Success Stories

Hunter3, April 2002

Hunter3 is available for adoption, check the LABMED Adoption Page for contact information.

It is a proven fact that intact, or unneutered, male dogs make up the majority of dogs hit by cars. The lure of a female in heat is overpowering to an intact male dog and has led many a male dog astray. Hunter is another one of those statistics. Hunter is a two year old (approximately) yellow male Labrador retriever who was found lying in a ditch at the side of the road by a good Samaritan.

He had been hit by a car and was either thrown into the ditch by the impact, or had managed to drag himself there after the accident, but he could go no further. Hunter was lucky. The good Samaritan rushed him to a nearby veterinary hospital where he was treated for shock and the true extent of his injuries was revealed. Hunter had a badly broken femur in his right rear leg.

To fix the break, surgery with pins and/or plating would be required. Another complication was revealed, Hunter was heartworm positive. Hunter's sweet nature compelled his rescuer to find a way to treat him. A search on the internet located LABMED and she contacted us to see if we could help fund the surgery. LABMED was happy to contribute to get Hunter back on his feet.

After the veterinarian's work-up determined that Hunter's heartworm
status had not compromised Hunter so badly that he could not undergo
anesthesia, it was decided to proceed with the surgery to repair Hunter's
shattered femur and to treat with the heartworm disease when he had
healed from the surgery. The surgery took four hours and required a bone
graft harvested from Hunter's shoulder to replace a piece of bone too badly shattered to be used in the repair, but Hunter made it. Unfortunately, since the pin has been removed, some nerve damage has appeared. At this time Hunter is unable to place his foot correctly on his pads and, instead, is knuckling over and walking on the tops of his toes.

Further surgery may be indicated to amputate the leg. Hunter's good Samaritan is undeterred, however, and she plans to make sure that Hunter gets the treatment needed to become healthy and adoptable. Hunter has a long road to recovery, but with the love and determination of his fosterer, and a little help from LABMED, he intends to make it.

Update, August 2002

Hunter did need the amputation and has recovered nicely from that surgery. His rescuer writes:

"This is a very special dog. He is ROTTEN!! He loves to lay his head in my lap and all the mooshy stuff. He is very playful and fetches (of course!). The only bad side I have seen to him is that he does not like cats. I have 4 of them, 2 of which I bottle-fed, and that is one reason I cannot keep him myself. That and because I don't have a fenced yard. The only requirements I have is that they must continue to spoil him, and keep him healthy, so that all our time, effort and his life are not wasted. He tested slightly positive for heartworms, and I have started him on Heartgard�. The vet says this will prevent him from getting more, and provides a slow kill for the ones he does have. I am considering treatment for the heartworms, also."