A family dog who suffered a horrific chest wound the size of an A4 piece of paper is back to full health, thanks to her quick-thinking owners and Avonvale vets
Betty, a four-year-old German shorthaired pointer, tore her skin across the entire width of her chest on a sharp log while on her daily walk in fields near her home in Leamington Spa.
Owners Jeremy and Emily Lim acted quickly to stem the bleeding, with Jeremy using his t-shirt as a makeshift bandage and his snood to hold it in place.
The couple managed to lift 30kg Betty into their car, after carrying her through three fields and take her to Avonvale Veterinary Centres, in Heathcote, where vet Naomi Bradford carried out emergency surgery to close the enormous wound.
Betty is now back home and recovering well with Jeremy, Emily and their children
Describing the incident, Jeremy said: “Midway through our walk, Betty ran through an opening in a hedge. I noticed a log moving as she leapt over it and passed through the gap in the hedge.
“She quickly returned through the hole in the hedge and came back to us. My wife exclaimed that something looked wrong with her and I thought she had a black bin bag attached to her chest which was flapping around.
“Quickly I realised it wasn’t a bin bag but rather a large patch of her black fur and flesh that had been ripped from her chest, about the size of an A4 piece of paper!
“My wife kneeled down and held the torn skin to Betty’s chest to reduce the bleeding. There was a lot of blood.
“The last thing we wanted was for our much loved, good-natured family dog to die in the field on her morning walk and knew how upset our two young daughters would be. We did everything we could to keep her alive and get her to the vets as quickly as possible.
“While my wife held the flesh to Betty’s chest, I took off my jumper and t-shirt. I tore the t-shirt down one seam and made a tight wrap, binding the wound by tying it around Betty’s chest. Fortunately, I was also wearing a snood which I used to form a sleeve around her chest to bind it all together.
“We are very grateful to Avonvale for helping Betty in her time of need - in particular, Naomi Bradford, who carried out the surgery and has been monitoring Betty’s recovery. But we would like to thank the entire staff for their efforts, as I know it takes a team to make it all work.”
Naomi said: “This was a gory story with a happy ending! The sharp log tore Betty’s skin across the entire width of her chest, elbow to elbow.
“We had to perform emergency surgery to close this enormous wound and the procedure was a complete success. We’re delighted to say Betty is recovering well – she’s been really brave.”
