Shake A Leg

Today, Squee went to a surgical specialist so we could learn what might be done for her legs. It's a bit difficult to see how strangely shaped her front limbs are in photographs, because she's fuzzy and easy going, so mostly it looks like her legs are just tucked up under her, rather than growing oddly. So, take a gander at these x-rays of her front legs:

Now, I'm no radiologist, but I will relay the trouble as it was explained to me. The top image is of Squee's front right leg. It's undersized and, as you can see, the bones form the leg into a tight, little U. This limb is actually missing one of the two bones than make up the forearm, and another bone, near the shoulder, was so feeble that it snapped in half shortly after she was born. The growth plates in the bones of this leg have closed, which means it will not grow any larger or longer, and there's really nothing that can be done for it. Or, in the words of the specialist we saw today, "This leg is toast." The second image is of Squee's left front leg. It's larger and straighter, though the bones are growing in the wrong direction. There's some hope for this leg, and it's the one we're going to focus on saving. For now, Squee needs time to let her leg grow. However, we have to keep this leg splinted for two reasons: 1) To encourage any further growth of that leg to be straight, rather than curved. 2) To stop Squee from walking on it the way she's been doing up to this point. Because the leg curves like an L, she can't put weight on the foot. Instead, she can only put weight on the side of her arm below the elbow.

Continued pressure on the arm is causing a sore to form, and the vet predicts that if she keeps walking on it in this way, in about a month that sore will develop into an abscess deep enough to damage tissue and bone, which would mean that leg could no longer be helped. So the splint also forces Squee to walk on her foot rather than her arm. In 3-4 months, Squee's leg will have grown enough that we can brave surgery. At that point, her stronger leg will be broken and restructed to form a straight leg. It won't be completely functional, but if all goes well, it will allow Squee to get around with relative ease and comfort. However, the regular visits to a specialist for check-ups, x-rays and splint changes will run about $1,500 when all is said and done, and the surgery we're building towards will cost $4,000. So, I've begun a fundraiser for Squee in the hopes that by the time she is ready for her surgery, we will have managed to collect enough money to go ahead with it. Please, if you would like to help Squee live a long, happy, pain-free life, donate here.

Squee's Story

Here is the story thus far: About five weeks ago, I received an e-mail from a good friend and fellow animal rescuer, asking if I might consider fostering an American Eskimo Dog coming out of a puppy mill in Missouri. She was six weeks old at the time and had been born with two deformed front legs. Now, my plate was already rather full with classes, running a chapter of Italian Greyhound Rescue, my own canine swam and a foster dog staying with me who had come from a hoarder in Indiana and was just learning to enjoy the company of people. But, puppy mill dogs are hard for me to turn away because a) if they can't get pulled they'll be euthanized and b) I have a very big soft spot for "underdogs" with medical issues. Also, my friend, knowing a picture was worth a thousand words, sent me these:

As you can see from these pictures, besides the ridiculous level of cute, there is something not quite right, here. Both her front legs are malformed, one tucked up like chicken wing and the other making the shape of an L rather than growing straight, as a normal front leg should do.

Naturally my first thought was EEEE, A POLAR BEAR! and I was in. Forwarding the images and story to my long-suffering husband, his e-mailed reply was EEEE POLAR BEAR BABY!, so we were in good shape. The next challenge was to get this little Eskie gal from Missouri to Ohio, where I live. The miller wasn't willing to release her for a few more weeks, so the friend who originally contacted me about her began to make preparations to get her traveling. Five weeks later, she was on a plane with a wonderful volunteer who agreed to travel with her to Pittsburgh, where my friend would meet her. The pup had grown quite a bit by then, and looked less like a polar bear and more like a baby wolf.

My husband and I drove to Youngstown, OH on Saturday, October 4th where my friend and her family met us with the Eskie. She was a bright, vivacious little thing who hobbled around on her back legs and her stronger front leg, using the side of her little L-shaped arm to propel her along. She has settled in well in Ohio at Chez Crazy. This blog will follow her progress as we find out what help can be offered to increase her mobility. As for her name, well, it was suggested to me after someone pointed out that 'EEEEEE' was pretty much everybody's reaction upon seeing her. So, Squee it was!