Dog seriously wounded, loses leg after apparent attack by a gator
He lost his front right paw and is critically anemic
By Ari Hait
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JUPITER, Florida (WPBF) — He lost his front right paw and is critically anemic, but a dog is now recovering at a Jupiter animal hospital after being the victim of an apparent gator attack.
The staff at Furry Friends named the dog Brady after he was brought to them Friday.
A good Samaritan found Brady near a canal by Lake Worth Road and Congress Avenue.
Doctors believe he had been there injured for at least a week, his front right leg in tatters.
“The wound was extensive. It was one of the worst ones I’ve ever seen,” said Dr. Victoria Koehler of Furry Friends. “It was pretty much completely mangled, bone exposed.”
Koehler said Brady was so anemic he needed two blood transfusions before they were finally able to amputate the leg Monday.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Koehler said. “It’s heartbreaking to see animals like this.”
Fortunately, Furry Friends didn’t have to worry about the initial cost of Brady’s treatment, because two local nonprofits, the Brady Hunter Foundation and Rescue Life, stepped up right away to pay for it.
“It was just so brutal and traumatic; it was a no-brainer for us,” said Paige Bresky, chief of philanthropy and brand development for the Brady Hunter Foundation.
“If you beat an alligator, and you’re a survivor, you deserve to live,” said Meg Weinberger, founder of Rescue Life.
Koehler said she has no doubt that had Brady not been found and treated immediately, he would not have survived.
“He’s supposed to be here,” Weinberger said. “He wasn’t supposed to leave. He was not supposed to die.”
“It’s very rewarding,” Koehler said. “I’ve been in multiple different areas of veterinary medicine. But my heart is always with shelter medicine, because you get to be a voice for the voiceless.”
Koehler said Brady’s prognosis remains guarded because of his anemia, but she’s optimistic he could make a full recovery.
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