Mid-May this 5-month-old puppy was rushed to our hospital by the Kent County Animal Rescue (KCAR) after being found in a ditch at the side of the road, evidently a victim of a hit by a car accident. He came to us in a state of shock, bleeding from the nose and mouth. His eyes were bloodshot and there were many scratches to his face, as well as a deep laceration beneath his armpit. His physical exam and x-rays showed head trauma, a fractured jaw, hemorrhage around his lungs and trauma to his liver; despite no broken bones, his condition was critical.
His injuries were tended to and he was given medication for pain, then placed in a kennel on IV fluids and closely monitored with the hope that his condition would improve. Luckily, this resilient little pup surprised us all by showing marked signs of improvement by the next day! He stole all our hearts especially that of Dr. Tara MacLeod who decided to adopt him.
Archer stands to make a complete recovery. He continues to have some breathing problems and inflammation of the sinuses, which make it a little difficult for him to be as active as he’d like to be. Dr. Tara is looking into surgery for the fractured jaw, however the injury is not interfering with his eating nor seems to be causing him much pain.
Overall Archer is loving his new life. He respects Dr. Tara’s four cats, Hobbs, Edward, Brian Boltano, and Mocha, and largely ignores Cadbury the bunny. Unfortunately his breathing issues cause him to snort which the cats mistakenly take as growling and he loves cat toys, which are factors that aren’t scoring him many points with his feline brothers and sisters. Nevertheless he is very friendly, cute, and playful which will surely win them over eventually!
All puppies have their quirks and Archer is no exception. Currently he is a big fan of ripping dandelions out of the ground and spitting them out! He is house-broken, heels, sits, and is overall a very clever dog. Cases like Archer’s are why we treasure this profession so dearly and everyone here at RAH is wishing Archer a full, speedy recovery so he can live his life to very fullest!
