My dog was hit by a car and has brain trauma. Will he be okay?

The only method of ruling out traumatic brain injury with 100% certainty is with advanced imaging modalities like CT and MRI. If your dog is not experiencing any neurologic deficits, is reacting light and is visually sound, and has normal mental acuity, it is unlikely there is any brain damage. Regardless of what you may notice at home, getting struck by a vehicle is definitely something that I would take Otis to the vet to get looked over. Even though you aren't seeing anything obvious, they can make sure there isn't any free fluid in the abdomen or air in the thoracic cavity.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Murphy! You are doing all you can by having him at the Vet right now. When it comes to trauma some things don't show up for 12-24 hours, most specifically internal bleeding and bladder trauma. When I worked emergency I cared about 4 things: the lungs (was there a diaphragmatic hernia, pneumothorax, lung bruising, rib fracture, flail chest), the cardiovascular system (blood pressure, shock, internal bleeding), the neurologic system (head trauma, mentally appropriate, pupils, spinal trauma, can the dog walk on all legs) and the urinary system (can the dog pee, is the bladder ruptured). The last thing I cared about was wounds or broken bones. If Murphy is stable after 24-48 hours with the above 4 body systems he will recover just fine. After they know he is stable they can address wounds and broken bones as they are not life threatening, just expensive potentially to fix. You are going to have to be patient and wait to see how things go overnight. I wish you and Murphy the best!

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. When animals are sleepy after a hit on the head, which is the my biggest concern for what you are describing, it could be that they have a condition called 'cerebral edema'. Your vet will check for this by assessing your puppies mentation, pupil size and shape and responsiveness, blood pressure, heart rate, and the rest of his physical exam. This, if present, is very serious and sometimes can be fixed and sometimes cannot be fixed. Your vet, if they feel that cerebral edema is present, will give a drug called Mannitol, or will give a drug called 'Hypertonic Saline', to try to decrease this pressure. I am glad you brought Bentley to the vet, that is the best place for him. If you are concerned about Bentley then I recommend you call the clinic and get an update on Bentley, as we cannot know his prognosis without knowing exactly what is happening. Best of luck with Bentley, I hope he feels better soon!

Hello, and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Poor Joey! It would be helpful to know more about what sort of trauma Joey experienced and what you’re observing with him now. Joey could have a minor concussion or headache that could resolve simply with rest and time. However, more severe head trauma can cause bleeding or swelling in the brain, which can be life threatening and must be promptly treated by a veterinarian to minimize damage. For this reason I strongly urge you to bring Joey in to the vet immediately, particularly if he is acting painful, confused, squinting or shutting his eyes, stumbling, or showing any other alarming symptoms. I hope this helps and I hope he’s alright!

He will probably be OK, however I would closely observe him for the next 24 hrs for signs of unusual behaviors, lethargy, or vomiting. If any of this occurs, Jax needs to be taken to a veterinarian or emergency room right away to assess him for more serious complications.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Rudy is adorable (I have 2 Golden’s so I’m partial)! Falling off the bed is typically not severe enough to cause brain injury/trauma. If he’s acting normal I wouldn’t be worried. The most I would be worried about is a broken bone but it sounds like that didn’t happen. I think Rudy will be fine. Give him lots of kisses for me!!

Poor kitty! Unfortunately, a lot of the time when it comes to neurologic trauma time and small signs of improvement are what you are looking for. X-ray only tells us if there are fractures in the skull and are very difficult to see the full scope of the trauma as so many structures are superimposed on top of each other. The best diagnostic to give you an idea about extent of trauma and prognosis would be an MRI. It sounds like the kitten is making some progress, but only time will really tell us how much progress he will make. He may never be completely healed and functional, so you will also have to decide how dedicated you can/willing to be for a potentially special needs kitten. Hopefully this provided some help and guidance. Best of luck to you and the kitty!