Tori Henderson wanted to be home for Christmas. A native of Tulsa, Okla., she and her boyfriend, Scott Foster, had been living in Phoenix, Ariz., while Henderson attended Arizona State University, where she earned a degree in supply chain management. As they were moving back with their two dogs and a U-haul in tow, things took a turn for the worse.

"It was December 23," recalls Henderson. "As we were crossing an overpass, we were sideswiped by a tractor trailer. We spun around and the Jeep Liberty flipped over. I'm not sure when it happened, but the dogs, who were in the closed cargo area in the back of the Jeep were ejected from the vehicle."

Sadly, their black Labrador retriever died in the accident. Henderson and Foster had bumps and bruises but nothing serious. However, Bella, their 1-year 8-month-old female German Shepherd, wasn't as lucky as her owners.

"We found Bella standing in the middle of the road on three legs holding her broken leg up. It just hung there with multiple fractures," says Henderson. "We put a tourniquet around her leg to stop the bleeding. It was so cold I just held her by the side of the road trying to get her warm."

They monitored Bella for pain in the hospital's newly renovated Kirkpatrick Foundation Small Animal Critical Care Unit. Due to the holiday schedule, the team transferred Bella's care to Dr. Brent Newcomb, third-year resident in small animal surgery. Under his care, Bella made six more trips to surgery to have the skin treated and finally closed.

"We were able to close the skin without having to do any skin grafts," Pawloski says. "We are thankful that we had the opportunity to perform such extensive surgical procedures to make Bella feel better."

This is the first time Henderson used the veterinary services available at OSU, and she couldn't be more pleased. "The level of expertise and customer service has been amazing and has far exceeded our expectations," she says. "Bella is expected to make a full recovery."

An energetic Bella returned to OSU with Henderson to have her staples removed and a check up.

"Bella has been crated most of the time to keep her from putting too much pressure on her broken leg," Henderson says. "She is definitely excited to be out. She is so much better, and I am so happy. I was really worried about her for awhile. Thank goodness we were able to get her to OSU!"