It's fun to feel sorry for things.

Marlana from the US writes: "...My dog Buffy is half German Shepherd and half something else. She recently jumped off my parent's bed and tore her ACL and had to have surgery. After we got to take her home, I noticed that they cut all the hair off her toes! She used to have very furry toes...and they shaved them! Why would they need to do that to do surgery on her upper leg!? It makes no sense, and it makes me cry on the inside."

Comments

[leanna]

probably for the same reason that when someone has a hip surgery they slather the whole damn leg in betadine... to be very very careful there is no fucking chance of infection because bone infections are the worst fucking thing ever... almost.

[c h r i s s y]

Leanna makes sense but I would just like to add that possibly they thought Buffy would look like a douche with a bald leg and hairy toes. :D

[miyo]

awwwwwww
hope Buffy gets better.
make him a wittle sock!

[peanut287]

Really I hate myself for laughing, ok no I don't lol

[Frankie (I'm a girl!) in Oz]

yeah...I was thinking little sock or little ugg boots

[ash]

Poor dog, all naked and whatnot

[S]

Plus if that's the leg she scratches with, the furry feets could transfer hair. I imagine it's to rule out any chance of that happening.

also: awww. poor doggie.

[stevie]

Haha, I wondered that when they neutered my dog. His balls were way down by his tail, but they shaved right up his chest! However, they didn't shave his legs or back, which was right there?? I think it's just that you have vet techs doing the prep work and they're mostly just trained on the job, so they're just figuring it out as they go. And maybe taking instructions a little to literally.

[Darrin Nobis]

Probably because her entire leg was in the sterile field. They didn't do it for kicks or laughs. They did it to provide the best medical care they could for the dog. Stop crying and thank God she recieved excellent medical care. Would you rather have a shaved foot where the hair will grow back soon or an infection in her surgery site?!?

[liz]

what Chrissy said...Dog would look totally douchie with bald leg and furry feet. the vet techs were looking out for your pet's sense of style.

[Sarah aka KB]

When I had hip surgery they shaved my toes too.... hehe, ok, maybe not. They probably thought she'd look silly (cos having one naked leg isn't silly :P), but now you'll have to get her a booty to keep her foot warm this winter! Hope Buffy makes a speedy recovery :)

[Banananna]

The hair will grow back. It's better than when my dog had to have 3 inches of her tail bobbed (freak accident). The shave her whole tail and she had to walk around looking like a weinie was sticking out of her ass.

[nikkeynikkey]

they shave the entire region
a) for hygiene purposes
b) to be able to see the skin colour better to assess circulation...
that way if the foot starts losing it's palour they can react immediately and make sure your Buffy keeps everything she came into surgery with. don't worry all her furriness will come back ... but oh the itch!

[Mojojo Jojo]

I think they do extra shaving so they can access veins if they need to inject drugs or anaesthetic, or take blood.

[Nick]

They shaved the entire leg because the entire leg was in the sterile surgical field. When they do the surgery, the entire leg is pulled through a hole in a sterile drape. The surgeon needs to be able to manipulate the leg (depending on what type of repair technique they chose to perform)and having hair (which contains tons of bacteria which can cause infection opportunistically with an open wound like the incision) would/could cause potential infections. It's good they did it that way! It's how they teach us in school (I'm a vet student) and it's how it should be done each time! Old foggie vets tend to be lax on shaving the whole leg. Not that these vets aren't any good, but shaving helps eliminate problems and makes the surgery go much more smoothly.

[coach outlet]

No country , however rich , can afford the waste of its human resources .(Franklin Roosevelt , American president)