Compassion and kindness

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To the Editor:

We thank Barbara Prada, the animal control officer for Edgartown and the entire staff at Vineyard Veterinary Clinic for their compassion and kindness towards my family and our dog Cloverdale.

Our dog Cloverdale was run over by a delivery truck on October 17, 2013. My husband was present at the time and immediately called for emergency help. Our dog had crawled under the truck, blood pouring out and shaking in fear and pain. The ACO arrived a.s.a.p. and together they were able to get Cloverdale out from under the truck and immediately over to Vineyard Veterinary Clinic.

When they arrived (which was after working hours), Dr. Williams was there with his staff, ready to get to work. Cloverdale’s immediate prognosis was not good. His left front leg was broken, skin and fur removed from the leg and blood was pouring out of his artery. His right front leg was covered in cuts and scrapes and missing fur from being dragged by the truck. We didn’t know if there were internal injuries, and we didn’t know if he would make it through the exam.

Our family waited anxiously and nervously for Dr. Williams to finish the exam. He said the next 72 hours were crucial: Cloverdale was in severe pain and we may have to amputate the left leg and the right leg may not be able to carry his weight. The thought of putting him down was not an option for our family. We were going to fight with him to get better.

We came by every day to visit Cloverdale before they closed the clinic. He had an IV for fluids and medication and just looked awful. The staff welcomed us, never rushing us to leave because they were closing the office. That weekend was the longest weekend of our lives.

On Saturday, Cloverdale had spiked a fever. His legs kept draining through bandages, and he had no energy.

On Sunday, Dr. Williams called us to come down because the fever had gone higher, and Dr. Williams was afraid that there was an infection in his legs. He called in his staff for emergency surgery to open up the legs and find the problem. We waited in fear for bad news. We didn’t know if he would survive under the anesthesia. It seemed like hours passed before we heard from them. The surgery went well, but it was up to Cloverdale to fight the rest of the way.

On Monday, a miracle happened. Cloverdale had pulled out his IV’s and his catheter. His fever had dropped down a few degrees, and he was periodically putting some weight on his front legs.

The staff called us to tell us the great news. We went down to see him and praised him for doing such a great job. The staff was encouraged. Dr. Williams and Dr. Dunnigan were happy for his change, but said that he had a long road ahead of him.

If it weren’t for these key people, we would not have Cloverdale home today. The compassion and love that they have shown our family is unbelievable. It makes us believers that human kindness is still around and present in any situation.

Kyra Jenkins and Rico Holley

Edgartown