Weirdest injury you've seen an animal get

Veterinary Science Graduate Certificate from UofI
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
TooLove said:
How did you remove it?
Click to expand...

the vet was able to shave a lot of it off and then remove the rest with acetone
Members don't see this ad.
 
Since this has become just crazy things seen instead of just weird injuries... I will add this one (made me quite angry at the time)....

Client brought in her 10 year old, female Chow mix as a walk in. The receptionist gathered her information, the lady had just simply said that she was bringing the dog in because it was lethargic and not eating. So the receptionist didn't think it was a huge emergency and we were busy so told them to take a seat and someone will be with them as soon as a room becomes available. It was maybe 10 minutes tops that she had to wait. I go into the exam room and I ask the owner all normal questions about appetite, thirst, coughing, sneezing, etc, etc... then ask about last heat cycle (since pet was an intact female) and if there is any chance she could be pregnant... answers were... don't know about last heat cycle and no she can not be pregnant as she is not exposed to any male dogs. (I had noticed blood coming from the vulva the owner claims that she never noticed that nor did she know how long that has been going on for).

So, I tell the vet everything that the client told me and he goes in there... comes back about 15 minutes later, shaking his head. So I ask what happened and he says... "well the owner informed me that the dog brought a dead puppy into the house from the backyard a week ago, but she didn't really think anything of it, so I kept asking her questions about if the dog had been pregnant or was recently pregnant or anything at all and finally after probing for some time the owner confessed that she actually helped the to deliver the dead puppy a week ago but she thought it was the only one and that the dog "seemed fine" after and now she doesn't know why the dog is not wanting to eat and is lethargic..." :slap:

So x-rays were taken... it was bad and the owner really did not have much money so the owner decided to euthanize her... I never saw a single ounce of emotion from that owner... perhaps she was just really good at hiding it, but something about her really bothered me and I really just wanted to slap her.
 
Sometimes those seem to be the hardest cases. I always want to look them in the eye and say, "Really? Really? Do you not care at all?" Had a man bring in his lab mix a few years ago because he had run it over with his four wheeler (accidentally I hope). On the phone, it sounded like it had just happened. The dog's right front leg was SHATTERED, in every sense of the word. It wiggled like jello. Turns out the accident had happened on Friday, and it was now WEDNESDAY. He showed absolutely no emotion and it was so infuriating. I guess it didn't help that he was stumbling drunk....but he finally shed a few tears when he opted for euth. Then he changed his mind at the last minute and sprung for rads (which were horrendous), and a Robert Jones bandage. However, he let the dog loose on 10 acres of land right after taking it home. UGH. I think it took him a month to come back for a recheck. With people like that, I tend to be baffled at their lack of emotion. I usually try to reason that they don't understand the severity of the situation, or they are pretending they don't to protect themselves. It helps to tell yourself, "at least they brought the pet in".

Also, that story reminds me of a HBC we had a while back. Again, a front leg, and on the xray, half of the ulna was completely gone. The owners actually went back to where the dog was hit to look for it. We ended up amputating.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
recently had a dog come in with what looked like a peeling sunburn. The owner had noticed the dog itching and had red skin on the ventral abdomen. He put on some gold bond. When it did nothing, he put on 2-3 other types of ointments. I told him no more home remedies, your dog has a first degree burn.
 
I should probably also mention that their combined "flea, tick, and heartworm "prevention" was to feed each of their dogs a tablespoon of garlic powder. They claimed "everyone on the show circuit does this." Wtf?!
Click to expand...
Garlic is bad for dogs isn't it? I swear that was on the harmful list.
 
dyachei said:
recently had a dog come in with what looked like a peeling sunburn. The owner had noticed the dog itching and had red skin on the ventral abdomen. He put on some gold bond. When it did nothing, he put on 2-3 other types of ointments. I told him no more home remedies, your dog has a first degree burn.
Click to expand...
Some owners just don't understand. We had a few cases of possible flesh eating bacteria (incredibly gross to see by the way) and we told the owners to be super careful and be diligent with meds and rechecks. One of them did so and the other not so much. Unfortunately the diligent owner had the worst case and he opted to euthanize her because she was missing half her skin. I have no idea what happened with the other one because I don't think they ever came back.
 
cloverbug said:
Garlic is bad for dogs isn't it? I swear that was on the harmful list.
Click to expand...

It's toxic. Can cause hemolytic anemia and gastroenteritis. I think the only reason the dogs weren't dead was because they were huge St. Bernards and could probably handle the dosage a bit better.

