Border collie returns to agility following catastrophic injury
Ella (not pictured) is back to competing in a sport that she loves.
A young Border collie has secured her first rosette in an agility contest after a devastating injury left her unable to compete.
Three-year-old Ella, a promising agility superstar, is back to doing what she loves best after vets at Edinburgh's Royal (Dick) School successfully reconstructed one of her hind legs.
The incident occurred at the start of March when Ella was out for a morning walk with her owner, Hannah Wade.
Hannah said: “I suddenly heard a loud scream from Ella. I had no idea what had happened. She was unable to stand up and I could immediately see that she had severely damaged one of her back legs. I picked her up and ran back to the van and took her straight to the vets.”
An x-ray revealed extensive damage to Ella's leg, so her vet referred her to Edinburgh's Hospital for Small Animals for urgent treatment. It was here that orthopaedic specialist Dr Sofia Garcia-Pertierra Garcia confirmed that Ella’s right tibia and fibula had broken in several places and would require surgery.
The next day, Dr Garcia operated on Ella and inserted two large metal plates with screws to stabilise the bones. Clinicians and nurses then closely monitored Ella for three days, after which she was released to her owners' care to continue her recovery.
Ella was put on two months of strict cage rest and was only allowed short walks on the lead. The team gradually increased her level of exercise over the following months until her leg and muscles strengthened.
Ella started practising agility again in August and started competing in competitions in September. It was at the Woodside Dog Agility Club Christmas Show, held in West Lothian at the beginning of December, where Ella scooped her first rosette.
Hannah continued: “If you look at Ella now, you would never know that she had injured her leg so badly. She loves taking part in agility and it would have been heart-breaking if she was unable to do it anymore. I cannot thank the vets and nurses at the Dick Vet enough for everything that they have done.”
Dr Garcia added: “We are delighted that Ella has made a full recovery and is back to competing in a sport that she loves”.
With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
