| Diggley was surrendered by her owners to the emergency vet clinic where they had brought her TWICE, on March 24 and April 16 for fractures to the left rear leg, reportedly caused by the family’s four-year-old child. Rather than have the leg repaired a second time, the family opted for euthanasia for the 12 week old puppy. The vets believed that was unwarranted and convinced the family to relinquish Diggley to them. Once ownership was transferred, the clinic requested that Boxer Rebound take the puppy into our program. It was decided that we would be responsible for repairing the fractures since our vet, Dr. Shaw, is an excellent orthopedic surgeon. Diggley was an almost exact duplicate of another puppy in our care, Wiggley. Wiggley was nearly paralyzed when she arrived, and had a small fracture of a rear leg. Her owners surrendered her to Animal Control when she was 10 weeks old. |
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Dr. Shaw performed the first
surgery on April 17, 2002. Diggley’s surgery was complicated by a pronounced lack of bone density—Dr. Shaw was able to push the pins in with his fingers. He feared that amputation might be necessary if good nutrition and careful post-op therapy did not yield results. Diggley’s recovery was painful and prolonged. She spiked high fevers on two occasions, necessitating trips to the vet. |
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| On May 15 Diggley was sufficiently
recovered for removal of the external brace. Afterwards, periodic x-rays were taken to
evaluate her progress. Three weeks post-op, x-rays revealed bone deformity occurring below
the repaired fracture—probably the result of strain on the stabilized leg complicated
by Rickets. Dr. Shaw proposed more surgery to save the leg. On June 6 Dr. Shaw surgically fractured the bone in two places, removing a substantial amount of material, particularly just above the hock. This allowed the bone to be positioned in such a way that, when healed, would be closer to “normal”. A metal implant was pinned to the bone to stabilize the repair. |
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The weak pasterns and bowed forelegs are typical of Rickets - Wiggley has them also. |
We are still waiting to see if this last surgery was successful. Though her vet bills to date have been astronomical, we are fortunate that a sympathetic benefactor has taken an interest in Diggley's case and contributed towards her care. At this time (July, 2002), Diggley's cast has been removed and she is showing definite signs of improvement.
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We were able to determine that Diggley (left) and Wiggley (right) are litter-sisters. They are also best friends and have bonded closely as they recovered. They will be placed together. |
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AUGUST, 2002 - UPDATE As seen in the photos, both baby girls are coming along very well - and growing. They are starting to look for a very special home. |
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MARCH, 2003 UPDATE: Well, one never knows what pretty young girls will do. As fate would have it, a handsome young boy named Highway came by with his new family for a return visit . Both girls remembered Highway from when he was recovering from his orthopedic surgery at the same time as Wiggley and Diggley. Wiggley wasted no time in re-establishing the relationship (frankly, she flirted shamelessly). It was clear that we had another match made in Heaven, and so Wiggley's bags were packed and off she went to the forever home she chose for herself. Diggley seems unaffected by this turn of events and will continue to look for her own home without her sister.
APRIL, 2003 UPDATE: Apparently, Diggley did not wish to be outdone by her sister. Diggley found a family she liked very well - they even have a 'boy' who met with her approval. Though the "Baby Girls" were with us for a full year, we celebrate their good fortune, wave "Good-Bye" and turn to face the next challenge...........