Edit: Oh yeah, and one of them tested strongly positive for Lyme disease, surprise surprise. :smack:
 
Last edited:
TooLove said:
Sometimes those seem to be the hardest cases. I always want to look them in the eye and say, "Really? Really? Do you not care at all?" Had a man bring in his lab mix a few years ago because he had run it over with his four wheeler (accidentally I hope). On the phone, it sounded like it had just happened. The dog's right front leg was SHATTERED, in every sense of the word. It wiggled like jello. Turns out the accident had happened on Friday, and it was now WEDNESDAY. He showed absolutely no emotion and it was so infuriating. I guess it didn't help that he was stumbling drunk....but he finally shed a few tears when he opted for euth. Then he changed his mind at the last minute and sprung for rads (which were horrendous), and a Robert Jones bandage. However, he let the dog loose on 10 acres of land right after taking it home. UGH. I think it took him a month to come back for a recheck. With people like that, I tend to be baffled at their lack of emotion. I usually try to reason that they don't understand the severity of the situation, or they are pretending they don't to protect themselves. It helps to tell yourself, "at least they brought the pet in".

Also, that story reminds me of a HBC we had a while back. Again, a front leg, and on the xray, half of the ulna was completely gone. The owners actually went back to where the dog was hit to look for it. We ended up amputating.
Click to expand...

Not that bad, but one of the most awkward/sad/stressful cases I was ever involved with was a dog getting off lead and running headfirst into a neighbor's motorcycle as he was leaving on it for work. The dude on the motorcycle had absolutely no blame in the matter, but still felt really guilty. Dog owner didn't have a working car (or almost any money) and after motorcycle driver brought him and his dog to the clinic, the owner kept dropping unsubtle hints that he thought the bike rider should be paying for things. I left shortly after the case came in, but I don't think we even got radiographs before euthanasia... doctor said you could feel bone in the dog's skull move on exam, and he was going downhill quickly with no money for treatment.

Crappy situation for everyone involved. :(
 
BlackDog17 said:
It's toxic. Can cause hemolytic anemia and gastroenteritis. I think the only reason the dogs weren't dead was because they were huge St. Bernards and could probably handle the dosage a bit better.
Click to expand...

Good to know. Not that I have ever used garlic, but I have been told by veterinarians that garlic in small doses can be a "holistic flea preventative for large dogs." Or garlic powder. I was told the same thing about small dogs, too, but that it's a lot riskier and so should be avoided. I had thought garlic was bad for dogs, so it's good to have it confirmed somewhere else. :eek:
 
BlackDog17 said:
It's toxic. Can cause hemolytic anemia and gastroenteritis. I think the only reason the dogs weren't dead was because they were huge St. Bernards and could probably handle the dosage a bit better.

Edit: Oh yeah, and one of them tested strongly positive for Lyme disease, surprise surprise. :smack:
Click to expand...
Ah ok, I thought so. We thankfully have no one that tries "home remedies" for heartworm preventative so I haven't come across that. We do have one woman that has her animals on a strict vegetarian diet. She wouldn't even use a product from the clinic because it had some animal byproduct in it. I don't remember what product though. I'm also guessing that the owners did little to treat the lyme disease even though it can cause so much damage if untreated. So much for using that dog in a show.
 
BlackDog17 said:
I should probably also mention that their combined "flea, tick, and heartworm "prevention" was to feed each of their dogs a tablespoon of garlic powder. They claimed "everyone on the show circuit does this." Wtf?!
Click to expand...

I'm not trying to rag on show dog people, but this reminds me of something. About a year ago, a friend of mine on facebook (who shows setters) made a post saying that one of her dogs was losing a little bit of hair. This was a 2 year old healthy looking dog that was a good weight.

Her other show friends commented to her post, saying that she should get a hold of Thyroxine and give it to the dog, saying that they had used it on their own dogs. No blood work, no veterinarian visit. Just give it some thyroxine. I was astounded :scared:
 
Falina said:
I'm not trying to rag on show dog people, but this reminds me of something. About a year ago, a friend of mine on facebook (who shows setters) made a post saying that one of her dogs was losing a little bit of hair. This was a 2 year old healthy looking dog that was a good weight.

Her other show friends commented to her post, saying that she should get a hold of Thyroxine and give it to the dog, saying that they had used it on their own dogs. No blood work, no veterinarian visit. Just give it some thyroxine. I was astounded :scared:
Click to expand...

