Ginny
December 2011: One of the best kinds of happy ending stories. Ginny has been adopted by her loving foster family who have cared for her since she came into rescue early in the Fall.
Ginny arrived in rescue scared and with a broken leg, probably a 6+ week old break at the top of her right femur. Because of the age of the break, most of the bone above the break was destroyed and blood flow throughout her leg had been disrupted. As a result, most of the femoral head had died and needed to be removed. Ginny learned to navigate mostly on her three good legs. If the break had been treated earlier, it could have been pinned, but too much damage had occurred. The vet recommended a Femoral Head Osteoectomy (FHO) for Ginny, a procedure that would alleviate pain and remove the damaged head of the femur. Ginny underwent surgery on September 23rd. (See the before and after x-rays).
October 9th update: Two weeks post-surgery and Ginny is doing great. The vet was quite pleased with her progress so far. We are allowing her more freedom now to walk on her own and helping her to gradually strengthen her leg in controlled settings (Note the difference in muscle mass between her two legs on the X-Rays). Her puppy energy makes this a challenge at times, as she would love to play, but no running or jumping for a few more weeks. Her ability to get around on three legs for so long prior to surgery has actually aided her recovery, in that she was able to better balance herself after surgery. During slow, controlled walks on leash, Ginny will use all four legs, but when she is on her own at a quicker pace, she still uses three. With daily therapy to strengthen the muscles of her leg over the next few weeks, she should gradually begin to use her leg more and more. By December, Ginny should be free of movement restrictions and able to run and play freely. She may always have a limp or it may correct with time.
