Calderdale dog Fleur wins bravery award

Fleur’s owner, Dorothy Hilton, was horrified when she discovered her dog had sustained a dreadful wound whilst chasing a squirrel in the woods.

As a former nurse, she recognised that it was a serious injury as Fleur had taken off all the skin from the inner aspect of her left thigh.

She rushed her to her local vet who immediately admitted her for surgery but it was soon apparent that Fleur would need more extensive surgical expertise so they later referred her to ChesterGates Veterinary Specialists in Chester.

Dorothy said: “Fleur just took off in the woods after a squirrel and I was devastated when she returned and I saw a huge wound running across the length of her stomach. It was a huge deep graze and I knew that it wouldn’t knit together as it was just gaping wide and open.”

On arrival at ChesterGates, Fleur was assessed and the decision was taken to do a skin flap after several days of cleaning and bandaging the wound. The surgery involved taking healthy skin from her belly to partially cover the wound and applying a VAC (vacuum assisted closure) device to aid the healing process.

ChesterGates Veterinary Surgeon and European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery, Lara Dempsey, said: “Fleur was a very brave and adorable patient. She had a few days of open wound management with dressings before her definitive surgery with a skin flap. She was hospitalised for over two weeks here. She really was a star patient and all the team loved caring for Fleur.”

Dorothy commented: “Fleur is a wonderful, affectionate companion and has made a remarkable recovery. The team at ChesterGates were all very reassuring and supportive. I was very impressed with the treatment she received.”

ChesterGates’ awarded their Pet of the Month title to Fleur in recognition of her bravery and in keeping a happy, positive disposition in the face of such adversity.