2-Legged Dog Survives Another Bad Accident

1994 - Volume #18, Issue #5, Page #21

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"He's back on his feet again," says Bill Davis, Greenfield, Iowa, about his dog "Rusty" who was featured in FARM SHOW four years ago when he lost two legs in a farm accident (Vol. 14, No. 1).
The 9-year-old Australian red healer recently had another accident, breaking one of his remaining good legs when he was run over by a pickup.
The first accident happened while Davis was mowing hay. Rusty was lying on the ground out of the way. Then for some reason he got up and ran right in front of the mower. By the time Davis could stop the tractor, the mower had completely cut off half of Rusty's left front leg. The back left leg was just dangling. Davis stopped the bleeding as much as possible and rushed the dog to the vet, then helped Rusty recuperate.
Rusty had to learn how to walk and run all over again. Eventually he even learned how to jump into the pickup using only his two right legs. He can't use his left front leg at all, but he can use his back left leg, now only a stump, to catch his balance.
The most recent accident happened on a hot day when Davis and a neighbor were making hay. They stopped to take a break, and Davis put some ice cubes on the ground so Rusty could cool off. He laid the ice cubes next to the dog - and to the pickup tire. As the neighbor moved the truck, Rusty's good right rear leg was run over and broke in three places below the knee. Davis took the dog to a small-animal orthopedic surgeon at Iowa State University, who in-stalled four pins crisscross through the leg to hold the bones together.
Davis got lots of cards and letters, some containing money to meet Rusty's vet bill. Some people even sent along dog treats.
Rusty eventually recovered nicely from his second accident. "He can still outrun me at about 10 to 12 mph," says Davis, noting that he recently mated Rusty to a purebred blue healer and he's now the proud father of healthy pups.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Bill Davis, Rt. 2, Box 110, Greenfield, Iowa 50849 (ph 515 343-7051).

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2-Legged Dog Survives Another Bad Accident AG WORLD Ag World 18-5-21 "He's back on his feet again," says Bill Davis, Greenfield, Iowa, about his dog "Rusty" who was featured in FARM SHOW four years ago when he lost two legs in a farm accident (Vol. 14, No. 1). The 9-year-old Australian red healer recently had another accident, breaking one of his remaining good legs when he was run over by a pickup. The first accident happened while Davis was mowing hay. Rusty was lying on the ground out of the way. Then for some reason he got up and ran right in front of the mower. By the time Davis could stop the tractor, the mower had completely cut off half of Rusty's left front leg. The back left leg was just dangling. Davis stopped the bleeding as much as possible and rushed the dog to the vet, then helped Rusty recuperate. Rusty had to learn how to walk and run all over again. Eventually he even learned how to jump into the pickup using only his two right legs. He can't use his left front leg at all, but he can use his back left leg, now only a stump, to catch his balance. The most recent accident happened on a hot day when Davis and a neighbor were making hay. They stopped to take a break, and Davis put some ice cubes on the ground so Rusty could cool off. He laid the ice cubes next to the dog - and to the pickup tire. As the neighbor moved the truck, Rusty's good right rear leg was run over and broke in three places below the knee. Davis took the dog to a small-animal orthopedic surgeon at Iowa State University, who in-stalled four pins crisscross through the leg to hold the bones together. Davis got lots of cards and letters, some containing money to meet Rusty's vet bill. Some people even sent along dog treats. Rusty eventually recovered nicely from his second accident. "He can still outrun me at about 10 to 12 mph," says Davis, noting that he recently mated Rusty to a purebred blue healer and he's now the proud father of healthy pups. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Bill Davis, Rt. 2, Box 110, Greenfield, Iowa 50849 (ph 515 343-7051).

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