Samuel was covered in open wounds, most prominent of which was the gaping lesion where one of his ears used to be. Instead, there was a hole, a large area void of skin and fur on his face and only a tiny flap. 

Samuel’s feet and toes were badly damaged, his back legs were scrapped free of flesh in areas and a toe on his front right paw was badly broken.

All of Samuel’s wounds, from ears, eyes, body, and paws were infected, swollen, weeping and needing immediate treatment.

His condition showed he’d likely taken a serious fall onto hard, rough surface, indicative from falling from a moving vehicle onto the road.  And after being hurt, he was let down again by not getting the help and treatment he needed and deserved.

Samuel’s right ear needed immediate attention, two of our vets cleaned the large wound with a lengthy surgical procedure, removing loose skin and treating significant infection.

The wound, which took up a 20cm x 15cm area of his face, would take weeks of reapplying antibiotics and redressing to heal properly.

We amputated Samuel’s toe on his right front paw which could not be saved. He received nine stitches.

His hind legs were torn and severely scratched with deep wounds. They needed disinfecting and bandages.

Samuel needed to wear tiny protective booties on his feet to allow him to walk in less pain but still allow his injuries to heal, free of infection.

With lots of love and patience, Samuel healed.

Samuel’s facial wound took about six weeks to completely heal.

As his other injuries got better, Samuel’s soul was seemingly restored. With little to no pain, his personality shifted from cold and weary to warm and even on occasion, playful.

Seeing a dog on a lead at the RSPCA ACT is commonplace but this was different; we would deviate from our routes, even accepting that we’d be late for a meeting just to kneel and give him a pat and a scratch on the ear.

Samuel was adopted into a loving home, he now spends a lot of his time playing at the beach!

Everyone pulled together, almost making an unspoken pact that Samuel’s recovery was everyone’s responsibility.

Sadly, cases like Samuel’s aren’t isolated incidents. We often receive wounded animals or animals with complex medical problems in need of urgent attention.

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Week 5

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