Yeah, because an under active thyroid is the most probable reason a dog would be losing hair??? :slap:
 
cloverbug said:
Ah ok, I thought so. We thankfully have no one that tries "home remedies" for heartworm preventative so I haven't come across that. We do have one woman that has her animals on a strict vegetarian diet. She wouldn't even use a product from the clinic because it had some animal byproduct in it. I don't remember what product though. I'm also guessing that the owners did little to treat the lyme disease even though it can cause so much damage if untreated. So much for using that dog in a show.
Click to expand...

too many of my clients use home remedies. I always talk to those using garlic about hemolytic anemias. And still a lot of them continue on their way. They are convinced that the medicines we use that have been tested are "poisons" that they don't want to put in their animals. But they readily put a known toxin in their dog's food for fleas. The worst part is that when they do come up heartworm negative they think it is proof that the product is working.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Yay! I finally get to contribute to this thread!

DVMDream said:
My only problem with people saying this is, you never know when your dog will have reached a limit and will bite. My dog who never growled, never snapped, never snarled at all finally did so with my cousin after she repeatedly wouldn't leave him alone and kept stepping all over him (we warned her multiple times to back away and kept pulling her away, she just kept going back to him)... it took him over 5 minutes to start growling and then finally he gave a warning snap... he had never, ever done that prior and never did so since (he didn't even fight back when he was attacked by another dog).
Click to expand...

I had a rott mix that we were admitting the other day that was known to be a devil dog. True to form, she's standing in a very aggressive manner and barking up a storm. Over the dog's booming bark, her owner says "oh you just have to put your hand in front of her mouth and she'll stop barking." :eek: Nope, I think I'd rather not put my hand in front of the mouth of a barking rottie. I just had to smile and do my job. The more I was around her, I quickly noticed it was more fearful than anything. She settled down the moment she was out of mom's sight and we're now buddies!

And as far as the worst injury I've seen: we had a dog come in over the weekend that had been missing "for a few days." He showed back up at his owners' absolutely shredded to bits, his face swollen to the point that you couldn't see his eyes, and practically scalped from, what we assume, was a coyote attack. The stench on this dog was awful. But he keeps looking (and feeling) better every day! :love:
 
forks4spoons said:
I had a rott mix that we were admitting the other day that was known to be a devil dog. True to form, she's standing in a very aggressive manner and barking up a storm. Over the dog's booming bark, her owner says "oh you just have to put your hand in front of her mouth and she'll stop barking." :eek: Nope, I think I'd rather not put my hand in front of the mouth of a barking rottie. I just had to smile and do my job. The more I was around her, I quickly noticed it was more fearful than anything. She settled down the moment she was out of mom's sight and we're now buddies!
Click to expand...

This reminds me of the client that had come in with her Siberian Husky... the owner was standing at the reception desk and the dog had wedged itself between the owner's legs and the reception desk... The dog was obviously quite scared/worried. Suddenly another client comes walking out of an exam room with her young child and the little kid goes running up to this husky wanting to "pet the puppy". The dog instantly starts growling and the mother of the child tells the little kid to, "please leave the puppy alone and come sit over here because the puppy is very scared right now." Luckily, the child listened to the mother, but the owner of the dog says to the kid's mother, "Oh no... it is ok, she can pet (dog's name), that is just his way of talking." I am glad that the mother of this child was smart because she said, "No, I think we will leave the dog alone and not pet him right now, but thanks."
 
ThePiedPiper said:
Good to know. Not that I have ever used garlic, but I have been told by veterinarians that garlic in small doses can be a "holistic flea preventative for large dogs." Or garlic powder. I was told the same thing about small dogs, too, but that it's a lot riskier and so should be avoided. I had thought garlic was bad for dogs, so it's good to have it confirmed somewhere else. :eek:
Click to expand...

Is it usual to FEED garlic for flea prevention? I had always heard that it was topical for flea prevention. Same with people, actually: the origin (so far as I know) of this treatment is people way back when using wild garlic to get fleas out of clothing. Last I heard, it sort of works as a flea repellent topically or in clothes etc. I hadn't heard that people think eating it repells fleas.

Is this just where I'm from?
 
Some people just completely confuse me. We had a middle aged boxer come into the clinic today with a huge hole in him! When I say huge, I mean it was at least a soft ball size hole right around his scrotum (I wasn't getting close enough to really evaluate it). It smelled horrible and was dripping. Turns out the caretakers of the dog for the owner told him about a month ago but he legally couldn't go home (did not ask for details) to see the condition of the dog. No idea how long the poor guy was actually like that, but he was still bouncing all around the room which surprised me since he had a 103.6 temp along with that hole. The doctor said he's never seen anything like it and thought he could actually see into his body cavity! We sent them to the specialists to fix it because there was little to nothing we could do beyond antibiotics. I just don't understand how someone can look at him and think "eh, he'll be ok" with a hole big enough to put my fist in. Really people??
 
