A young dog hit by a car and left for dead has been ‘rebuilt’ by a team of 40 vets, nurses and students in the Queen’s Veterinary School Hospital in Cambridge.

Ruby, a three year-old Lurcher, spent five weeks in Cambridge after the accident, which happened near Cambourne on 26 January. She was transferred to Cambridge from the Cromwell Veterinary Group Hospital in Huntingdon because her injuries were so severe.

The accident left Ruby with two broken legs, a broken sternum, a broken toe, a dislocated knee, ruptured ligaments, several skin wounds and internal bleeding into her lungs.

Experts at the Veterinary School who operated on Ruby succeeded in repairing the fractures with four metal plates and screws. They also used a skin graft to cover a wound and replaced the ruptured ligaments of the dislocated knee.

Ruby is returning to Cambridge today for what will hopefully be her final check up, and Dr Heidi Radke, orthopaedic surgeon and one of the team of 40 professionals at the Veterinary School involved in Ruby’s treatment and recovery, is looking forward to seeing her again.

According to Dr Radke: “Ruby is a fantastically cheerful dog. When she first came in she was unable to stand and could barely lift her head, but as soon as she felt a bit better she would try to wag her tail. Every time she visits us now she gets hugely excited and greets every person she got to know during her stay in the hospital.”

Despite her awful injuries, Dr Radke is confident that Ruby will eventually make a nearly full recovery.

“Ruby’s walking well on both forelegs and the skin graft looks great. Her left knee, which was very unstable, will probably always be weaker than her right but I hope she’ll be back to normal exercise in three months’ time,” she says.

“The Veterinary School has a super group of very dedicated team players and is excellently equipped. This kind of team work, together with first-rate nursing care, makes all the difference in such a complex case, and Ruby’s recovery is the best possible compliment we can receive for our work.”

The photograph shows Ruby the Lurcher with staff of the Queen’s Veterinary School Hospital in Cambridge. Copyright University of Cambridge.

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