BEAUFORT, SC.....We were contacted by an elderly man that had found a sweet eight-month-old Red Bone Hound Mix on the side of the road, limping. He checked with all the people down the country road, and no one knew the puppy. After several days, he realized his pup needed medical care, which he could not afford. He reached out to several organizations with no luck. He contacted us at Fetch Mkt., and I agreed to see the puppy if he would bring her by.
Well, we all know the rest of that story. I agreed to take the puppy we are now calling Ruby. Precious Ruby was clearly in a lot of pain and not wanting to use her front left leg. She was immediately taken to CVRC in Charleston, SC. Radiographs revealed a left medial aspect of the humeral condyle fracture. The humeral condyle is the name given to the end of the bone (called the humerus) at the top of the front leg (the forelimb). The humeral condyle makes up the elbow joint with the radius and ulna.
Surgery is the best treatment for almost all humeral condylar fractures. The operation involves repositioning the bone fragments back into the correct place and stabilizing them using screws, pins, and bone plates. Fracture repair can be challenging due to the involvement of the joint, the small size of the fragments, and the possibility of an underlying weakness in the bone that can affect fracture healing.
Dr. Steve Garnett was in charge of doing Ruby's surgical repair. The fracture was repaired using two lag screws and an anti-rotational wire. Ruby was stable under anesthesia and recovered without any complications. She remained in the hospital for five days and then came to our Rehab Facility to rehabilitate.
The first four weeks were uncomplicated because she was on strict cage rest. After that, Ruby was in and out of the hospital for one thing or another. Ruby either had a fever or an infection from the screws. The problem was that it was way too early to remove anything until the area had healed. Ruby was at least a month away from having the screws removed. She had to be on antibiotics and pain meds and was back on strict cage rest.
Now go back and read what I wrote in the third paragraph because everything I wrote was coming true. This beautiful pup had complications from the screws, and the joint area was inflamed and painful. On top of this, Ruby is a puppy that wants to run and play. We finally got permission from the surgeon that Ruby's leg had healed enough for the screws to be removed.
Ruby was back in surgery to pull out what we had put in to repair the bones. Surgery was not complicated, and Ruby did well. Ruby is back with us at the Rehab Facility, recovering one more time from surgery. She has to be on strict cage rest so the bone can continue healing.
I feel terrible for Ruby because she is doing everything she can to heal, and we are doing everything we can to save her leg. The problem is that if we do not see progress, I will have no choice but to remove her leg. I am doing everything I can to prevent that, but Ruby has to have her Life back and needs to be a puppy.
In the meantime, we are keeping her happy and safe. We now need to raise funds to cover all of her procedures and ER Visits, which are many. Please, Donate whatever you can for this precious puppy so we can help more dogs like Ruby get the necessary medical care to live a long healthy life.
Everyone at Noah's Arks Rescue and Fetch Mkt. wish you a Joyful and Merry Holiday Season.
