Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: car accident, English Setter, radial nerve damage
Charley is our much-loved English Setter. He came into our home shortly after my husband moved out — the kids and I needed something to fill the void. That was more than 2 years ago.
On Tuesday, October 5, Charley and I were in the backyard together. I was pulling weeds, he was investigating my yard & that of the neighbor’s. For whatever reason, Charley ventured a little further than he usually does — over a berm that borders our neighborhood and a busy street.
I heard the crash.
Charley was hit by an SUV going about 60 mph. The driver said Charley jumped out from behind a bush. I know the driver didn’t even have time to react — it happened so fast.
To make a long story short, Charley sustained radial nerve damage in the accident and lost feeling/control of his left front leg. He spent 2 nights at the animal clinic and came home. We worked together to figure out eating, going potty outside, etc. Charley was his happy self and was learning how to get around on his own, dragging that bum leg along with him. We were going to wait 2-4 months to see if the radial nerve would regenerate so that he could use the leg again.
His left front leg had a bandage on it because there was also a large gash beneath the elbow area in addition to the nerve damage.
I came home from work yesterday to find that Charley had chewed through the bandage and had destroyed most of his lower leg. The sight was pretty horrific and luckily I was able to shield the kids from most of it. I shuttled them off to friends’ houses quickly and with the help of a neighbor, I loaded Charley into the back of the car and raced off to the vet.
I returned to the same vet office that saw Charley on the night of the accident (the on-call vet in the area that night), though this time we were greeted by a different vet, Dr. Jim.
Dr. Jim carefully carried Charley into the exam room and examined the leg. Muzzled just for a precaution, Charley wagged his tail throughout the exam. The nerve damage was actually a blessing at this time — Charley had no pain due to the mangled mess of his lower leg. Dr. Jim noted that there was more joint damage from the accident than they had realized during his initial exams last week. Given the damage Charley had done to the wound, the joint damage and the nerve damage — Dr. Jim said that the radial nerve was extremely unlikely to regenerate/heal at this point. The best course of action was to remove the leg.
And so the decision was made. During the last week, I had prayed for clarity in how to deal with Charley, how to help him heal & recuperate, how to support my children through this ordeal. The decision for amputation was one that needed to be made, but it was very clear what needed to happen to help Charley live a long and happy life. For this I am very grateful!
Charley was sedated almost immediately and the surgery began shortly thereafter. I returned home to clean up the mess and comfort the kids. Dr. Jim called at 7:30 p.m. to tell me the surgery went well and again at 10:30 p.m. just to let me know that Charley was wagging his tail.
Charley is supposed to come home with me late this afternoon/evening. I’m currently waiting on the phone call from the vet and I’m researching canine amputation care. And so our journey begins once again….
Dr. Jim assured me that Charley’s recovery would be complete — his life would be full and active. He even told me that I could take him bird hunting! Though I don’t think that particular activity is in my future (it never really was….), I’m really looking forward to chasing Charley again.
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What a gorgeous boy Charley is! He will be so much happier without the bum leg. Keep reading blogs on this site. The dogs all do great on 3 legs. Keep your spirits up! Charley will be up and hopping around very, very soon. There are lots of tips on taking care of your tripawd post-amp that will help you.
Nancy and James the poodle
Thank you so much! I think he’s pretty handsome, myself. 🙂 Looking forward to learning more from this site!
Charley is absolutely beautiful.
I can’t imagine the mangled sight you came home to yesterday.
The vet is right. Charley will bounce back. His life will be full and it will be happy. Hold onto those thoughts.
Sending Charley (and you and your children) much strength and many healing wishes.
Thank you for the strength and healing! We all need it!! Hopefully I can post some pictures FROM HOME tomorrow!
Welcome and thanks for joining tripawds! We can’t wait to see you chasing Charley again too. Best wishes for a complete speedy recovery.
charley – you are a hottie tottie guy!!! sorry to hear of your accident, and then, you just couldn’t wait to get that leg off…geesh, you might be better leaving surgery to the surgeons???? glad your amputation went well, and you will be home soon. trust me, after the first two weeks, you won’t even really miss that darn thing. and – you don’t have to worry with the chemo, etc that many of us do, so you are going to get the green light alot quicker big guy!!! just remember – take plenty of medicinal naps, make sure the humans think you need treats and extra lovin’s everytime you do something new – really milk the treat angle… oh, and try to take it easy these next two weeks so your stitches can heal…did i mention the medicinal naps???
gayle
PS: Charley is beautiful! And, you can add Tripawds Friends to your widget from the Friends tab in your dashboard.
I’m still trying to figure everything out – maybe I’ll do more this weekend.
Charley, you are one handsome dude. You may get the girls chasing you on this website like Fortis, Lincoln, James and the rest of the boys (even some four legged ones in the extended family). It sounds like you knew all along that your old leg needed to come off. Trust me – once you get past the first week or two, it’s all smooth sailing after that. Keep us all posted.
Charley, that’s a pretty gnarly story. Yikes. You must have been in a lot of pain to do that, I’m so sorry.
Everything happens for a reason, nothing is an accident, you know? As awful as what you’ve been through, there will be lots of meaningful lessons that your humans can learn about facing adversity with courage, like you. Even in our darkest hour we can all take something positive away if we look hard enough. I know you’re doing that, tail wagger, now it’s up to you to show your humans and those little kids of yours.
Hope you’re feeling better and on the road to recovery. We can’t wait to hear more about you.
Hey Charley, I’m sorry about your leg. But it’s not all bad you know. Now you’re part of an elite club of the most inspiring, amazing dogs on the planet. Get your pawdograph ready, everyone’s going to want to know your story.
Feel better OK?