Success Stories

Mandy, June, 1999

In June of 1999, poor Mandy was hit by a car for the second time in her short life! The first time, when Mandy was only 6 months old, did not result in any major injuries. But Mandy was not so lucky the second time around. She suffered severe head trauma, multiple lacerations, and a possible concussion. Her right front leg was badly damaged,too. Bleeding from her nose and possibly into her chest, it was questionable if Mandy would even survive. Her owners paid for euthanasia and surrendered her to the veterinary clinic in western Massachusetts where they had taken her.

But the staff at the vet clinic refused to give up on this lovely young black female Lab. Mandy was stabilized, given IV fluids, pain medication and antibiotics, and provided with lots of TLC. The staff decided to wait for a day or two before making a decision about amputating her damaged front leg: although there were no broken bones, there was severe damage to the muscles and ligaments. Infection was a major concern, too.

Mandy surprised everyone with the speed of her recovery, though! Only a day or so after the accident, to everyone's astonishment, Mandy stood up and limped right out when her cage door was opened. Soon she was eating well and showing definite signs of being on the mend. And her tail resumed that happy Labrador wagging, even when her injured leg was being irrigated. LABMED was contacted and agreed to provide the funds for Mandy's medical care.

Some more good news awaited. No infection developed in Mandy's injured leg, and no surgery was needed as the leg was healing well on its own. One of the staff members at the clinic volunteered to foster Mandy and to look for a new home for this sweet, patient Lab. As soon as daily bandage changes are no longer needed, Mandy will be ready for a very lucky new family.