COVINGTON, La—Last week’s frigid temperatures in the deep Southern United States caught many by surprise. There were closed roads and freeways, and delayed coronavirus vaccines and grocery store shipments. Fountains froze and pipes bursted. Plants and pets were tended to. We do our best to keep our pets from harm, but sometimes accidents do happen.
Sadie, a two year old puppy was severely burned, when her previous owners placed a space heater next to her dog house to keep her warm during the inclement weather. The straw bedding caught on fire and Sadie was trapped inside.
Late last week, Sadie was surrendered to the Louisiana Humane Society, who made a call to Resurge Veterinary Surgical Specialists and Rehabilitation in Covington, Louisiana. There, she would undergo five hyperbaric treatments for her extensive burn wounds.
Dr. Dena Lodato has been closely monitoring Sadie and says, “she hasn’t held it against people for what has happened to her. The first day she came in and made herself at home. Attitude wise, she has been doing great. Any skeletal, muscle, neural, or bone tissue needs oxygen in order for them to heal. When you have an injury, it disrupts the blood to that area. With the hyperbaric treatment, we are sending oxygen to all of the tissues, which is exactly what Sadie needs to heal.”
For years, the hyperbaric chamber has been used for divers with decompression sickness and is increasingly used for an array of conditions on humans. In recent years it is been adapted for animals, including horses, dogs, cats, and pigs, among others.
“With every surgery we do, we automatically include one hyperbaric treatment. In the beginning I was skeptical but seeing the animals bounce back, I was sold after the first several dogs went in the chamber. In cases where we’ve given a 50 percent chance of recovery, now 75 percent of our cases go on to live a normal life,” says Dr. Lodato.
Sadie’s story has since been shared around on social media and she is becoming quite the celebrity. She has finished five hyperbaric treatments. Each treatment is about 30 minutes long and around 175 dollars. However, her full recovery, including surgery, will cost thousands of dollars. The Louisiana Humane Society is raising money to help Sadie, but they need help through monetary donations.
