Dr. Joe Harari of Veterinary Surgical Specialists in Spokane called me this morning after examining Kasha, the Shepherd mix puppy from the county shelter. Dr. Harari found that Kasha’s leg had been severed just below the hock — he called it "a clean cut of the bones" — and said that it looked as if a machete had sliced through it. There is less than an inch of the metatarsal bones remaining below the hock.
I asked him if it were possible she had been caught in a leg-hold trap of some sort. He said he doubted it, because trap wounds are "messier," as he put it, with the wound and bone remnants usually more jagged. Kasha’s bones were sheared off cleanly.
It’s at a time like this when you really, really wish the animal could tell you what happened … and who was responsible, you know?
Leaving her leg in this condition wasn’t an option, of course. We did discuss an experimental prosthetic device, but given the fact that she is still young and growing, the nature and location of her injury, and that fact that she is an energetic puppy who would be inclined to chew off anything attached to her, we concluded that a prosthetic device would not work well for her. Dr. Harari thought that an older, "quiet" dog might be a suitable candidate to try a prosthetic, but Kasha wasn’t the right case for it.
So Dr. Harari took Kasha into surgery this afternoon and amputated the rest of her leg. He called after the operation and said she did fine. Kasha will remain in the hospital until mid-week, when we’ll head over to Spokane to get her.
Although she looks big in this photo, Dr. Harari said she only weighs about 30 pounds. He called her a "beautiful puppy" and said she was very sweet.
We told our other three-legged resident at the ranch, Cody, that he will soon have another tripod to play with!
(Click on photo for larger image.)
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