This is one of those crazy things. We’ve seen lots of dogs with severe wounds that needed help, lots of nasty messes. Officer Petix has posted pictures of a lot of damaged animals. What is it that makes a particular case “speak” to people? Why does this guy generate 300,000 shares and an outpouring of support for the work of the Kennett Humane Department ? I must admit I do not know. He is a terrific dog, so friendly and happy and cooperative, and he really needed the help, but how can you know that from a picture of his nasty wounds? Anyway, here is his story. He was KHD case number 2222, and now he’s “Jude”. 
Folks saw him out in the country and called Officer Petix to ask for help. His wounds were big, ugly, grossly contaminated and infected. Despite this, he seemed pretty alert and strong. She collected him and brought him to Kennett Veterinary Clinic. On the way she retrieved this copper bullet jacket from the open wound.
You could see two thin, linear and superficial wounds that I would call “bullet creases”. (I’d call them that because I’ve spent many an hour watching old Westerns.) Then there was a quarter-size wound that I think was the original bullet entry, though I suspect it was a lot smaller when it started (like about 5mm, same as the base of the bullet jacket). Just ahead of that was the first hand-sized open wound over the chest wall. These two are connected by a big pocket under the skin. And finally, over the right shoulder, another hand-sized mess. That was kind of weird – it looked like one entry wound and two exit wounds, which even with “new math” doesn’t add up. 
We anesthetized him and began by filling the wounds with sterile gel, then shaving the skin around them, and here Anna is scrubbing the skin. Then I spent about 30 minutes flushing with dilute antiseptic and wiping with sterile gauze until the wounds looked like part of the dog instead of something the dog drug in, ate and threw up.
The cleaning revealed a broken rib with a long-contaminated devitalized area on one exposed end. We also found that the tissue was not what normally underlies the skin, but granulation tissue (the body’s “fill in the gap” temporary stuff) and a lot of scar tissue. These wounds looked to be a couple of weeks old. 
Despite the huge openings, I was able to undermine the skin, and close the wounds. I took off as much funky rib tissue as I felt comfortable with. I wasn’t anxious to open a hole into his chest and let in all the yuck.
Unfortunately, closing this mess leaves big pockets underneath the skin, pockets that are full of germs, and lined with tissue that is oozing fluid constantly. That would be a pretty good place to grow a heck of an infection (if he didn’t have one already, which he did).
We started Jude on two different antibiotics to get the infection under control, but if the pocket had stayed full of fluid, the medicine would never have gotten into the middle of it. That’s why you put drainage tubes in the wound. This lets the fluid get out. Bandaging puts the parts back against their normal underlying support, and wicks the drainage away from the body. What you hope is that the pocket will seal down everywhere except where the drainage tubes lie. Then, in a few days you remove the tubes and things get all well… you hope.
The next step was chest X-rays. Considering how old the wounds were, I didn’t feel it likely that his chest had free fluid, free air, collapsed lungs or anything similar. He seemed to be doing too well. If he hadn’t, we’d have X-rayed him first. As I had hoped, there was no problem there, aside from the broken rib. The X-rays are not as good as I would like, but we had the critical information, and decided not to stress him by repeated attempts to get “perfect” pictures.
The interesting thing on the X-rays is the pattern of lead “tracks”. You can see these as little bright white spots on the X-ray pictures. When the rifle bullet entered the flank at a superficial angle, it struck the rib. The rib broke, and the bullet shattered. This left tiny fragments of lead in the wound, which you can see on the X-ray. There are lead tracks in both large wounds, yet the wound over the shoulder has no apparent entry wound, and there is no connection between it and the flank wounds, and no lead tracks between them. 
This makes me think that when the bullet shattered against the rib, a piece flew forward and “zipped open” the shoulder. Then then motion of the front leg caused the wound to spread out, and dirt and germs did the rest.
It looks like somebody was shooting at him to run him off, and the bullet took him from behind. When I first saw this mess, I wouldn’t have guessed we were dealing with a single bullet, but that’s what I think happened.
