NO EXPENSE WAS SPARED TO TREAT HEROIC IDF EXPLOSIVES DTECTOR DOG BADLY WOUNDED BY HAMAS GRENADE

EXLUSIVE: Back on her feet after being blown up by a Hamas hand grenade: Brave IDF Alsatian war dog Mikey undergoes oxygen therapy after attack weeks from retirement left shrapnel in her brain

 

By Andy Jehring 

Daily Mail

Dec 21, 2023

 

Mikey was weeks away from retirement when a terrorist attacked her in Gaza and she suffered catastrophic injuries to her face, body and legs

 

An Israeli special forces Alsatian blown up by a Hamas grenade is back on its feet after becoming the first dog in the world to undergo oxygen therapy.

Mikey was weeks away from retirement when a terrorist attacked her in Gaza and she suffered catastrophic injuries to her face, body and legs.

The explosives specialist in the elite Oketz canine unit was evacuated to Israel on November 12 and vets battled to save her for two weeks.

But despite operating to remove shrapnel in her eyes, ears, leg, abdomen and head the outlook was bleak.

Remnants of explosives in her brain meant the nine-year-old may never walk again - and vets feared for her life.

With no options left, Mikey's superiors insisted she receive the best treatment possible and called Professor Shai Efrati at his world leading Hyperbaric Medicine and Research facility near Tel Aviv.

 

Mikey receives bursts of 100 per cent oxygen through a face mask in a chamber that doubles the atmospheric pressure for two hours, six times a week

Pictured: Mikey being helped out of the chamber by technician Bari Tamam

Incredibly after just a few weeks of treatment at the department of Shamir Medical Center the Alsatian is much better 

While Mikey's recovery has been remarkable, she still has a long road ahead of her given the extent of her injuries

 

Incredibly after just a few weeks of treatment at the department of Shamir Medical Center the Alsatian is back on her feet.

'This is even better than we thought,' Professor Efrati told the Daily Mail. 'The results are so amazing, it's like a fast forward with regard to the reaction to the treatment as what's happening in humans.

'In each session that she gets it's like five session in humans. It's amazing progress that that she made.'

Since she was a puppy, Mikey had served with the Oketz Unit, and independent canine Special Forces Unit in the Israeli Defence Forces.

It comprises of dogs that specialise in attacking, tracking or sniffing out enemy munitions.

Mikey was an explosives detonator dog who was sent in to scan buildings for traps before Israeli forces enter.

She was working with her handler to root out Hamas deep in Gaza when a terrorist threw a grenade which blew up in her face.

 

Mikey was an explosives detonator dog who was sent in to scan buildings for traps before Israeli forces enter

Incredibly after just a few weeks of treatment at the department of Shamir Medical Center the Alsatian is much better

Professor Shai Efrati with Mikey in her cart ready to leave after treatment

Incredibly after just a few weeks of treatment at the department of Shamir Medical Center the Alsatian is back on her feet

Mikey being helped out of the chamber by technician Bari Tamam

Mikey receives bursts of 100 per cent oxygen through a face mask in a chamber that doubles the atmospheric pressure for two hours, six times a week

Mikey receives bursts of 100 per cent oxygen through a face mask in a chamber that doubles the atmospheric pressure for two hours, six times a week.

 

While Professor Efrati has pioneered the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy to treat blast wounds in soldiers, he was hesitant when asked to use it on an animal.

'I told them I do not treat dogs,' he said. 'They explained to me this is a special dog that was injured in Gaza serving Israel. I said, ok, now we are listening.

'We want to give Mikey, the best of the best treatment that we are given to any soldier that is injured during the battlefield.

'That's who we are in Israel, we want to give the best to our soldiers. And Mikey she's, she's one of our soldiers.'

Hyperbaric therapy works by flooding the blood with oxygen under pressure, so oxygen levels rise from 100mg per 100ml to 1,600mg per 100ml.

This sees oxygen bypass damaged blood vessels to induce the stem cells to grow.

Mikey receives bursts of 100 per cent oxygen through a face mask in a chamber that doubles the atmospheric pressure for two hours, six times a week.

 

Incredibly after just a few weeks of treatment at the department of Shamir Medical Center the Alsatian is back on her feet

Professor Shai Efrati and vet with Mikey after her treatment

While Mikey's recovery has been remarkable, she still has a long road ahead of her given the extent of her injuries

Mikey in her cart ready to leave after treatment

Professor Shai Efrati, Technician Bari Tamam & the vet wheeling Mikey in his cart leaving hospital after treatment

Pictured: Professor Shai Efrati checking on Mikey during treatment

Mikey receives bursts of 100 per cent oxygen through a face mask in a chamber that doubles the atmospheric pressure for two hours, six times a week

While Professor Efrati (pictured) has pioneered the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy to treat blast wounds in soldiers, he was hesitant when asked to use it on an animal

 

But while the treatment has been a success, Professor Efrati said there are challenges.

'We need collaboration,' he jokes. 'Holding a dog in the chamber for two hours, she wants to play, she wants to move, she wants to react.

'At the beginning when we started the treatment, she was unconscious so treatment was easy. Now she wants to move – but that is no bad thing, that is why we are treating her.'

While Mikey's recovery has been remarkable, she still has a long road ahead of her given the extent of her injuries.

But professor Efrati is excited where another two months of treatment will get her. 'When she came in, there was a real threat to her life.

'She is now better than even we thought she could be. It is just amazing to see.'

However, there is one major problem with her treatment. 'After these results, I don't think this is the last time I will be asked to treat a dog,' he said