Skidded 4 metres
At 6.00 am 2 racing pickup trucks came careering around the corner and hit Black Tea head-on sending him flying through the air. As Black Tea landed on the road, he skidded on his side about 4 metres causing deep gashes in his neck and ejecting his eyeball. It was a small miracle he didn't land in front of the pickup truck which would have killed him instantly.
Black Tea was accompanying the monks on their daily alms round when it was still dark. His caring monk was almost hit by the trucks as they disappeared at top speed. This poor young dog was in great pain and crying loudly as shown in this video which is graphic (but this is the work we do). The monk carried him inside the temple and waited for us to arrive.
Rushed 100km for emergency treatment We got Black Tea to the vet as quickly as possible, taking care to avoid bumps, but all he could do was administer painkillers and antibiotic injections. Our local vet has no x-ray facilities but he knew Black Tea's jaw was dislocated and broken and his eye badly ruptured. We had to get him to our serious cases vet 100ks away so we padded his travelling cage with lots of rugs to soften the jolts of possible bumps and sharp bends.
Brain damage concerns On arrival Black Tea's deep neck gashes were sewn and stapled together before he was taken for extensive X-rays. Our worst fears were confirmed. Black Tea not only had a badly broken jaw but the jaw was also dislocated causing him severe pain.
The vet delayed operating on Black Tea's eye and mouth as he was concerned about inflammation of the brain. He'd suffered a massive trauma following the head-on impact which jettisoned him into the air before landing hard on the road. Black Tea was given medication to alleviate possible pressure for several days before operating.
Two major operations
Since his admission 2 weeks ago Black Tea has had two operations. The first was to wire up his broken jaw and extract his damaged useless eye. A few days later, Black Tea had a major operation to pin his dislocated jaw back in place.
Difficult patient Black Tea wasn't a good patient. He tried to pull at his cage's wiring and door to get out so the vet had to fix a piece of plastic to stop him. He's on a soft food diet until his jaw has completely healed.
Now back at our Healing Centre, Black Tea will be getting the best treatment possible with continued medication and a special diet. His open neck wound has been sewn and stapled up again and we've bandaged it to stop infection. To add to his injuries Black Tea tested positive for blood parasites before he was discharged. He'll be on Doxy and liver and blood tonics in addition to his other medications.
Lucky to be alive In the last three weeks black tea has suffered major trauma, incredible pain, and had two operations, His recuperation is going to take some considerable time. Our major concern is Black Tea's breathing which isn't good. He may have tracheitis (inflammation of the trachea) caused by infection from his jaw going into his trachea. We are currently on high alert with him.
If we hadn't been there for Black Tea the poor boy would have died from serious infection and starvation as he wouldn't be able to eat. The monks couldn't help him. Every donation makes a big difference. Black Tea needs your help too. We are asking for your generosity again with poor B
lack Tea's operation and in-stay costs. His hospital bill will be over $400.00 with ongoing medical treatment needed too.
As you know all our rescues are serious incurring considerable costs. We are always so grateful to those of you who generously make donations to help us meet these costs.
