Another frightening case at Stray Rescue of St. Louis on Wednesday morning broke the hearts of even the most stoic veterans of animal rescue. Someone brought in a terribly neglected designer dog – perhaps a poodle, labradoodle or another expensive breed?
Fact is, no matter what breed he is, this boy was so badly matted, his ears were stuck to his face, and his penis was matted to his leg. First order of business was to get rid of the mats, clean him up and figure out what was causing the terrible odor. He did come in wearing a cast on his leg, and it did smell from an ongoing infection, but what was underneath the cast or how long it had been on, would remain a mystery until the organization’s veterinarian finished a prior surgery and could examine her new patient.
The staff named him Cedar and led him into the area where he could be shaved and cleaned. And it was TWO pounds of urine-soaked and matted fur that was removed. What a relief he must have felt finally able to move his legs.
Oh boy, Cedar could move now but he appeared to be so skinny and the question remained. What was under the dirty blue bandage.
As Dr. Schulz began to cut off the bandage, she had to pause to rub Vick’s Vapor Rub under her nose to help her cope with the terrible smell. As she cut away the bandage, his skin pulled away from his leg. Per his radiographs, he did not have a broken leg, so it is believed he may have had a torn ligament and may have been limping, so his leg was wrapped thinking that the bandage would lend more support and help. Most of the time, torn ligaments do heal on their own.
but sadly with his leg being wrapped for so long and never changed, the wrap has done so much more damage than any injury alone. The skin/tissue he does have looks good – it is pink and granulation tissue. So there is hope!
For now, Cedar will be having his leg cleaned and bandaged daily and administered heavy duty antibiotics; hopefully he will be able to keep his leg and make a full recovery.
Donations are needed. Please help Cedar by clicking here.
Read yesterday’s rescue from this fine organization here. Abandoned pup rescued by Good Samaritan undergoes successful breast cancer surgery
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