TooLove said:
Had a chocolate lab puppy have surgery 3 times in less than two weeks. First was a neuter, then he presented a few days later with vomiting and we removed a penny and some rocks from his small intestines. He returned two days after being discharged and we removed stuffing, screws, and an Invisalign! I clearly remember the owner a few weeks later saying "he's doing great, just pooped out a whole pencil the other day!"
Click to expand...

This dog has his THIRD foreign body removal today. :eek:
 
kakurubird said:
perhaps it's time for a basket muzzle around the house?
Click to expand...

This is exactly what we did for a dog that we removed 2 foreign bodies out of 2 months apart. He is only a few weeks into the muzzle and has already still eaten a dryer sheet. He ate a leash... the same leash... twice for each foreign body. Apparently he hides things around the house.
 
Rainheart said:
This is exactly what we did for a dog that we removed 2 foreign bodies out of 2 months apart. He is only a few weeks into the muzzle and has already still eaten a dryer sheet. He ate a leash... the same leash... twice for each foreign body. Apparently he hides things around the house.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry, I know this isn't funny because it can be serious for the dog... But this post did make me laugh. It's amazing how crafty dogs can be! And some just never learn :)
 
ImageUploadedBySDN Mobile1363820638.606840.jpg

Not the best rad, but any takers? :D
 
I remember reading an article listing the leading causes of death for a number of popular breeds based on veterinary medical records. Trauma was #1 reported cause for Jack Russell Terriers. My JRT certainly makes me believe this!
 
The tentative diagnosis is a stone...owners declined further diagnostics. It's a 16 year old green iguana. The picture doesn't do it justice, you can actually see rings of layering right down to the center.
 
slightly OT...

but one of IGs has the funniest/saddest fracture story...

After breaking both of his front legs falling from a dog walk (in agility training)...

He refractured one of them after the plate was removed TRIPPING ON A PILLOW!.

That is right... pillows are too hard a surface for my IG.
 
So. My roommate just called me frantic because my dog had gotten her toe stuck in her kong wobbler. I came home and had the great idea to grab the lube from my dresser drawer and we popped the toe right out. So glad she was home when that happened.

Moral of the story- thank god for lube.
 
Did an exporatory on a puppy that swallowed a beer cap... Bud light lime in case anyone was wondering. The x-ray was pretty cool.
 
Foxhunter said:
So. My roommate just called me frantic because my dog had gotten her toe stuck in her kong wobbler. I came home and had the great idea to grab the lube from my dresser drawer and we popped the toe right out. So glad she was home when that happened.

Moral of the story- thank god for lube.
Click to expand...
perfect occasion for use of this emoticon:
:naughty:
 
HorsesRLife said:
Did an exporatory on a puppy that swallowed a beer cap... Bud light lime in case anyone was wondering. The x-ray was pretty cool.
Click to expand...

Of course a bud light lime drinker would let their dog swallow a beer cap... just kidding. sort of. :smuggrin: Husband is a beer snob, I can't help that this is my first thought!
 
felinelvr44 said:
Of course a bud light lime drinker would let their dog swallow a beer cap... just kidding. sort of. :smuggrin: Husband is a beer snob, I can't help that this is my first thought!
Click to expand...

Yeah when we got it out we were yuck, bud light lime! The girl said she saw her dog get it and when she tried to pull the cap out she shoved it further down his throat...
 
Foxhunter said:
So. My roommate just called me frantic because my dog had gotten her toe stuck in her kong wobbler. I came home and had the great idea to grab the lube from my dresser drawer and we popped the toe right out. So glad she was home when that happened.

Moral of the story- thank god for lube.
Click to expand...

Good thinking! Hooray lube!
 
We had a dog who devolved it tail from getting stuck in the door.

A second one was a Golden Mix who ripped off it's side (there definitely muscle visible) on a trampoline. Never did get to hear the full explanation on that one...
 
Recently saw a hawk who seemed to have somehow rubbed the skin off the inside of part of his wing (along the manus and distal part of the radius/ulna). I mean, almost down to the bone. No one could figure out how he managed to rub that part of his wing against something enough to cause that level of damage without mangling the rest of his wing completely. It's healing now, thankfully!
 
