William's story

This is "HBC" as he was first known. "HBC" stands for "Hit by Car" to us in the veterinary world. "HBC" was brought to us the morning of October 4th, 1999 by one of our most admirable basset loving clients-The Hodges'.

Marilyn and her husband Robert have had several of their own basset children and work with Basset Rescue placing orphans. Marilyn was out in morning rush hour traffic and saw "HBC" in the middle of the road. She slammed on her brakes to avoid hitting "HBC" and nearly ended up in an accident herself.

Once "HBC" was stable it was time to take radiographs to rule out any internal injuries or broken bones. After assessing that "HBC" was suffering from mild head trauma and no other internal injuries, they began to evaluate his limbs. Radiographs showed a severe break to "HBC's" elbow.

The Hodges' visited "HBC" daily and decided they had a new member of the family and named him "William". "William" received daily TLC from all of us at SVC as well as his new mom and dad.

Because basset hounds have such short, stubby legs, Dr. MacCoy had to decide how to best stabilize the break in "William's" elbow.

As with any surgical procedure, great care is taken to be sure to work in an absolutely sterile environment to prevent any bacterial contamination.

Because of the location of the break and the short legs, Dr. MacCoy had to secure the fracture with several types of orthopedic hardware.

He first used circlage wire to close the fractured bones. This procedure uses wire that is twisted around each part of the fracture to pull the bones together so the fracture will heal.

He then carefully places a metal plate over the fracture site and secures it to the bone by drilling screws into the plate and through the bones.

Post operative radiographs are taken before "William" awakes from his slumber to ensure proper placement of the hardware over the fracture.

To a non-trained eye "William's" films look like a robot's leg with metal everywhere. Even though "William" isn't a Hollywood movie star his films at SVC were very impressive.

Dr. MacCoy is estimating that it will take a minimum of 3 months for the fracture to heal. If all goes well, Dr. MacCoy will return to look at more radiographs. If the fracture site shows a good union of the bone, he will go to the operating room again.

"William's" second trip to the OR will be to remove the metal plate and screws that have held his elbow together for the past few months. A few days of post operative pain relievers and "William" will be back to his old self.

Because of Marilyn's many friends and contacts among the basset world, over a thousand dollars has been collected so far to help defray some of "William's" medical expenses. Donations have been made by more than eight individuals residing here in the United States, England, Australia and throughout the world.

Even though "William" was only here for about a week he has made quite an impression on many peoples lives around the world. It is incredible that one 40 pound dog can touch so many!

The next three photos were take by Marilyn at her home. As you can see, William is taking his forced cage rest the only way a bassett knows how.

William is already beginning to show signs that he is returning to his original "athletic" form