Pets Vets Corner

Pet of the Month

Hammer the pig dog

Please don’t be too judgemental about Hammer and what he does for a livelihood. He’s a pig dog, and usually resides in South Auckland but was up north with his Dad for the weekend on the frontline of the battle against the feral pig epidemic. But today didn’t go quite as planned. He sustained a deep tusk wound to his neck which lacerated his jugular vein. Had his Dad not been well prepared with a canine first aid kit on hand, Hammer would definitely have died before getting out of the bush, let alone getting to the vet clinic. His Dad had a very well stocked kit, including a tube of Celox, a blood clotting product developed in the UK and used by the American military in gunshot and stab wounds in warfare. He dispensed the tube into the neck wound and applied a very efficient pressure bandage. When examined at the clinic it was very apparent that his preparedness and calm head under pressure saved his precious pig dog’s life. We’ll expect him to be back in the bush within a month or two and wish him all the best and better luck in the future.

Jon Makin BVSc, Danny Cash BVSc and Associates