mbc1963 Posted November 30, 2009 Report Share Posted November 30, 2009 My sister and I often take our dogs to a big open field on Sunday afternoons. We grew up there, and it morphed from an old sand pit to an overgrown, scrubby-woods area. Lots of acres of land, lots of room to run, very few people. (Some coyotes... but that's a whole other story!) Admittedly, this is privately-owned (though little tended) land, and lots of us use it as a place to exercise our dogs. Alternately, at night, the teenagers use it as a place to build a fire and put back a few cold ones, away from the prying eyes of parents and police. We all rarely run into each other. Yesterday, I declined the walk, and my sister took her American Eskimo dog, Snowy. Apparently, back in the wooded area, two big dogs ran out from nowhere, and one of them (apparently a pit bull mix - maybe lab?) jumped Snowy and pinned her to the ground. My sister said the dog had his mouth on Snowy's throat - but there were no punctures, which makes me think the dog had bite control. At any rate, the owners appeared after a while, and the fight was broken up. My sister, disconcerted, didn't think to ask for the owner's name. Snowy limped all the way home, and today at the vet they took 5 X-rays. They're not able to tell if her shoulder is fractured or not. ::SIGH!:: My sister's first thought was, "I wish Buddy were here! He would fight this dog off and protect Snowy!" Her second thought (and my immediate one!) was, "Good thing Buddy wasn't there! He would have caused a lot of trouble with that dog, and someone would have been really hurt!" I'm so very thankful I wasn't there with my reactive and foolhardy dog. I'm picturing myself with big bite marks up and down my arms from trying to save Buddy. Anyway... anyone ever have experience with a dog who has a shoulder injury? What can they do? Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc4ever Posted December 1, 2009 Report Share Posted December 1, 2009 Oh wow! That's really scary! Hope your sister's dog recovers, physically and mentally. We've been menaced on walks before, but never really attacked. No fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCjetta Posted December 1, 2009 Report Share Posted December 1, 2009 All I know is that injuries to the shoulder blade itself can be very very hard to see on x-rays. My BC ran full speed into a stump once and injured her shoulder. I took as many x-rays as I could to try and get a good image. The vet I work for could find 1 area on her scapula she was painful on - she actually turned as if to snap when he pressed on it. His best guess was that she bruised the bone because I probably took 10 different x-rays of her shoulders and we couldn't see anything. He said either way, most of the time if its a shoulder blade break, they leave it to heal on its own unless the bones are displaced. Being grabbed in that area could have easily caused bruised bones or muscles, or even injured a nerve depending on where the dog had its mouth. Hopefully she's just bruised and gets better in a few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertranger Posted December 1, 2009 Report Share Posted December 1, 2009 While I hope Snowy is alright I would make an effort to find the owners of those dogs. IMOP they owe you for the vets visit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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