HELP MAGGIE GET HER LEGS BACK!
Donation protected
MAGGIE IS A 4 YEAR OLD PUGGLE WHO WAS FOUND BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WITH SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO THREE OF HER LEGS THAT WAS MOST LIKELY CAUSED BY A FAST MOVING VEHICLE. SO FAR ONLY THE BACK LEG HAS HAD ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY AND WILL NEED ADDITIONAL MAJOR ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY FROM AN EXPERT THAT SPECIALIZES IN HER INJURIES. PLEASE HELP US HELP HER!
One morning, as my daughter and her coworker were delivering pack llamas to a mountain camp, they came across a black dog sitting by the side of a lonesome stretch of road in rural Wyoming. My daughter had noticed the same dog 2 hours earlier on their way up the mountain, but now it was still sitting in the same spot panting heavily. They stopped and found the dog was shaking and seemed to be in distress. They were able to pet the dog, but when my daughter tried to lift little Maggie up off the road, the pain was too great, and Maggie nipped at her. Then she got up and tried to hobble down the road. Her hind leg was completely unusable and it hung limp and dragged on the ground as she stumbled along. What to do? My daughter called mom, since she knew I would help. The plan was for them to meet me with the dog closer to town so I could take her to the local vet. They weren’t able to pick her up so they found a tarp which they coaxed Maggie to lay down on; then they were able to carefully lift her into the truck. When I arrived at the meeting point we transferred Maggie into a kennel and she seemed to know that help was on the way. It was obvious that she was in severe pain and shock, but she seemed trusting and we could all see there was something special about this little dog.
I rushed Maggie to the local animal hospital and they told me they would do what they could. I left her in their care and went back out to that lonely dirt road where she had been found. For hours I tried to find her owners, knocking on doors, talking to ranchers, and hanging up posters I had made, but no answers could be found. Later I received a call from the vets and the news wasn't good; the x-rays had revealed that her back leg had compound femur fractures and a dislocation at the hip. Due to our animal laws I was told that I was responsible to keep her at the Vet Hospital for a minimum of 5 days to allow the owners to come forward; they couldn't even treat her injuries until then, they could only treat her for the pain.
The next day I went to see her and was told more bad news by the vet: they had also discovered injuries on the front legs and suggested I have her put down after the 5 day holding period. My heart sunk. But when I sat down with Maggie in her kennel she struggled over to me and put her head in my lap! She knew I had come to save her. As I looked down into those big black seal eyes I was filled with determination to do whatever I could to help her! I visited her every day and learned quickly that she really loved hot dogs! After the 5 days I was finally able to take Maggie home with me and continue making plans to get her broken body fixed. I also called my animal-rescue friend of many years and she told me she wanted to help.
Ten days later I got a phone call from Maggie’s owner. They had just returned from a vacation and noticed now that Maggie wasn’t there. I told them about Maggie’s injuries but they were completely unable to help with medical bills and also unwilling to do anything for their dog. So here we go!
With some help we found a vet a few hours away who was willing to perform surgery on Maggie’s hind leg and also see what could be done about her front legs – they even offered a discount, as we told them that Maggie was a rescue! They performed an FHO (femoral head ostectomy) and plated her femur. When we picked her up 3 days later she looked so sad; her hind leg dangled from her hip and both front legs were in hard casts. Back home she made very little progress: after a couple of weeks she would still not put any weight at all on her hind leg and of course we became more and more concerned. The vet who had done the surgery encouraged us to give it more time, but Maggie was in great discomfort and we needed to find ways to relieve that and see if all was healing according to plan. We found a wonderful vet clinic close to home that was prepared to deal with Maggie’s pain management by doing laser treatments that they offered to us at a discounted price. They also took more x-rays and we learned that the original surgery has to be redone. The plate screwed onto the femur during the first surgery needs to be removed as it is too long and extends over Maggie’s knee causing reduced flexion in the stifle joint. Some of the screws inserted to hold it in place are too long and interfere with the intramuscular function. No wonder this little girl is in such discomfort and unable to extend and use her hind leg!
This time around we plan to have surgery done by an orthopedic surgeon who will have to remove the plate and screws. He will also have to perform a bone graft to deal with the issues associated with the holes in the femur as he won’t be able to re-use some of them. He then will line up the bone and plate it so Maggie will finally be able to use her leg. It will be a long road to recovery with the leg muscles having become atrophic since the first surgery, but our awesome vets assure us that recovery is very likely.
After Maggie is all healed we plan to find her a home with somebody who can give her the love and adoration she deserves. My friend and I want to continue taking in needy and injured animals and already have large four legged families. I can tell that Maggie longs to have her own companion who she can bond with. She has a home here with me until we find her that special person for her.
Our goal is to collect $7500 to cover the original surgery and the one to come. To date we have spent a total of $3980 for Vet Care, X-rays, Maggie’s first Surgery, Pain Management and Supplements to help with healing. The specialist doing the second surgery will also take a close look at Maggie and determine if her front legs are healing well or will require further treatment.
Please help us help Maggie regain the use of her legs and ability to live a mobile life! Thank You!
Here is Maggie shortly after she was found, unable to stand up.
Maggie was a little scared of the laser treatment at first, but the staff was awesome reassuring her with treats and lots of encouragement.
