Fortune is an approximately 3 year old yellow Labrador male that was hit by car on the I-40 in New Mexico on January 7, 2001. He was found by a good samaritin and taken to the Animal Control shelter. There he was diagnosed with a fractured left tibia that was both comminuted (shattered) and compound (bone had broken the skin making a very high risk of infection).
His leg was bandaged and he then spent the next 7 days in a great deal of pain and agony with only mere bandage changes every 2-3 days. When his 7 days were up (this animal control shelter euthanize injured dogs after 7 days), a Golden Rescue took Fortune from the shelter to a veterinary clinic for the a foster "parent" who agreed to take the responsibility for this him.
Further investigation with xrays confirmed the comminuted and compound fracture of the left tibia and also showed a dislocated right hip (which explained his inability to walk).
He was transferred to the Manzano Animal Clinic where treatment options were discussed. It was decided that the open fracture was the first thing that needed to be addressed even with Fortune current poor overall condition. So that afternoon Fortune was taken to surgery to fix the fracture. He did fine with the surgery and recovered uneventfully. He stayed at the clinic for 6 days so that he could be treated with high levels of injectable antibiotics and regular bandage changes. He was then sent home to recover and improve in physical condition for the hip surgery. The hip surgery went fine and Fortune recovered uneventfully from the surgery.
Fortune was recovering very well. The infection has almost completely cleared and the attending veterinarian feels that within 6 months Fortune will be for all purposes a normal dog. The prognosis for a good quality of life is very high. The search for a forever home has begun!
Thanks to you, Labrador Life Line was able to help another deserving Labby towards a happy and healthy life!