The South-West Coast Path truly is one of the wonders of Britain – 630 miles long and open for all to enjoy – if they can handle the many ups and downs! Many of our clients use the coast path to exercise their dogs and a lot of visitors to South Devon like to explore the local stretches. While most dog owners know to stay well back from the cliff edge and safely enjoy the view, it can be hard to explain that to an excited dog. Thankfully it doesn’t happen often, but from time-to-time we get a call from a distraught owner saying their dog has fallen over the edge. Remarkably even with big falls dogs often escape without life-threatening injuries, but the same cannot always be said for bruises, broken bones or dislocations.

‘Kestrel’ was clearly trying to live up to her name when she took a high-speed plunge off a 50-foot section of the cliff near Thurlestone one Sunday afternoon in May. Luck was with her that day though because she avoided any of the aforementioned life-threatening injuries and with the swift intervention of the Coastguard was rescued and brought to see Ben at our Kingsbridge branch. A thorough check over and some x-rays of her chest and abdomen later; it was clear she had escaped with ‘only’ a dislocated hip and a nasty gash to her face. She was given strong painkillers and closely monitored for any breathing problems as chest injuries such as collapsed lungs are common with falls from a height. Ben cleaned and stitched up her cheek and arranged an internal referral to our orthopaedic team at Ivybridge.

I had the pleasure of meeting Kes when she was brought over and discussed a range of surgical options for the dislocated hip with her owners. I recommended that the best chance of giving her a full return to exercise would be a ‘toggle’ procedure. This involves using a strong nylon loop drilled through the top of the femur (thigh bone) and into the hip socket, secured with metal toggles and tied tightly to hold the hip joint together while it heals. Once the soft tissues around the joint (that tear when it dislocates) repair themselves, the joint is usually as strong as it was before the injury, and most return to full function. Kes’ owners looked after her brilliantly during her recovery – keeping a 5 year old border collie quiet and rested is no easy task – and she made a full recovery. They live ‘up country’ but are regular visitors to the area and a couple of weeks ago popped into Kingsbridge with Kes to update us on her fantastic progress. It was lovely to see she has made a full recovery and we hope she learns to slow down a little when on the coast path in the future!