Hello,

My name is Archer. I was a 3 year old rescue Boxer, with big floppy natural Boxer ears when this story began.  I had a nasty pinna (ear flap) injury when I was rescued. Sadly I passed away a couple years ago, but my legend lives on everyday by helping tens of thousands of other dogs recover from many different ear injuries and ailments. 

It wasn’t quite a hematoma, but instead it was necrotic, dead tissue from an old injury, acquired when I was left in a plastic crate for too long by my original family. My veterinarian thought it started due to a condition called vasculitis. I tended to shake my head uncontrollably making contact with the metal bars on the sides and top of the crate. This opened up a rather large slit on one of my ear flaps. My ear flap injury was very painful and itchy. I shook blood spatter in every room, on the walls, the furniture the carpet etc. 

My adoptive family tried gently to help heal my injured floppy dog ear. They used styptic powder, cornstarch, spray on band aids, and every home remedy imagined, after weeks of trying, they took me to see a veterinarian who cauterized my ear flap injury. The cauterizing worked for a while. It built up a nice scab and was starting to heal. So we thought.

After my neutering scar healed (apparently I got a 2'fer one deal), I was able to have the Elizabethan Cone (e-collar) removed. It was so good to itch and flap my ears again, however,  I unintentionally reopened my ear flap injury. This was very frustrating to me, back to the Veterinarian we went. I had ear surgery removing the dead tissue and stitching the healthy tissue together. My stitched incision was about an inch and one half in length. My head was gauzed, taped and put into another Elizabethan Cone.

Within twenty minutes of getting home, I was able to wriggle my neck and head enough to loosen the mummy wrap on my head, causing it to slip backwards down my neck. I had freed my damaged ear, I shook my head freely and again threw blood spatter all over the living room carpet, furniture etc. I was transported back to the vet for a re-wrapped head.

This time they doubled the wrapped my head and replaced the Elizabethan Cone. This wrap was more of a challenge to wriggle out of, but by morning being the strong handsome fella that I am, I had conquered it. The bandaging was gathered around my lower neck like an accordion at the base of the Elizabethan Cone, but my ear was free and flapping at will. Back to the vet, again!

This time they taped my ear flaps to the back of my head and in turn tethered them to my neck with lots of extra sticky tape. Again they wrapped my head. This time if I got out of the bandage, my ear flap would be safe as long as the tape held. Alas..the head wrap/taping didn’t hold up to my strength, but the taped ears did My new adoptive mom started to sew, she created a hat for my head out of Velcro, fleece and plastics. I couldn’t get out of it and was suprsiingly comfortable in it. I could eat, sleep, play AND use the dog door. My adoptive parents could remove it, scratch my head for me at will and strap it back into place. My dog ear surgery healed more quickly than the vet thought it would. He was very pleased and suggested that the wrap stayed on until I had built up a new strong tissue. I am pleased to say that I have very happy, healthy ear flaps now! 

The happy ending doesn't stop there! It so happens that my mom's creation has now helped thousands and thousands across the world and continues to do so. Hematomas, treating cuts, scrapes, tears, ear infections, the list goes on and on.