When bad stuff happens to good dogs

Yesterday after finishing with a client I checked my cell phone to see a message waiting for me. There had been an "incident" at the prison with the dogs. Apparently the leashes got tangled, treats were dropped, and a fight broke out between them. One dog was injured during the fight as well as a handler while breaking the dogs up.
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Ahhh crap!
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The leashes being tangled had made separating them quickly problematic and had probably contributed to the fight starting in the first place. I say this because treats on the floor or ground with both of them present had not been a problem in the past. And yes we had discussed how to properly break up a dog fight and resource guarding in dogs previously as well. Considering it was a big dog vs small dog fight things certainly could have been worse.
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Fortunately the injury to the handler was a minor one and I received the call within 2o minutes of the incident. I was also luckily in the immediate area so I got there quickly. As soon as I saw Cooper I knew he needed to get to the vet. Of course this had to happen on a Sunday when everything is closed. A few phone calls later and we were on our way. (A big thank you to Dr. Yovino of Harbor Road Veterinary Hospital for coming in on his day off.)
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The x-rays showed a clean break of both bones in his front right leg. Ouch! Poor guy! He had to spend the night in the veterinary hospital to get fixed up. So now Cooper is on bed rest and limited exercise for 6 to 8 weeks. He is sporting a splint that will need to be checked and changed weekly and re-x-rayd routinely. He is also on antibiotics and pain medication. (an nsaid) Thankfully they let him go back to the prison to be cared for by his handler. I could tell all of the handlers felt horrible that it happened.
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I already had today off which meant I was available to handle everything fortunately. (we were short a Dr. at work so I wasn't needed) It is also good that Cooper is a dog that likes to do a lot of cuddling on the bed instead of racing around. This should make his recuperation easier on his handlers. He of course charmed everyone at the vet while there.
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While at the vet I bought a Medipaw dog bootie for them to use. (not shown in the photo above) I HIGHLY recommend them for any dog in need of a waterproof covering for a splint. It happened to rain last night so keeping his splint dry was on my mind. A cheap splint covering can also be made out of old saline bags that you tape on the foot. (Tip - Plastic baggie coverings on splints should ONLY be on while the dog is outside on wet grass. Remove it once inside so the foot doesn't sweat. A wet bandage MUST be changed to prevent skin issues.)
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Please send healing vibes Coopers way. Hopefully this incident doesn't affect our program in the future. It does mean Cooper will be with us longer and we now have unanticipated vet bills because of it. For anyone who wants to donate funds to help pay for his care, or to contribute to the cost of our training program, send checks to The Humane Society of Knox County. Write "For the K-9 Corrections program" or "For Coopers vet bills" on your donation. We would really appreciate any help. Thank you!