One of the films showed a .22 caliber pellet lodged in the tissue, but that wound was old and long healed. The body just walls off that lead and it rarely creates a problem. Again, I’ve watched a lot of old Westerns, but I resisted the temptation to call for a hot knife and a bottle of whiskey to dig it out.
From here, it was a question of good nursing care. Jude was on I.V. fluids for a day, but rapidly began eating and drinking on his own, and we were able to switch from I.V. to oral antibiotics and pain medicines. Daily bandage changes were a must, as the large amounts of fluid got them pretty well soaked in 24 hours.
The dog was infested with hookworms and tapeworms, but surprisingly had a negative blood test for heartworms (“negative” equals “good” in this case).
Jude got stronger every day, and friendlier every day. You couldn’t help liking the guy. Despite everything he had been through (and was still going through), he was always eager to greet you, wagging his tail, dying for you to pet him… which we did… a lot. 
After seven days, we removed the drains. They usually come out in 3 to 5 days, but this was not a usual situation. Though there was still considerable drainage, it was much reduced, and the drains themselves are foreign objects that cannot be left in indefinitely. He was getting pretty tired of the bandages and starting to chew them, so we added a T-shirt to his regimen. I didn’t have any around the clinic, and I hated to drive home just for that, so I took off my undershirt (it was VERY clean), and used that. Much was made of me giving him “the shirt off my back”.
When Jude’s pictures hit the internet via the Kennett Humane Department Facebook page, there were many calls and emails asking about him and making financial contributions for his treatment. In addition, several different rescue organizations offered to take him and complete his rehabilitation once he was stable enough to travel. The Great Plains Pointer Rescue from Nebraska seemed like the best fit, and on Friday, twelve days after we met him, one of their volunteers was here bright and early to get him. 
Best wishes to him on the next phase of his adventure. Somewhere, somebody is going to have one great friend. 
thank you for HELPING Jude...
Posted by: suzanne | December 19, 2016 at 11:54 AM
Thanks for your kind words. It was a pleasure.
Posted by: Doc | December 19, 2016 at 03:25 PM
What a blessing you are to so many families and to these precious souls that need the love and care you always find to give! You are a blessing to our area for sure! Thanks for all
U do!
Posted by: Angela VonRuden | December 19, 2016 at 08:11 PM
Hello, Angela,
Thank you for your very kind words. I don't think I deserve a halo, though.
Posted by: Doc | December 20, 2016 at 07:09 AM
So sad looking at the pictures but thank you so much for helping Jude. It's encouraging and inspiring to know that there are still kind hearted and genuine people out there who are willing to help with no strings attached.
Posted by: Leigh | February 08, 2017 at 10:30 PM
Hello, Leigh,
The outpouring of support for this dog was truly incredible.
He is doing well now in his new home.
Posted by: Doc | February 09, 2017 at 06:59 AM
That's very sad story.
Posted by: Mahabub Hassan | February 16, 2017 at 06:17 AM
Wow, it makes me sad inside and outside to look at these pictures. Jude is truly a blessing. I'm glad to read your latest comment saying that he is doing well in a new home, I am so relieved!
Posted by: Kelly | April 25, 2017 at 11:34 PM
Hello, Kelly,
Thanks for reading and writing.
Posted by: Doc | April 26, 2017 at 07:48 AM
I've followed Jude's story from the day he showed up at the vet. It was amazing to see all the love and help he received. Thank you to all of the staff and everyone that helped this sweet boy. Does he have a furever home yet? Hugs to you all!❤
Posted by: Sandie | May 03, 2017 at 12:58 AM
Jude has been adopted and was doing great at last report.
Posted by: Doc | May 03, 2017 at 04:50 AM
This makes me so sad. I really can't imagine... but you are truly so kind to help Jude.
Posted by: Paul | May 09, 2017 at 07:13 AM
Hello, Paul,
Thanks for your kind words, but I was just doing my job. Thanks to the generosity of many animal-lovers, my expenses were covered.
Posted by: Doc | May 10, 2017 at 07:38 PM