He lost his front paw after being mauled by another dog. But thanks to some state of the art science, he may just get that paw back.
Zeus, a five year old Siberian Husky from Raleigh, North Carolina, had the revolutionary procedure performed Thursday at the North Carolina State School of Veterinary Medicine where a titanium prosthetic front paw was infused into his leg bone,
The procedure had been performed on six other animals’ hind legs since 2005, but never on a front paw.
“We want his quality of life to improve,” said Zeus’ owner, Sandy Vandall, “He’s self-conscious about it. When he meets other dogs, he tucks his leg in.”
“I’m a little more anxious than usual because this is more uncharted,” said Denis Marcellin-Little, an NCSU professor of veterinary orthopedic surgery who performed the osseointegrated wrist implant on Zeus. Marcellin-Little added that managing the skin around the prosthetic is his biggest concern.
This type of bone-infusing prosthetic surgery was first performed by Marcellin-Little in 2005 on a cat named George Bailey. The cat had been born without the lower half of his hind legs.
Zeus lost his paw as a puppy after he was mauled by a female dog on the farm where he was bred. The dog tried to grab Zeus out of a cage. In doing so, she ripped off his front paw, leaving a sensitive stump that is excruciatingly painful if he knocks it. It often bleeds, Vandall said.
Vandall is a friend of the breeder, and after the incident, the breeder called Vandall, a dog groomer, to see whether she wanted to adopt the hurt puppy.
Vandall didn’t want a dog. But the minute she saw him, he waved his hurt leg to her, and she was in love.
She rushed him to NCSU, where they operated on his broken hip – also a result of the mauling – but doctors had to wait to deal with his missing front paw until his bones matured.
Vandall said she has to pay for part of the surgery. Friends have donated money to the cause, in the name of research.
Zeus meanwhile, can expect a 10 to 12 week recovery.
What an amazing procedure… seriously inspiring.
That’s such a touching story. I hope everything works out for Zeus
I’d really appreciate a follow-up story on Zeus!!!
An inspiration. My Archie (Boxer X) has a similar story. He lost his front paw in a similar manner and he has a prosthetic leg. Go Zeus Go!