Bonnie left with broken leg and bruised ribs
An adorable French bulldog puppy suffered a broken leg when she was knocked down by a hit-and-run cyclist.
Four-month-old Bonnie was enjoying her last walk of the day when a teenager on a mountain bike came careering across a communal lawn.
He rode straight over Bonnie, who was on her lead, then cycled on without even a glance backwards – leaving her yelping in pain and unable to walk.
She suffered a broken right hind leg and bruised lungs in the distressing accident near owner Angelika Grzybowska’s home in Frimley, Surrey.
Angelika and her partner Walter rushed Bonnie to the Vets Now pet emergency clinic in nearby Farnham, where x-rays showed a badly fractured tibia.
Poor Bonnie was so badly bruised in the lung area that she couldn’t breathe properly and had to spend two days on oxygen in an incubator.
It was only after two more days of being cared for by the Vets Now team, and our daytime colleagues at Cathcart and Winn veterinary clinic, that she was finally allowed home – with a cast on her leg and extremely unsteady on her feet.
Administrator Angelika, 23, said: “Bonnie is such a beautiful little dog – what happened to her was awful. You just don’t ever expect that kind of thing to happen. It was so needless. The boy on the bike didn’t even stop.
“Bonnie was on her lead on the grass outside the flats around the corner from our house when it happened. It was Walter who was out walking Bonnie and while he wanted to chase after the boy, he had to look after Bonnie who was yelping in pain.
“Walter scooped her up and carried her back to our house. We phoned Vets Now and then took her in. The staff were lovely and very kind to Bonnie but it’s taken her a long time to get over what happened.
“The first night she came home I slept with her on the sofa and she kept waking up and trying to run off.
“I think she was still a bit traumatised. With the bruising to her lungs and ribs, she’s been snoring quite badly – and she cries if she’s left alone for even five minutes.
“But at least the leg has healed well. We had the leg x-rayed again and the bone has grown back really well. But she’s still needing to go for laser and hydrotherapy to help strengthen the leg.”
Senior vet Carlo Benetollo was in charge of Bonnie’s treatment.
He said: “Bonnie was badly hurt and at one point there was a possibility that we would have to consider amputating her leg. She was also suffering from respiratory distress, which can be life-threatening.
“In the early stages, we gave her oxygen therapy, fluids and painkillers before working on her fractured tibia. Thankfully, she’s a brave little dog and pulled through very well given what she’d been through.
“We’re so pleased to hear she’s doing okay now and hopefully the snoring will lessen as she gets her strength back.”
The pet emergency clinic in Farnham – where Bonnie received treatment – is one of a nationwide network of Vets Now clinics and hospitals that are open through the night, seven-days-a-week, and day and night on weekends and bank holidays, to treat any pet emergencies that may occur.
All of Vets Now’s out-of-hours clinics and 24/7 hospitals have a vet and vet nurse on site at all times.
