What You Need to Know to Help Your Dog Survive a Gun Shot Wound

A week and a half ago, the worst week of my life started to unfold as I found my beautiful and energetic Labrador Retriever lifeless after being shot near the heart. If I had to do things all over again from the moment I found her, I would.

Frantic, I drove the Chillicothe Animal Clinic. The good news is they quickly got her life restored. The bad thing is they were too money hungry and eager to push surgery for unrelated treatment and failed to communicate beyond the critical 48 hour stage.

If I knew I had time, I would have walked out the moment one of the vets told me, "we need a $250 deposit before we will work on her."

I was direct. "You get working on my dog, and you will get paid." I was worried about this from this point on. As they stabilized Kayleigh and restored lost blood and fluids, the female vet that worked on her came and talked to me. She gave her a 50/50 chance of living and the next 48 hours were the most critical.

What I have come to learn is the next 96 hours are the most critical and on average, day four to five after your pet has been shot has death waiting in the wings if you aren't prepared. I wasn't prepared because when I returned last Monday to visit with Kayleigh and find out how she was doing after the weekend, the vet told me she was looking good from the gun shot but immediately began focusing on another concern. There was fluid on her stomach and the vet was convinced it was a from a cancerous tumor. Without any evidence to prove where the tumor was at, if there was really a tumor, she wanted to start exploratory surgery immediately.

My first concern was whether or not, just over 48 hours after being shot was if she was strong enough to go through surgery. I had my doubts, so I didn't allow the surgery to take place. Rather I got a second opinion and a third opinion. You see, I was so focused on the cancer scare thinking after 48 hours we were in the clear, that I wasn't prepared for what was about to strike my dog.

Today, I visited with Dr. Mike Divine in Ozark, Missouri. He had been Kayleigh's veterinarian over the past few years. I went in to thank him, but what he disclosed to me should have been told to me before I ever left with Kayleigh last Monday. Had I heard what he said, I would have left Kayleigh in the clinic for another few days.

When your pet has been shot, skin, fur, and dirt are pushed into the body. These foreign parts begin to create a super infection. If the dog isn't properly treated with strong anti-biotics, then the infection is going to kill your dog.

Kayleigh was throwing up, and every pill that I forced down her came up. So, I would have to dig through her vomit, pull the pills out, and force them down again. While I well understood the possibility of infection and the need for antibiotics, the reality of the situation was never explained to me nor did I stop and think about it. I was focused on on the wrong things--the cancer scare, which according to a second vet, he never felt a tumor within her.

Knowing the battle with the pills, I would have asked that she received the anti-biotics were delivered directly to her blood stream to fight the infection rather than fight her to get them down. Like I said, the vet was worried about tumor that she wasn't even sure it was there than addressing what the next few days were going to be like. I don't want you to have to go through the same pain if your dog gets past the point of surviving the first part of the gun shot.

If your dog gets shot, and you are working to save its life, you need to understand the infection possibilities and how crucial it is to make sure the anti-biotics are kicking in before day four.

The Chillicothe Animal Clinic never followed up with me. They never shared their concerns for this villain that was waiting to kill my dog. Had they have shared with me that day four or so is the critical point of the antibiotics, I would have left Kayleigh in their care. They were more worried about opening up for cancer than fighting infection, and that of course sent my mind in another direction.

I would never take another animal back to that clinic.