Staff at Bath Cats and Dogs Home were horrified when a stray lurcher arrived in severe pain and distress.  He was covered with numerous untreated wounds that had become infected, with large open wounds on his hindquarters, body and face. He was severely underweight and clearly suffering, he would have been in this state for days but luckily he had been found by a kind member of the public.

The Bath Vets team at the Home got to work on him straight away but he was in a fragile state. The team initially cleaned up his wounds and administered him some much needed antibiotics and pain control to start to fight the infection and make him comfortable. He wasn’t strong enough to cope with anything else yet. He was named Bernard.

It is impossible to say exactly what happened to Bernard and how these injuries were caused but they are most likely dog or animal bites inflicted during a sustained attack on him.

The vet team continue to work hard to heal Bernard’s wounds and physically get him well. They do this in short sessions in the vet suite so as not to stress him and so far have spent over 15 hours working on his wounds.

Bernard’s injuries are not just physical, he has clearly suffered huge trauma and this has had an effect on him mentally as well. Bernard is what the Home calls “shut down” when a dog experiences something so traumatic that they completely shut off to their external environment. 

We hope that day by day, Bernard can begin to overcome his ordeal.

This quiet boy has a strong determination to survive. Can you help Bernard on his road to recovery by making a donation today? Your donation will also help us to find him a new loving home. 

We'll keep everyone updated on Bernard's progress on our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/BathCDH/ so you can see how this brave boy is getting on. 

(Any donations raised over our target amount for Bernard are hugely appreciated and will help us to rescue others like him)