A puppy saved by Iowa State University’s veterinarians and vet students recently made a surprise visit at a 2026 graduation ceremony.
Honey, a German Shepherd mix, was hit by a car in December and was taken to Iowa State’s Hixson-Lied Small Animal Hospital. With multiple fractures and a traumatic brain injury, her odds for survival were not good.
Hospital faculty, staff, and fourth-year veterinary students worked together to save Honey, and five months later, she is alive and thriving.
The German Shepherd attended Iowa State’s College of Veterinary Medicine’s commencement ceremony on Friday, May 15, where she watched the students who helped save her graduate.
Honey suffered a variety of injuries on Christmas Eve
Honey arrived at the Ames animal hospital on Christmas Eve. The then five-month-old puppy suffered skull and jaw fractures and damage to her left eye socket, causing temporary blindness in one eye. The fractures also triggered a brain bleed.
Dr. Kamila Correa, the resident on duty that night, said Honey was “basically comatose and unresponsive to pain.”
“She had a very severe traumatic brain injury, so we had to move really fast to help with intracranial pressure,” Correa told the Ames Tribune.
The homeless man who brought Honey wasn’t wearing a shirt or shoes. He begged Correa to save the dog.
The staff at Hixson-Lied Small Animal gave the man food, shoes, and a shirt, and helped him get back to Des Moines, where he lived.
Honey needed extensive care at ISU hospital
The Hixson-Lied Small Animal team gave Honey medication for seizures, pain and to help decrease the pressure on her skull. They also provided fluids and oxygen support, took her blood pressure and gave her an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) to monitor her heartbeat.
“We did all the things to keep her comfortable and rule out everything that would kill her immediately, but the traumatic brain injury could progress up to 72 hours; they can decline very fast,” Correa said. “We didn’t have a lot of hope.”
Honey survived the initial 24 hours but was unresponsive for four or five days. She was confused once she woke and had to be sedated.
“She didn’t have any idea what was going on,” Correra said. “She couldn’t get up by herself, she couldn’t eat, she couldn’t do much.”
Honey made a ‘remarkable recovery’
Honey was eventually transferred to rehab, where she regained her balance and began walking again.
She was released on Jan. 2 to her foster mom, Laura Bradner.
Honey still wore a muzzle to help stabilize her jaw fractures and required a feeding tube because she couldn’t open her mouth.
“She was very weak and very wobbly, very tired, and mostly acted like a newborn infant,” Bradner said. “She basically ate, drank, slept, and went to the bathroom.”
Bradner said Honey has had a “remarkable recovery” in the last five months. Her fractures have healed, she has sight in her left eye, and the nerve damage on the right side of her face is healing.
Her personality has also expanded and is now a “thriving puppy.”
“People say that you heal from brain injuries during your sleep,” Bradner said. “I absolutely believe that because every morning we’d wake up and there’d be this tiny new behavior that was unlocked overnight.”
Bradner believes Honey’s socialization and care at the hospital made her who she is today. She’s said she’s never seen a dog love people and social situations as much as Honey does.
Celia Brocker is a government, crime, political and education reporter for the Ames Tribune. She can be reached at CBrocker@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Meet Honey, the puppy saved by ISU vets and attended graduation
Reporting by Celia Brocker, Ames Tribune / Ames Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
