie ( hall of fame)

Lottie is our star pet after recovering from serious injuries she received after being hit by a car.

At the end of November a kind member of the public found a little dog in the middle of the road having been knocked by a car. She was brought straight in to the Ruislip hospital and vet Louise carried out an initial examination. She was unable to stand on her hind legs and she had a large skin wound on her right thigh. The dog, a sweet Jack Russell terrier, was in shock and pain so Louise gave her some pain relief medication and started intravenous fluid therapy to treat the shock. We scanned her to read her microchip number and entered it into the microchip database where we found out her name was Lottie and she was 15 years of age! The database also provided us with her owner's details and we were able to get in touch with them. They came staight in to see her. They explained that Lottie had got a bit confused on a walk and had wandered off by herself and got lost. 

Lottie required some initial x-rays of her chest and hind legs to determine the extent of her injuries. Although she had suffered some bruising to her chest, the x-rays showed no major damage. The preliminary results of her leg x-rays revealed no fractures to the bones in her legs but revealed a dislocation of her hip.Being an older girl, the chance of a full recovery from her injuries was reduced, but Lottie's owners were keen to give her every chance of recovery so treatment was commenced
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Before Lottie was given a general anaesthetic, a blood sample was taken to test her liver and kidney health.The results showed no abnormalities which was good news especially for a dog of Lottie's age! With the assistance of student nurse Becky, Louise administered the general anaesthetic and a more detailed x-ray of Lottie's pelvis ( hips) was taken. Louise then carried out a procedure on Lottie's dislocated hip called a closed reduction whereby the leg is manipulated to enable the ball joint to move back into place within the hip socket.

Next Louise treated Lottie's large 10cm wound on her thigh. It was contaminated by dirt, grit and hair so it required lots of flushing to remove the debris before being cleaned and stitched closed. Because of the trauma caused to the skin and soft tissues from the accident, there was a risk that the wound could  come apart (breakdown) so this needed to be closely monitored.Lottie also required a few stitches in a smaller wound on her left knee.

In theatre, Lottie was monitored closely by nurse Dayna and student nurse Becky. Her heart rate and breathing rate were recorded along with her pulse rate, temperature and depth of anaesthesia. She remained stable throughout the procedures and recovered well from the general anaesthetic. 

Lottie stayed in hospital with us for four days so that we could administer pain relief injections and intravenous antibiotics.Her movement needed to be kept to a minimum to help keep her hip in place, but we also needed to assess her mobility to see if she could stand herself up and place weight on her legs.
She was as good as gold for the vets and nurses looking after her in the hospital and they were so pleased when her appetite started to improve - a good sign that she was feeling brighter. 



It was lovely to see Lottie go home. Her owners continued with her care, keeping her quiet and rested in a dog crate.  As suspected, the wound opened up a little over her thigh but the vets decided to let the wound heal naturally ( second intention healing). Lottie's owners gently bathed the area to keep it clean and after 4 weeks the wound healed completely. Lottie is now back enjoying her senior years. 

For being so brave and a perfect patient, Lottie is a much deserved star pet!