We all loved the 'Red Dog' films. Well this month we have a tragic story about a local red kelpie Maverick who was willfully kicked in the hind limb by a dog owner in Benalla recently whilst harmlessly meeting and greeting the 'gentlman's' dog in an off leash area. 

Maverick, a lovely five year old male, was rushed to our clinic because within minutes after the trauma he was experiencing excruciating pain and was not able to put weight on his left hind leg. The kicks had left him with a dislocation of his hip joint. He was anaethetised and xrays were taken to rule out potential fractures and to allow the hip to be put back into place. Less than 24 hours later the hip re-dislocated. A second attempt to replace the hip was only successful for a further 24 hours and this can often occur as the hip joint has endure great force which breaks the ligament in the hip and damages the joint capsule rendering the hip unstable. 

Dr Steph Miechel recommended surgical correction of the hip dislocation as the best way forward for Maverick to be able to return to as close to his original hip functionality as possible. He may still develop hip arthritis in future which will be a dreadful reminder to the callous and thoughtless actions of a fellow dog owner.

He underwent this hip toggle surgery and is currently recovering quietly at home. This surgery involves replicating the original ligament inside the hip joint and repairing the hip joint capsule to maintain the hip in its correct location and generally we see very good outcomes.  We will update you on his future progress in future newsletters.

The take-home message is that in our parks off leash dog play areas carry inherent risks, not only from dog attacks, but also from other dog owners who can inflict serious damage whilst attempting to protect their own pets from perceived threats. Luckily this issue is not a common occurence in Benalla as the majority of us are not cruel.