poodlefan Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 (edited) From news.com.au IN the southeast Queensland town of Chinchilla, a little red working dog is embodying the spirit of Queenslanders enduring the state's worst ever floods, and that old saying - you can't keep a good dog down. Carrie the red Kelpie went missing amid last week's flooding, only to return home at the height of the emergency with a gash in her chest where she was most likely kicked by a kangaroo. Her owner, David Winfield, desperately needed a vet for his favourite dog, but his property 20km out of town was cut off by floodwaters. Chinchilla vet Ryan Ayres did his best to give Mr Winfield directions to care for Carrie over the phone on Wednesday, but the situation was dire. Mr Winfield tried and failed to have Carrie ferried to town on a SES boat, and eventually talked a helicopter pilot who was moving cattle into a canine airlift on Thursday. "We were getting a little bit worried about her at that stage," he said. "We could stick four fingers into her lungs." Dr Ayres said when Carrie finally reached him, he was shocked to see she was surviving despite a wound as big as two fists. "It was the biggest chest wound I've ever seen that didn't involve broken ribs," he said. "We could hear the dog's lungs hitting the sides of her ribs when she was breathing." Surgery was successful, and Carrie will be allowed to go home when the floodwaters around her property have receded, in about a week. Dr Ayres said the seven-year-old dog was one of the toughest he had seen. "But I'm glad they got her to me because I don't think she would have made it another day," he said. It has been an intriguing time for the Tennessee vet, who started a six-month stint at Chinchilla in November. He expects his next big emergency will be a wave of footrot in cattle that have spent weeks standing in flooded paddocks. Read more: here They build dogs tough in Chinchilla! Edited January 17, 2011 by poodlefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darwinroyal Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Fabulous news about Carrie and the wonderful people who took care of her. The reality of the footrot is what keeps reminding me this is going to go on for a long time Some vets can have 10 years experience, the same year over and over. Other vets can experience 10 years experience in one year. Ryan Ayres sounds like one I would like to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9angel Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 What a lucky girl to have so many ppl care about her. Fantastic to hear that after all she went through she is going to make it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrotpea Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 What a little fighter! Lovely to hear a good story amidst all the sadness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danielle Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 What a tough little bugger! Good on her owner, the pilot and the vet for doing all they could for her. What exactly is footrot in cattle? Is it the same as thrush or seedy toe in horses? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smooch Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 What exactly is footrot in cattle? Is it the same as thrush or seedy toe in horses? Footrot is caused by a bacteria which thrives in moist, warm conditions. The footrot bacteria can live indefinitely in pockets of infection inside the feet of affected animals, even under dry conditions. However, the bacteria cannot survive outside the foot for more than 7 days. There are many strains of the footrot bacteria. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adza Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 What a toughie!! and pat on the back for all involved I bet Carrie can't wait to get home Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolz Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 awwww yay!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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