Our lab was running through the woods and went down hard and could barely walk. He was not putting weight on one paw. My husband took him to the vet emergency room and it was not clear what the injury was. We started taking him to our vet who did exploratory surgery and did not find any foreign objects. From that point on, the dog was treated for his secondary symptoms. He was also given medications to treat osteomyelitis, a bone infection (which he did not have). The dog was clearly in pain and could barely get around. We had to keep the paw wrapped and he kept removing the gauze. He managed to do this even when muzzled.
After nearly four months of various appointments and doctoring, we visited a different vet who determined there was a foreign object in the paw (it went in between two toes). He did surgery and removed a stick 2.25 inches long and a half inch wide.
The moral of the story - Get a second opinion!
 |
| Two months after injury |
 |
| Three+ months after injury |
 |
| Stick removed by the second vet to evaluate the dog |
