Home > Out of the Cage! > November 2004 > Picasso Fund in Action: Hardwick Makes Headway

Picasso Fund in Action

Hardwick Makes Headway

by Patricia Anderson, New Hope Coordinator, Animal Care & Control, Manhattan Shelter

We see so many hundreds of animals in the shelter. One middle-aged, overweight stray dog may not seem like the most likely dog on which to expend already scant resources. But that night when an AC&C Field Services Officer brought Hardwick into the Manhattan Animal Care & Control Center — his head split open from between his ears to above his eyes — I knew we had to save him.

Hardwick had been hanging around a Bronx auto shop for months, the employees feeding him and letting him relax around the shop. But when the five-year-old Lab mix showed up one day with a horrific head wound, most likely caused by a losing encounter with a car, they called AC&C Field Services.

At 75 pounds, Hardwick is a big, strong dog. And, while not an aggressive dog, life on the street had made him fearful both of strangers and of being handled. Even with the skilled efforts of the rescue driver and help from an auto shop worker, securing Hardwick in the rescue van was fairly traumatic for him. His wound began to bleed profusely.

When Hardwick arrived at the shelter, the appalled knot of people who gathered around him assumed that he would be humanely euthanized. His sinus cavity had been fractured, his nose broken, and his left eye was ulcerated. But the mere fact that he was still standing — still walking around and wagging his tail — told us that, even though he looked a fright, this was something he could survive. The shelter vet stabilized him, and the next day I called the Mayor's Alliance.

The Alliance agreed that this courageous dog, who had endured such hardship, indeed deserved a chance. They named him Hardwick, and immediately contacted Fifth Avenue Veterinary Associates in Manhattan, who agreed to examine the injured stray. Dr. Annie Harvilicz took Hardwick as her patient, and Dr. Philip Pacchiana performed emergency surgery on him that night. The Picasso Fund would pay for Hardwick's medical expenses.

I received a call early the next morning letting me know that the surgery had been successful. In a nifty bit of nipping and tucking, the surgeon had stretched skin from Hardwick's neck to close the hole over his skull. From the amount of filth and dead tissue around the wound, it was obvious that Hardwick had been walking around with his skull exposed for three or four days before the auto shop guys saw him. Because of the amount of dead tissue that had to be cleaned away, the hole was still a little too large to close, leaving a dime-sized gap where his skull showed through. A clever series of suture loops left sewn into his head allowed for a square gauze bandage to be tied over the open wound.

As his new foster parent, I brought Hardwick home a week after his surgery, with some trepidation and a bagful of pills. Hardwick was a very scared dog. Any sudden movements gave his whole body a shock; touching him or lifting him onto an exam table or into the car made him cry out — not in pain, but in fear. But I could see Hardwick's good nature beginning to shine through pretty quickly in the relative calm of my apartment. And thanks to the gentle and compassionate care provided by Dr. Lori Bierbrier and the technicians at Hope Veterinary Clinic in my Brooklyn neighborhood, where Hardwick goes for his daily wound cleaning and bandage change, this incredibly patient and stoic dog began to relax. We all learned a great deal from Hardwick — including how to tie a bandage on a dog's head so he can't shake it off five minutes later!

These days, three weeks after his accident, Hardwick is a happy dog. Or at least as happy as a dog can be with an e-collar on and a very itchy healing hole in his head. He gets along well with my resident dogs, and is friendly, although a bit tentative still with people he doesn't know. He follows me around everywhere, butting his cone head into me and loving every back scratch and neck rub. He's (re)discovered stuffed toys and the goodies in the trash can. He sleeps at my feet, only because I won't let him sleep on my head.

Hardwick's surgeon says it could take up to a month for the skin over his skull to close up. Which means another month of cone-head, frequent bandage changes, and antibiotics. But his stitches came out last week, the healing tissue is nice and pink, and his eye is healing well, too. And he's dropping about a pound a week on the way to losing that roly-poly look.

I think he's a great dog and has justified the faith we all had in him and our determination to see that he would survive. Thanks to Animal Care & Control, Fifth Avenue Veterinary Associates, Hope Veterinary Clinic, and especially the Mayor's Alliance and the Picasso Fund, Hardwick is a lucky dog indeed.

While Hardwick still needs some time in foster care, he already is looking forward to the day when he can move into his permanent home. If you are interested in adopting Hardwick, please contact us at info@AnimalAllianceNYC.org.

The Picasso Fund provides grants to cover extraordinary veterinary costs for special animals taken in by AC&C. To learn more about the Fund and how you can support this vital resource, please visit the Mayor's Alliance Web site.

Remember Jackson?…

The brindle puppy featured in the Picasso Fund article in last month's Out of the Cage!? We're delighted to report that Jackson (now dubbed Jax) has completely recovered from the surgery that saved his leg, and has settled into his new home with Nancy and Max, his adoptive family. Apparently 12-year-old Max is pleased to share his home with the spirited puppy — the two have become inseparable!