Meg mending well after ordeal
FOUR months have passed since Dunedin’s miracle dog Meg was found after disappearing from a car crash.
Her recovery is being described as ‘‘close to spectacular’’.
The 6yearold Labrador-huntaway cross fled the scene of the crash near Purakaunui in late January, after being taken by a friend to the beach for a walk while her owners, Andy and Alison Cunningham, were away in Wairarapa.
They returned early from their trip to look for Meg, but despite a large response on social media and an intensive search of the crash site and beyond, the Cunninghams came up emptyhanded.
However, Meg was found alive five weeks later in a nearby gully on farmer Raewyn Waller’s property, much to the delight of her owners and searchers.
She emerged from the ordeal with two badly damaged legs and was severely dehydrated, but her health has since improved enormously.
Mr Cunningham said Meg had been expected to undergo three orthopaedic surgeries to fix her legs, but the treatment she received during her healing process at the Wildlife Hospital was enough to fuse a broken bone in her leg within five weeks.
‘‘Her recovery has been probably as close to spectacular as you can imagine,’’ Mr Cunningham said.
‘‘I’ve got to say the doctors and the vet nurses at the Wildlife Hospital were absolutely phenomenal.
‘‘We never had any surgery, not one operation.’’
While her legs remain seriously damaged, Meg managed to avoid the amputation of her limbs, a procedure of which Mr Cunningham said she may not have survived.
‘‘She’s got a permanently dislocated wrist, she’s got a permanently broken toe, she’s got serious damage in her limbs,’’ he said.
‘‘If she had to have her leg amputated, I would have thought she’d have to be put down because she’s got such a deep chest, she wouldn’t be able to balance properly on her front.
‘‘We’d have tried it, but I think it would have been terminal, so we’re ever so lucky.’’
Fortunately for Mr Cunningham, while Meg’s permanently broken toe bone ‘‘might have to go’’, her health prospects were otherwise looking positive.
She was receiving laser therapy treatment, which helped seal an infected wound, while also undergoing aqua therapy at a facility in Warrington.
‘‘She went to do aqua jogging for the first time on an aqua treadmill,’’ Mr Cunningham said.
‘‘Funnily enough, she took to it like a dog to water.’’
Meg was now taking supplements to help her on her way to full recovery.
Mr Cunningham said Meg had continued to receive plenty of support from the public. She had received invitations to visit schools and partake in campaigns, and there was even talk about a book being written about her journey.
‘‘I thought this would be a 15minute wonder but actually, when you read the way people are looking at this, they are invested in it,’’ he said.
‘‘They’re invested in it because it’s a story of dedication, devotion and love.’’
The Wildlife Hospital had raised just under $4400 to help cover the cost of Meg’s treatment, which the he and his wife had matched dollarfordollar, taking the amount to nearly $9000.