Here she is with her hind leg dangling.
Maggie is having her hard casts removed. After that the vet decided to put bandages on for continued support.
Maggie with her new soft bandages enjoying a well-earned reward after a day of treatment.
One morning, as my daughter and her coworker were delivering pack llamas to a mountain camp, they came across a black dog sitting by the side of a lonesome stretch of road in rural Wyoming. My daughter had noticed the same dog 2 hours earlier on their way up the mountain, but now it was still sitting in the same spot panting heavily. They stopped and found the dog was shaking and seemed to be in distress. They were able to pet the dog, but when my daughter tried to lift little Maggie up off the road, the pain was too great, and Maggie nipped at her. Then she got up and tried to hobble down the road. Her hind leg was completely unusable and it hung limp and dragged on the ground as she stumbled along. What to do? My daughter called mom, since she knew I would help. The plan was for them to meet me with the dog closer to town so I could take her to the local vet. They weren’t able to pick her up so they found a tarp which they coaxed Maggie to lay down on; then they were able to carefully lift her into the truck. When I arrived at the meeting point we transferred Maggie into a kennel and she seemed to know that help was on the way. It was obvious that she was in severe pain and shock, but she seemed trusting and we could all see there was something special about this little dog.
I rushed Maggie to the local animal hospital and they told me they would do what they could. I left her in their care and went back out to that lonely dirt road where she had been found. For hours I tried to find her owners, knocking on doors, talking to ranchers, and hanging up posters I had made, but no answers could be found. Later I received a call from the vets and the news wasn't good; the x-rays had revealed that her back leg had compound femur fractures and a dislocation at the hip. Due to our animal laws I was told that I was responsible to keep her at the Vet Hospital for a minimum of 5 days to allow the owners to come forward; they couldn't even treat her injuries until then, they could only treat her for the pain.
The next day I went to see her and was told more bad news by the vet: they had also discovered injuries on the front legs and suggested I have her put down after the 5 day holding period. My heart sunk. But when I sat down with Maggie in her kennel she struggled over to me and put her head in my lap! She knew I had come to save her. As I looked down into those big black seal eyes I was filled with determination to do whatever I could to help her! I visited her every day and learned quickly that she really loved hot dogs! After the 5 days I was finally able to take Maggie home with me and continue making plans to get her broken body fixed. I also called my animal-rescue friend of many years and she told me she wanted to help.
Ten days later I got a phone call from Maggie’s owner. They had just returned from a vacation and noticed now that Maggie wasn’t there. I told them about Maggie’s injuries but they were completely unable to help with medical bills and also unwilling to do anything for their dog. So here we go!
With some help we found a vet a few hours away who was willing to perform surgery on Maggie’s hind leg and also see what could be done about her front legs – they even offered a discount, as we told them that Maggie was a rescue! They performed an FHO (femoral head ostectomy) and plated her femur. When we picked her up 3 days later she looked so sad; her hind leg dangled from her hip and both front legs were in hard casts. Back home she made very little progress: after a couple of weeks she would still not put any weight at all on her hind leg and of course we became more and more concerned. The vet who had done the surgery encouraged us to give it more time, but Maggie was in great discomfort and we needed to find ways to relieve that and see if all was healing according to plan. We found a wonderful vet clinic close to home that was prepared to deal with Maggie’s pain management by doing laser treatments that they offered to us at a discounted price. They also took more x-rays and we learned that the original surgery has to be redone. The plate screwed onto the femur during the first surgery needs to be removed as it is too long and extends over Maggie’s knee causing reduced flexion in the stifle joint. Some of the screws inserted to hold it in place are too long and interfere with the intramuscular function. No wonder this little girl is in such discomfort and unable to extend and use her hind leg!
This time around we plan to have surgery done by an orthopedic surgeon who will have to remove the plate and screws. He will also have to perform a bone graft to deal with the issues associated with the holes in the femur as he won’t be able to re-use some of them. He then will line up the bone and plate it so Maggie will finally be able to use her leg. It will be a long road to recovery with the leg muscles having become atrophic since the first surgery, but our awesome vets assure us that recovery is very likely.
After Maggie is all healed we plan to find her a home with somebody who can give her the love and adoration she deserves. My friend and I want to continue taking in needy and injured animals and already have large four legged families. I can tell that Maggie longs to have her own companion who she can bond with. She has a home here with me until we find her that special person for her.
Our goal is to collect $7500 to cover the original surgery and the one to come. To date we have spent a total of $3980 for Vet Care, X-rays, Maggie’s first Surgery, Pain Management and Supplements to help with healing. The specialist doing the second surgery will also take a close look at Maggie and determine if her front legs are healing well or will require further treatment.
Please help us help Maggie regain the use of her legs and ability to live a mobile life! Thank You!
Here is Maggie shortly after she was found, unable to stand up.
Maggie was a little scared of the laser treatment at first, but the staff was awesome reassuring her with treats and lots of encouragement.
Here she is with her hind leg dangling.
Maggie is having her hard casts removed. After that the vet decided to put bandages on for continued support.
Maggie with her new soft bandages enjoying a well-earned reward after a day of treatment.
Organizer
Karin Kruse
Organizer
Lander, WY
