Dakota's Story

Thanks to the wonderful care at the University of Minnesota, Dakota is now a happy 9 month old Labrador Retriever. 

On Saturday August 20th, our puppy, Dakota was hit by a car.  She was rushed quickly to the emergency vet, where her injuries were assessed. She was stabilized so we could transport her to the U of M Veterinary Hospital for emergency care.  Dakota had very serious injuries including bruised lungs, internal bleeding and a broken pelvis.  Dakota needed to be placed on a ventilator and her significant injuries required her to be in the ICU for many days needing a great deal of medical attention.

Fortunately Dakota is a strong willed puppy and quite the fighter, each day improving, her injuries healing.  After 3 days she was able to start breathing on her own and on Thursday was deemed stable where the orthopedic surgeons could work to repair her broken hip/pelvis.  She spent on more night in the hospital to be monitored and on Saturday August 27th, just a week after her accident we were able to bring her home to continue her recovery. 

We used a towel sling to help support her hind legs as she started walking again and put rugs all over our hard wood floor and tile so it was not so slippery. Every day she got stronger and before long she was able to walk on her own.  At the recommendation of the doctors we started taking Dakota to a rehab facility to help build up her muscle with exercises and walking on an underwater treadmill. We have been back to the University for x-rays and check-ups to confirm that amazingly her bones were continuing to heal on their own.  

Our latest visit on December 6^th was a happy reunion.  It is so fun to see how happy all the doctors and technicians are to see her. Everyone has been wonderful to work with.  Dakota is truly a miracle puppy and thanks to everyone at the University we are happy to have her in our family. 

We wish everyone a happy holiday season!

Brian and Diana