ROCKY POINT, NC....Beautiful Duchess has had a bad life since she was a puppy.  She started out being brought into Pender County Animal Shelter as a stray.  Her owner was contacted and did not make arrangments to pick her up.  The Owner was later put in jail for something unrelated, and Duchess was placed in a wonderful home.  Sadly, over the next five months, this beautiful 10-month-old Rottie Mix developed hip issues.  By the time we were contacted, the Owner had brought Duchess into the Shelter to have her euthanized for Hip Dysplasia.

We were contacted by the Animal Control person at the Shelter to see if we would consider taking on her case.  My first response was why wasn't the Owner doing all they could to get this puppy taken care of.  I understood the cost of doing bilateral hip surgery and wanted to know if they had reached out for help or just decided to have the pup put down.  If they had done all they could and were heartbroken, I was going to work something out with them so they could keep Duchess.

I did not want to see this beautiful, sweet, 10-month-old puppy euthanized.  I agreed to have her taken to Carolina Veterinary Specialists in Charlotte, NC where Dr. Dan Mertens was going to do her surgery.  In the meantime, I spoke to the Shelter to get more info on the Family and was made aware they did not want to hear from anyone or the Shelter about Duchess. They had signed her over, and the Husband had washed his hands of her.  That told me all I needed to know.  I was glad she was now in our hands where she could get the Medical Care and Surgery she needed to walk comfortably again.

I was shocked to see how advanced her Hip Dysplasia was for such a young puppy.  I don't even know what would cause something to be this bad other than bad genetics.  Duchess had to have both hips done at the same time because of the severity of her case. This poor pup was not even a candidate for hip replacement because her hip bones were no longer in the hip sockets.  She was painful and was losing her ability to walk. If she continued the way she was, Duchess would be in a cart before she was a year old.

Duchess had two FHO (Femoral Head Ostectomy) Surgeries.  The surgery was long and complicated.  The good news is that her age enabled her to be under sedation for a long time without complications. Duchess is on heavy pain meds to keep her comfortable while she heals.  She will have to be that way for several weeks while she is recovering.   One FHO Surgery is painful, but two is almost unbearable.  So far this beautiful pup has tolerated all of it with a smile on her face. She was in the hospital for almost a week recovering from her surgery and is now at our Rehab Facility being taken care of while she Heals.

For those of you that are not familiar with FHO Surgery, the head and neck of the femur are removed.  FHO surgery is performed to alleviate pain. It is a salvage procedure, reserved for a condition where pain cannot be alleviated in any other way.  There was no other way for Duchess.  Her Surgery and Rehab is close to $8000.  Please, DONATE, DONATE, DONATE so we do not have to carry the burden of her expenses that would prevent us from helping Abused Animals that need us now to survive.  Thanks for caring about Duchess and all the other Pups we take in at Noah's Arks Rescue.