Jennifer Lawrence, [01 Oct 2023 at 12:55:09]: Hi all. We’ve recently sadly lost a couple of wild dogs to snares strangulation around the neck. One of the dogs was found barely conscious and was cut loose by rangers. He revived sufficiently to run off. It died the next morning before we could get to him. PM showed severe pulmonary atelectasis and contusions secondary to strangulation. My questions are: Given the state of his lungs, would any intervention have helped? Or is that prognosis already very guarded? If we could treat, what would the best options be? I foresee more of these cases given the high risk of snaring and would like to know how best to manage these cases. Jennifer Lawrence, [03 Oct 2023 at 14:45:23]: These are photos at post mortem examination of the snared dog. Would love some wisdom on this please. 😄 Chris Perkins, [03 Oct 2023 at 10:34:53]: Did you use any sedatives? Also, are there any photos of the snare on the animal? I wonder if you could have dislodged a clot once the snare was released that caused pulmonary thrombosis? Neil Parsons, [03 Oct 2023 at 11:15:47]: With the snare constricting the trachea you probably have increased inspiratory and expiratory effort, with possibly alveoli rupture and pneumothorax as a result, perhaps some pulmonary haemorrhage too. A perforation of the trachea and dissection of air through the mediastinum causing a pneumomediastinum and some degree of lung collapse may also be a possibility. Jennifer Lawrence, [03 Oct 2023 at 14:45:23]: That could be a possibility. No sedatives were used. The snare was one of those awful cable ones. Erik Verrynne, [03 Oct 2023 at 16:07:52]: Hi Jenny. Are these individuals part of a free ranging pack? In this case you had a severely compromised animal that was hypoxic at various levels and required intensive treatment. I think it was the adrenalin surge that boosted him after release and he simply could not keep up with the pack activities. Sedation, fluid/oxygen and shock treatment in my opinion may have improved the chances, but the sedation risk was very high. Jennifer Lawrence, [03 Oct 2023 at 16:18:58]: They were part of a free ranging pack. I think shock therapy as you rightly say is probably our only hope. Jennifer Lawrence, Thanks Neil. Do you think these cases are salvageable? Are there ways we can treat them or is prognosis pretty hopeless? And how do we assess?
