He was swimming and running along the shore when suddenly he cried out in pain and was stuck. Tammy ran to his rescue and found that he had hooked the inside of his leg on some sharp iron reinforcing bar that was protruding from the water. The weight of his body was on top of the object and Tammy had to lift him up and off to free him. There was immediate bleeding and Tammy saw he had a large penetrating wound to the groin area.

Immediately she brought him to the vet clinic. Bear needed immediate surgery to close the large gaping wound in his leg. Fortunately, the wound did not penetrate into his abdominal cavity, but it was EXTREMELY contaminated with dirt and grassy debris.

Bear was placed under general anesthetic so his wound could be debrided and sutured closed. Rigorous flushing of the wound was performed to minimize the contamination. A rubber drain was placed in the deeper areas of the wound to allow for drainage of contamination for 3-4 days after surgery. Bear was placed on a combination of antibiotics to fight the infection that was already present in the wound.

Four days later bear returned to the clinic for recheck and removal of the drain. The wound looked awesome and Bear is doing very well despite his discontent with the Elizabethan Collar he needs to wear until the sutures are removed! You are one tough dog!