Definitely not the weirdest injury I've seen, but one of the most impressive. Unfortunately/fortunately I didn't get a picture of the poor cat's bloodied face, but this will tell you how hell bent she was to get out of the clinic.

She was a feral that I had trouble with last week when we were spaying her. She is a torpedo out of the carrier and is nothing but pure fear. She had come back to get her stitches out and sadly this was the result of her ramming her face into the glass over and over again.

Sorry for the sideways view. Everyone who comes in is asking and become impressed that a 6# crazed female cat was able to break thick glass like this.
 

Attachments

  • photo.JPG
    photo.JPG
    93.4 KB · Views: 76
A few weeks ago we had a 6 mo old Great Dane HBC, didn't make it unfortunately. Owners weren't very forthcoming with info and I had chalked it up to being distraught until they pulled around back to to pick up the remains....with a truck that had a very fresh looking Dane-sized dent in the front fender..... :(
 
TooLove said:
A few weeks ago we had a 6 mo old Great Dane HBC, didn't make it unfortunately. Owners weren't very forthcoming with info and I had chalked it up to being distraught until they pulled around back to to pick up the remains....with a truck that had a very fresh looking Dane-sized dent in the front fender..... :(
Click to expand...
Seriously?? They hit their own dog and didn't man up to admit it. Makes me think it wasn't on accident. I would be crying and saying I hit my dog on accident and begging the people to fix him so I don't hate myself for the rest of my life. Maybe that's just me?
 
A couple weeks ago at my clinic we had a guy call us on emergency because he had run over his own 8 year old Pyrenees mix. We staff members thought the dog probably should have been put down, but the guy felt horrible and wanted to do anything to save him. He completely shattered the femur, so we amputated the dog's right hindlimb, but his right forelimb is also broken (just not as badly). The dog is on heavy pain meds and is still a bit sedated and has a very long road to recovery ahead of him. He's being an awesome sport though and is one of the more loving patients we currently have in the clinic. We had to convert our store room into a "cage" big enough for him and his equipment/cast though!

My most memorable surgery was a Westie who had eaten an entire package of ponytail holders (i.e. rubber bands covered in string). There was one hanging out of the dog's anus, and a huge ball of them stuck at his ileocecal junction. We had to remove about 4" of necrotic intestine. You could even see the hair ties on the radiographs. I've got some awesome photos of it. The dog recovered well and went home after a week long stay with us.
 
cloverbug said:
Seriously?? They hit their own dog and didn't man up to admit it. Makes me think it wasn't on accident. I would be crying and saying I hit my dog on accident and begging the people to fix him so I don't hate myself for the rest of my life. Maybe that's just me?
Click to expand...

Just because someone doesn't have the same emotional response to a horrible event that you would, doesn't mean you should accuse them of intentionally killing their own dog.
 
bunnity said:
Just because someone doesn't have the same emotional response to a horrible event that you would, doesn't mean you should accuse them of intentionally killing their own dog.
Click to expand...

:thumbup:

Some people are really just in shock and can't get out what needs to be said in an emergency.
 
cloverbug said:
Seriously?? They hit their own dog and didn't man up to admit it. Makes me think it wasn't on accident. I would be crying and saying I hit my dog on accident and begging the people to fix him so I don't hate myself for the rest of my life. Maybe that's just me?
Click to expand...

If they did it intentionally, why would they bother bringing the dog to a vet? Presumably that was not a cheap visit.

Yeah, it sucks that they hit their own dog and didn't fess up, but saying they did it on purpose is a little cruel.
 
BlackDog17 said:
If they did it intentionally, why would they bother bringing the dog to a vet? Presumably that was not a cheap visit.

Yeah, it sucks that they hit their own dog and didn't fess up, but saying they did it on purpose is a little cruel.
Click to expand...
I'm sorry, you're right. I've had a long, stressful/crappy week and don't have much faith in people right now. I fully apologize for that statement.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

C
Female Large Animal Vets- safety in regards to clients
Replies
6
Views
862
MixedAnimals77
MixedAnimals77
Doctor-S
NAVLE - You've Got This One!
Replies
1
Views
465
Polocrosse2017
P
luvpup
Veterinary/Animal experience in Texas?
Replies
6
Views
649
melissa Curlee
melissa Curlee
B
Does watching a surgery on an animal by human surgeons count as vet experience?
Replies
14
Views
1K
WhtsThFrequency
WhtsThFrequency
KCgophervet
Lab Animal Medicine Residency Positions
Replies
2
Views
740
KCgophervet
KCgophervet
Top