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Katie the Wonder Dog
We would like to share a story about a very special dog, Katie, and her special loving owner, Maryanne.
Maryanne adopted Katie as a 10 month old puppy from a shelter in Park City. When she first saw Katie they bonded immediately. Katie had already had a challenging life. In her original home, she was bitten on the right front leg by another dog and developed an infection that was not treated. Katie almost died but a clinic in West Jordan took her on as a charity case and gave her antibiotics. She was then placed in two homes that returned her. When Maryanne chose Katie, the dog was in great pain and her leg had to be amputated. Maryanne had to wait 3 weeks to take her home after the surgery and they were afraid that Maryanne might not take her. But their bond was already formed and Katie was taken to her forever home with Maryanne.
Katie adapted quickly as a 3 legged dog and was healthy and happily running around on 3 legs, playing with all the dogs in the neighborhood.
A month later, when Katie was barely a year old, she unfortunately ran into oncoming traffic in her neighborhood and was run over by a van that did not stop. Her hip was dislocated and her pelvis fractured. The initial treatment required heavy sedation and an extended stay at the animal hospital with Dr. Pryor in Park City. Initially, Dr. Pryor took Katie home with him at night. Once back home, Maryanne had to carry her in a sling for 6 weeks while Katie healed. Katie overcame this tragedy and became a “normal” dog (Oh yeah- with 3 legs). Although this wound healed, the shattered hip was never as strong as the other hind leg.
Fast forward to Memorial Day 2014- 6 years later. Maryanne noticed a swelling in Katie’s hind right leg (the strong one). Another visit to Dr. Pryor revealed that this swelling was an aggressive form of bone cancer. In a very short period of time, this tumor grew to the size of a softball and a decision had to be made. Katie was referred to a surgeon for options for treatment. His advice was not encouraging. He had never seen a dog manage with only two legs on the same side and even if he had, one of those legs was already weakened from the earlier accident. His recommendation was to put Katie down.
Maryanne and her friends left the office feeling devastated and without hope until the phone call that same afternoon. The surgeon's assistant, who had been in the examining room that day with Katie found a MTV clip from the Oprah Show highlighting a greyhound running on two legs- both on the same side- and living a very normal life.
This was a game changer. Katie had her surgery within 4 days. Six days later, Katie attended a neighborhood picnic with her human and four-legged friends. To everyone’s amazement, Katie got up on her 2 legs and ran to greet her dog friends.
Katie has been going strong ever since. But in the near future, she will need at least 3 chemo treatments and one custom built dog wheelchair, all very expensive and on top of the cost of the surgery. This fund will help Katie get a wheelchair and the chemo treatments she needs.
We would like to share a story about a very special dog, Katie, and her special loving owner, Maryanne.
Maryanne adopted Katie as a 10 month old puppy from a shelter in Park City. When she first saw Katie they bonded immediately. Katie had already had a challenging life. In her original home, she was bitten on the right front leg by another dog and developed an infection that was not treated. Katie almost died but a clinic in West Jordan took her on as a charity case and gave her antibiotics. She was then placed in two homes that returned her. When Maryanne chose Katie, the dog was in great pain and her leg had to be amputated. Maryanne had to wait 3 weeks to take her home after the surgery and they were afraid that Maryanne might not take her. But their bond was already formed and Katie was taken to her forever home with Maryanne.
Katie adapted quickly as a 3 legged dog and was healthy and happily running around on 3 legs, playing with all the dogs in the neighborhood.
A month later, when Katie was barely a year old, she unfortunately ran into oncoming traffic in her neighborhood and was run over by a van that did not stop. Her hip was dislocated and her pelvis fractured. The initial treatment required heavy sedation and an extended stay at the animal hospital with Dr. Pryor in Park City. Initially, Dr. Pryor took Katie home with him at night. Once back home, Maryanne had to carry her in a sling for 6 weeks while Katie healed. Katie overcame this tragedy and became a “normal” dog (Oh yeah- with 3 legs). Although this wound healed, the shattered hip was never as strong as the other hind leg.
Fast forward to Memorial Day 2014- 6 years later. Maryanne noticed a swelling in Katie’s hind right leg (the strong one). Another visit to Dr. Pryor revealed that this swelling was an aggressive form of bone cancer. In a very short period of time, this tumor grew to the size of a softball and a decision had to be made. Katie was referred to a surgeon for options for treatment. His advice was not encouraging. He had never seen a dog manage with only two legs on the same side and even if he had, one of those legs was already weakened from the earlier accident. His recommendation was to put Katie down.
Maryanne and her friends left the office feeling devastated and without hope until the phone call that same afternoon. The surgeon's assistant, who had been in the examining room that day with Katie found a MTV clip from the Oprah Show highlighting a greyhound running on two legs- both on the same side- and living a very normal life.
This was a game changer. Katie had her surgery within 4 days. Six days later, Katie attended a neighborhood picnic with her human and four-legged friends. To everyone’s amazement, Katie got up on her 2 legs and ran to greet her dog friends.
Katie has been going strong ever since. But in the near future, she will need at least 3 chemo treatments and one custom built dog wheelchair, all very expensive and on top of the cost of the surgery. This fund will help Katie get a wheelchair and the chemo treatments she needs.