Clean Run - August 2013 - 26

was eventually airlifted to a
major trauma center where
she spent the next three
months in an intensive care
unit for burn victims. Huge
chunks of dead tissue were
carved out of her thighs
and calves. The burn-type
wounds then required skin
grafting. They harvested
the skin from her back.
Surgeons also amputated all
her toes, along with a good
portion of both feet, and of
course they cut off three
ﬁngers of her right hand,
including her thumb.
My sister survived, returned
to work, and once again
drives a car and lives independently. She is considered
by her surgeons to be a miracle of modern medicine.
Many sepsis victims aren’t
as lucky.
Each year in the United
States, about 200,000 people
die of sepsis. They’re not all
victims of animal bites, of
course, but they all developed
infections that their bodies
were unable to handle for one
reason or another. Sometimes
called “blood poisoning,”
sepsis is a toxic response to
infection or injury. Sepsis
makes the body assault itself,
causing injury and failure to
internal organs and wreaking
havoc with life-regulating
systems. Blood pressure
fails, the body can no longer
cleanse its own blood, oxygen is depleted, circulation is
impinged, and death is almost
certain without elaborate
emergency aid. Six out of
ten victims of severe sepsis
die from the disease. If they
do survive, it’s often with
life-changing consequences,
like my sister’s amputations
and scarring.

The best way to beat sepsis
is to prevent it by taking
immediate action after
any skin-breaking injury

The cause of her sepsis was
capnocytophaga canimorsus, a common bacterium
found in dog and cat saliva.
It doesn’t mix well with the
human bloodstream. The
ensuing infection is most
deadly in people without
spleens, although my sister
had a spleen that functioned
quite normally. Even a
small wound—basically any
break in the skin—can permit entrance of the bacteria
into the bloodstream.
According to the Sepsis
Alliance, a nonproﬁt organization formed to heighten
public awareness of sepsis,
the “trivial” wounds are often the worst, since victims
rarely seek professional
treatment for them. With
this in mind, dog handlers
need to become much more
vigilant about protecting
themselves and their human
associates from this lifethreatening condition. The
best way to beat sepsis is to
prevent it by taking immediate action after any skinbreaking injury:
1. Wash the affected area at
once, using plenty of soap
and hot water. Flush the
wound for several minutes.
2. Apply an antiseptic ointment to the wound and cover with a clean bandage.
3. Seek immediate medical
treatment. If it happens on

a weekday, you can probably visit your own doctor.
If it happens at night, or if
you don’t have a medical
provider, go to a walk-in
medical center. If none is
available, go to a hospital
emergency room. Be sure
to request—no, demand—
antibiotics, explaining that
you are aware of the risk of
sepsis. You may ﬁnd some
doctors resistant to prescribing antibiotics for a minor
wound. Be persistent. This
is the time to stand up for
yourself because you are an
informed patient.
If you choose not to get immediate medical attention,
watch for signs of possible
infection to develop over
the next few days. Between
15% and 20% of all animal
bites do become infected.
The warning signs: redness, swelling, foul smell or
discharge at the wound site,
streaking and discoloration
of the affected limb, fever,
nausea, disorientation,
weakness, or severe pain.
If you’re experiencing any
of these things following a
dog bite, seek emergency
treatment. Your life could
depend on it.
My sister’s ordeal garnered
a lot of media attention, especially in our region of the
country. The fact that I was
a well-established dog trainer in the same town made

the story just that much
more hard-hitting. People
listened. Numerous folks
have told me how they’d
recalled her story when
their cat or dog nipped
them, and how they’d gone
directly to the doctor for
treatment because of what
her experience had taught
them. Several times that
following year, I’d abruptly
end a group dog-training
session and run off to the local medi-center because I’d
just been nipped, scraped,
or scratched by a dog. Sure,
the chances of going septic
from a half-inch dog bite
are probably astronomical.
But if it happened to my
own sister, it can happen
to anyone.
In the heat of a ringside dog
ﬁght and the emotional catharsis that follows it, we’re
often hesitant to take care of
ourselves for fear of appearing self-absorbed, melodramatic, or just plain wimpy.
Our ﬁrst thoughts are to
care for our injured dogs
and not make a big scene
that could disrupt everyone
else’s day of agility fun.
This is when we have to
remember what the airline
ﬂight attendants preach to
us about those descending
oxygen masks: “If you’re
an adult traveling with a
child, secure your own
mask ﬁrst.” If your hand is
bleeding because you got
injured trying to break up a
dog ﬁght, wash and bandage
your own wound before
departing for the vet clinic.
It’s hard to run a dog across
an agility course if your toes
have been amputated. D

Jan Manning is a retired dog trainer who lives in northwestern Montana with her agility support spouse, three horses, and two dogs that compete in obedience and agility.
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Clean Run | August 13

Clean Run - August 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - August 2013