A loveable Maltese cross dog named Blossom was saved by PDSA vets after suffering extensive wounds to her neck and chest from another dog, while out on a walk.
The seven-year-old dog, whose favourite pastime is shredding her owner’s post, was being walked by a friend when out of nowhere another dog ran up and bit her repeatedly. Her owner, Stuart Colloff from Nantwich in Cheshire, recalls getting the call about what had happened:
“I was at an event – I work part-time as a show jumping judge – and had a call from my friend with the awful news. I was on the verge of tears. I just couldn’t believe what had happened and I didn’t know if she was going to make it.”
Stuart and his wife Karen rushed to PDSA Pet Hospital in Stoke, where Blossom had been taken following the incident. She was immediately given pain relief and sedated, so that the out-of-hours veterinary team could assess the extent of her injuries.
Stuart continued: “We were so worried about her. She’s such a cheeky, friendly dog and always happy to meet everyone. Karen and I both suffer from health issues, but Blossom always knows when we’re not well. She showers us with love and reminds us that everything is going to be alright. To think we might lose her, well she’s a star that brightens our lives and we couldn’t live without her.”
Sarah Flanagan, Senior Vet at Stoke PDSA Pet Hospital, said: “Sadly, Blossom had multiple wounds on her neck and chest and, although they weren’t large, dog bites can cause a lot more damage than initially seems the case. She was lucky the bites hadn’t damaged any main blood vessels in her neck, but these types of wounds can still take weeks to heal. There can be complications caused by bruising or damage to blood supply, or from infection due to the bacteria found in dogs’ mouths.”
For PDSA, which provides free and low-cost vet care for the pets of owners who are struggling financially, Blossom is just one of hundreds of thousands of pets they see every year. Sarah added: “There’s a huge demand for our services, but running the UK’s largest vet charity comes at a cost. We don’t receive any government funding, so our Pet Hospitals rely solely on generous public donations to keep our doors open. We urgently need support to help keep pets together with their loving families through Christmas.”
The charity is appealing for help to continue saving stars like Blossom – visit www.pdsa.org.uk/saveastar
Stuart said: “Without PDSA we would’ve lost Blossom, as we wouldn’t have been able to afford her treatment. The support we’ve had from the vet team at Stoke PDSA means everything to us, we’re extremely grateful for everything they do.”
After Blossom’s wounds were flushed and dressed, she was sent home with antibiotics and plenty of pain relief. However, she wasn’t out of the woods yet – she needed close monitoring overnight and had to return to PDSA the next day to have her wounds checked. There was still a chance she might need surgery.
Blossom had to visit Stoke PDSA every few days to have her wounds checked and, although most healed well, one wound on her chest was causing problems. The initial trauma had damaged the blood supply, meaning the skin around the wound started to die. Blossom needed further surgery and stitches to help the wound heal properly, and it was a long road to recovery for her.
Thankfully, following the additional surgery and many weeks of TLC from her family, Blossom has now made a full recovery. Stuart said: “Blossom is very vocal and would often howl when she’s pleased to see us. She didn’t do this for weeks after the attack, but when she started howling again we knew she was on the mend and getting back to her old self.
