[Vinniedoggy]

First, this post is about my parents' dog, a 15 year-old toy/miniature poodle, Karmen (she's about 19 lbs). I'm just looking for some advice from anyone who has been through a similar experience with a large wound on a dog.

About a week ago, I went over to my parents' house to check on their dogs. To make a very long story short, one of the larger dogs attacked Karmen. She had several shallow bite marks around her neck and a larger bite mark on her rump. I rushed her to the hospital and they immediately administered antibiotics and other treatments. She stayed in the hospital overnight and the vets were cautious, but optimistic, that she would be fine. The biggest concern was the larger bite mark on her rump.

About two days later, an abscess developed on her rump/hip and the vet had to make a small incision to drain the pus and fluid. Unfortunately, more tissue in this area started to die and the wound grew. At this point, the wound is about 4 inches in diameter. During this time, she was at the vet's office daily, and they were really trying everything to keep the wound from getting worse.

Karmen is currently being treated daily at the vet with treatments that include laser treatment (which helps the tissue regenerate) and cleansing with sugar and honey (both of which have antibiotic properties). The vet is minimally optimistic that this will work, but it's the only thing that might work. Surgery is not an option because of her age and a mild heart condition. Also, our vet agrees that the surgery (which would basically involve a skin graft from a healthy location) could mean that we just trade one problem for another (i.e., the graft not taking, the wound from the graft site not healing, etc).

Our family is really struggling with what to do. We are so fortunate to have wonderful vets (we've been going to the same practice for about 14 years) who are really trying to do what they can. Our vet did tell my mom that euthanasia was a viable option given the situation. Karmen was our family's first dog and the emotional bond we have with her is very strong. My stepdad is particularly devastated, because Karmen has always been "his dog." He wants to try everything possible. My mom loves Karmen, but feels that she is already very old and probably at the end of her life anyway. My mom does not want to prolong Karmen's life if it means pain and agony that Karmen cannot understand. At this point, Karmen is at the vet's office each day, and I am sure she doesn't like that too much.

And of course this being the holidays doesn't make things any easier.....

The somewhat ironic part is that despite missing a significant amount of skin on her rump (the wound looks nasty, although it has finally stopped oozing), she seems absolutely fine. She's eating like a champ, able to get around, and is her usually self. The vet has bandaged her rump for now.

I know wounds of this nature can take a long time to heal. What we're scared of is that more tissue will continue to die, which will make it highly likely that Karmen will die from sepsis. We don't want her last days to be filled with pain, but we are also hopeful that the treatments will work.

Has anyone out there been through this? Any advice or words of wisdom?