Toby is a mischievous little Border Terrier who presented to us during our Sunday Out of Hours Service.

Whilst running in and out of the garden beds at home Toby stood on a stick with such force that it went straight in and out the other side!

Toby’s owners brought him straight into the surgery. However, Toby was not as concerned about his injury as the vet and his owner were. He was wagging his tail, enjoying a fuss and not bothering with his foot at all!

Luckily, the stick had passed through a fold of skin in between Toby’s digits. It didn’t appear to be involving any bones, joints, tendons or ligaments.

There were a few snags on the stick which would cause more trauma and friction on the way out so we clipped these off with nail clippers. The stick came out smoothly and Toby didn’t flinch once!

The entry and exit holes from the stick were examined carefully and the wounds were bathed with an antibacterial solution. Toby resented the foot cleaning more than the original stick injury!

 

 

 

The skin wounds required a course of antibiotics and anti-inflammatories. We also advised minimal walking on clean ground only and his foot was to be kept clean with regular antibacterial bathing.

Toby would also have to wear the ‘Cone of Shame’. If Toby chewed and licked his wound he would make it worse and delay healing. Toby tolerated his cone really well and even had it accessorized for the day!

Toby’s foot completely healed and just in time to visit the beach on his birthday!

However…

 

Approximately 10 days after Toby’s medications finished he developed a raised red lump close to one of the original injuries. The lump was ulcerated and sticky on the surface. We suspected some debris or a small fragment of stick were still present in Toby’s skin following the injury. This can sometimes happen following a contaminated wound;even the smallest amount of foreign material left in there can cause ongoing issues.

We placed Toby back onto a longer course of antibiotics and anti-inflammatories and the lump completely resolved!

However…

 

If the foot causes an issue again we may have do further investigations and exploration of his foot. Toby is a lovely little boy who was a pleasure to treat!