stray dog that has been in a fight

Question
My wife and I discovered a stray dog at our home this morning, and it appears to have been in a fight and has puncture wounds to both back legs. He is able to walk but does limp and put minimal pressure on his right back leg. That leg also is swollen around the lower joint about 3-4 inches up and down away from that joint. It is about 1/2 inch swollen larger than the rest of the leg. We are not able to afford to take him to the vet at this time, but also do not want to take him to the pound to be killed. Is there any human antibiotics that could be given along with some type of wound care we could do to prevent infection? I work in a hospital and could get a prescription from a physician if needed. He is able to move the leg, so we are hoping it is not broken. He is a large dog, appears to be German shepherd weighs aprox. 70-80 lbs. and appears to be young perhaps a year of so old, and well nourished. We have tried putting neosporin on but he will lick it off. Any help would be greatly appreciated as we hope he will recover and we will be able to find his owner. He has 2 sets of bite wounds on that leg and one set on the other, but does not seem as affected by the right leg. It has no swelling and he uses it mainly to walk and for support.

                                       thanks, Alton


Answer
Hi Alton,

Not being a physician, I can't advise on prescription medication. You could try contacting a local vet (or two), many will offer free or reduced cost treatment for charity cases, such as stray animals.

There are "no-kill" animal shelters, which might be an option. Here are a couple of lists, hopefully there's one near you:

http://www.saveourstrays.com/no-kill.htm

http://fluffynet.com/no-kill-shelters/

You should also do a google search for "no-kill shelters" that include your city or state name. There are many private shelters all over the country.

If you're not planning on adopting this dog, what is your objective? To treat him and then allow him to live on the streets? If you can't find a no-kill shelter, your next step should be to find a dog "rescue" group. Again, turn to the Internet and search by your location. Ask local vets or animal shelters if they know of rescue groups in your area.

Best of luck,

Patti