Happy Tails - Maggie

Maggie is all smiles during her most recent visit.

Meet Maggie. Maggie is a ten year old female, spayed mix breed who came into VSES at the end of April. Maggie had been out in the field enjoying the break in the cool weather when an unknown dog came up and attacked her.

The bite wounds were severe and quite contaminated, risking infection. She had some bone exposure on her right front leg coupled with muscle damage while her left leg had a large absence of skin in the elbow, which prevented the wound from closing, exposing severe muscle damage underneath. Poor Maggie also had wounds covering her head and her neck.

This terrifying night is what began Maggie's stay with us at VSES. She began daily debridement of the wound to her elbow--treatments that would remove any dead or dying tissue to help prevent infection. Her other leg was repaired and began to heal slowly; the drains that were placed during the repair (to help stave off infection) were removed after a few days. Maggie was not herself during this time. She was refusing to eat or drink, but we saw so much hope every time her dedicated owners came to visit, she perked up just a little.

A fancy bandage for such a sweet dog. Courtesy
of one of our animal care assistants.

Our staff really began to bond with Maggie and they were happy to see her go home only a few days after her admission to VSES, but were also happy to see her daily after she left for bandage changes.

Silly Maggie!

Her owners reported that she was continually improving -- walking well and even starting to eat some (roast beef was a favorite!) Every time our staff saw her, her condition (and spirits) improved and our staff really looked forward to seeing her progress.

This whole experience can be very traumatic for any dog and dog owner to go through, but both Maggie and her family did not let this faze them. While Maggie may be a bit slower than she was prior to the attack, she is still smiling and just as sweet as she always was.

Maggie in her fancy cone (to help keep her wounds
safe from that happy tongue!)

Maggie's family is one of the most dedicated families we have ever seen. They never missed a bandage change, and they are doing an amazing job keeping her safe and happy at home.

Maggie's family is so thankful that their sweet girl is on the mend and back to her normal self, and so are we!

A big thank you to Maggie and her family for the thank you cakes!
(Our staff really loves cake!)

Keep smiling, Maggie!