Update on Shaggy

As many of you know, our dog Shaggy was attacked by another dog today. I’m out in California this weekend, so I don’t have all the details on the attack. Kristin rushed him to the vet and has been there all evening. About an hour ago, after Shaggy came out of surgery, the vet gave us an update.

First, x-rays appear to show no internal damage, and we hope the radiologist confirms this tomorrow. He has a couple of major wounds where there is significant empty space between the skin and underlying tissue. That is an area of concern due to risk of infection and fluid build-up. He has tubes in these areas to facilitate drainage. They also are keeping an eye on his urethra to make sure that wasn’t damaged. It appears OK, but they need to monitor urination to see if that functions normally.

He also has a wound on or near his neck that looked pretty bad, but they removed a flap of skin that was hanging loose, did some plastic surgery to repair, and since it has very little empty space, unlike the other two, they aren’t as concerned about this area. There will be scar tissue but he should look OK when his fur grows back. He also lost a couple teeth. The dental vet will do a consult tomorrow and they may need to do some repairs due to the depth of the root and the proximity to the nasal cavity.

He is going to stay there a few nights, and they will monitor his progress. While things could have been much worse, he has some severe injuries from which to recover. As you can imagine this is devastating to us, and we appreciate any and all good thoughts, prayers, and whatever else ou can send Shaggy’s way.