Paramedics pause to help an injured dog
Netcare 911 paramedics go beyond the call of duty for an unusual patient.
Paramedics on Tuesday morning (15 September) went beyond the call of duty to help an injured dog on Main Reef Road.
The dog was run over at around 6.20am and left on the side of the road in a critical condition, Netcare 911 spokesperson Chris Botha told the Record.
“Distressed bystanders ran to the animal’s aid and flagged down an ambulance with a paramedic on his way to an emergency.
Paramedic Chandré Pretorius, trained in advanced life support, tried to explain he was in a rush. He called for another vehicle to tend to the emergency call and instead stuck around to assist the injured animal.
“With his crew they managed to stop the dog’s bleeding.
“They transported the critically injured dog to the Roodekruin Animal Clinic for specialised treatment,” Botha said.
After the dog was examined by veterinarians Casper van Heerden and Johan Naudé and x-rays were taken, Van Heerden explained to the paramedics the dog’s injuries were too severe.
“We found the female dog, around four years old, had sustained trauma injuries to her mammary glands,” Van Heerden told the Record.
“She was in a terrible state and we stabilised her and put her on a drip.
“We also diagnosed her with Babesia infection, transmitted by ticks.
“After we took x-rays, we realised that she wasn’t feeling pain in her lower back and back legs which could indicate that she fractured her spine.
“In such cases a full recovery is very rare, so we took the difficult decision to euthanise her, sad as it was,” he said.
He suspects the infection had weakened the dog to the point where she couldn’t get out of harm’s way in time.
Van Heerden said Pretorius and Winnie Mokalaboni, who assisted him, deserve praise for their rescue attempt.
“They really did more for the dog than would reasonably have been expected of people in their profession.”
According to Botha Pretorius was touched by the whole experience, having to fight back the tears when he retold the story. He was distressed but took the decision to get back to his life-saving duties.
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