Hip, hip…delay for columnist

As decent as the hip recovery began, I ran into a bloody hiccup recently. It was my first day of physiotherapy at Peach Physio. My wound was still leaking a little blood, something that was aggravated by my car ride home from the hospital. I knew another car trip would bother the wound on my left hip. The 33 staples were fine, but the wound just had a couple of small points where it continued to seep blood. We changed the dress- ing, packed in some paper towels to soak up any anticipated leakage, and I went out the door. Armed with my health card and the physiotherapy sheet from my hospital discharge papers, we arrived at Peach. I walked in and was immediately taken down to a room to fill out paperwork and then see the physiotherapist. Mary filled out the paperwork (legible handwriting versus my chicken scratch) as I sat on the edge of the physio bed, and then we met Yolla.

Not a minute into our conversation, we noticed something. I was leaking. I actually bled onto the bed and onto the floor.

You see, despite the fact

I had a wound with 33 stables holding it closed, there was no pain. In fact, the nerves are still growing back, so there is very little sensation recognition. I had no idea I’d bled like that. Everyone scrambled to clean up and then examine what the heck was happening. Owner Steven came in to assist. He applied a lot of gauze to soak up the blood and advised that we go to the hospital.

HOW TO RECOGNIZE ANIMAL CRUELTY:

• Limping.

• Rabbits with a severe head tilt.

Off we went to the emergency department.

Take a number…

Wait…

After about 25 minutes, we were seen by a great triage nurse, who pulled down my shorts, took a look at the wound, cleaned it up and packed the area with gauze, taped it up nicely and sent me back into the waiting room…to…wait.

We waited…for about three hours. I was seen by an incredible nurse practitioner named

Curtis. He was polite, patient and efficient, cleaning up the wound, checking to make sure it was not infected, and explaining everything he was doing.

Finally, we headed home.

Three days later, I bled again, this time in the bathroom at home. My wife joked she’s a crime scene clean-up technician now after dealing with that mess.

Continued on page 17

•Wounds on the body.

• Severely overgrown nails (often curling under) or hooves (often curling upwards).

• Patches of missing hair.

• Extremely thin, starving animals with ribs or backbone protruding.

• Infected eyes that have been left untreated.

• Animals who are repeatedly left alone without food and water. Often chained up in a yard.

• Severe flea or tick infestations left untreated.

• Animals who have been hit by cars and have not received veterinary attention.

• Animals who are kept outside without shelter in extreme weather conditions.

• An owner kicking, hitting or physically abusing an animal.

• Chronic diarrhea or vomiting.

• Reptiles with dull, darkened skin, tremors, gaping mouth and excessive saliva, or experiencing difficulty climbing.

• Animals who cower fearfully or act aggressively when their owners approach.

• Aquatic and amphibious creatures kept in tanks with murky water.

• Illegal trapping of wild animals or animals left for extended periods in traps.

• Excessive scratching of the head area shaking of the head and dirt or discharge in ears indicative of a possible ear infection.

• Animals kept in dirty conditions, being forced to stand in their own urine and excrement.

• Animals left in a car on a hot or cold day.

Help Prevent and Report Animal Abuse

Call this number if an animal is in distress or being neglected. This includes animals that are injured, in pain, sick, suffering, abuse or lack of proper care, water, food or shelter. If you report an animal that is in distress, being abused or neglected: The Ontario Animal Protection Call Centre will file an incident ticket and connect you with the appropriate local contact. Based on the location and nature of the incident, the call centre may flag the ticket for further investigation with the appropriate authorities, such as a provincial inspector or the local police. After the appropriate authority reviews the incident, they may investigate on-site or involve other authorities as needed. Authorities may contact you directly if they need more information.