This is a remarkable story about a remarkable dog. Jasper Bywater is a 2 year old large German Shepherd Dog who fell out of a car which was travelling at 55mph along a major road.
His horrified owner raced back when he realised what had happened and found Jasper surrounded by concerned motorists and clearly suffering horrendous injuries. Helped by two kind-hearted female motorists, Jasper’s owner was escorted to our Hawkhurst branch of Cinque Ports Vets, arriving just before the surgery was due to close on a Friday evening. An urgent examination confirmed that Jasper’s injuries included deep lacerations, ruptured muscle and badly contaminated wounds which would require immediate surgery. Cinque Ports vet Howard Newitt then carried out several hours of emergency surgical procedures that would initially save Jasper’s life.
Jasper was transferred by the Practice Ambulance for on-going nursing care over the weekend by the team at our Rye Surgery where his care was supervised by Head Nurse Tara Evans.
Jasper then went on to have major surgery by our orthopaedic consultant Mr Clayton Jones at our branch in Tenterden to repair a broken femur. The surgery was successful but was then followed by days of care, dressing changes, fluid therapy via an intravenous drip, extreme pain relief medications and further X-Rays under the direction of vet Richard Williams and the team at Rye again. Jasper’s limbs were massaged every hour to maintain his circulation and he was encouraged to stand and move as much as possible with physical support from the nurses as he was still very wobbly. During this period, Jasper proved himself to be an outstanding patient, brave, uncomplaining and responsive to the love and care given by the vets and nursing staff. Jasper’s owner also showed great faith and commitment to his pet’s recovery and was very thankful to have a good level of pet insurance enabling him to go ahead with the complicated and lengthy treatment needed for his dog.
Jasper left Rye surgery after forty-seven days, walking, albeit with a sailor’s gait. He may still have to have further surgery to correct the movement of his front paw. Whenever he returns for check-ups, he greets the team and especially the nurses with absolute joy and cannot wait to get into the examination room. The recovery he has made so far is a testament to his courage, his owner’s support and undeniably to the fantastic level of expertise and care he received from Cinque Ports Veterinary Group.