Little Shackles may have lost the battle, but he won the war.

Dunkerron Animal Hospital veterinarian Orrin James said the two-year-old poodle would have died earlier this week had he not recognized a serious problem after Shackles was attacked by a larger dog.

He suffered a traumatic abdominal herniation during the attack, James said. Had it not been diagnosed and repaired as quickly as it was, he wouldn’t have made it.

&uot;We gave him a dose of barium at 9 a.m. and were able to detect a large hernia in the abdomen,&uot; James said. &uot;He had about a 21/2-inch tear. We were lucky to be able to fix it.&uot;

James said Shackles was easy to work with and &uot;wasn’t the kind of dog that you have to worry about biting you.&uot;

&uot;He definitely would have died,&uot; he said. &uot;(Animals) can easily lose blood supply with a hernia injury.&uot;

In addition to the hernia, Shackles suffered several broken bones in the attack and also lost a litter mate.

James said Friday the mate was still missing.

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