A Tennessee couple was left with a difficult decision after their dog was hit by a car. Surgery was expensive and they thought their options were limited, until they learned about a high-tech solution normally only available to humans -- a prosthetic leg. Sam and Paula Swift watched in horror as their 9-year-old Siberian husky, Polo, was run over in their driveway.
There were three options for Polo: amputate the leg, commit to multiple surgeries or a prosthetic paw. "It's not something that's been really published in veterinary literature," veterinarian Trey Calfee said. "There's not a lot of research that exists on it that I'm aware of. So it was really the owner's directive. Can we do this with my dog. And the answer is generally always yes. The question is, is it financially a viable option?"
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Polo's owners decided on the prosthetic. For several months, he will use a temporary prosthetic while veterinarians study it for wear and tear and recast Polo for a perfect fit. The cost is $995 - about a third of the cost of the surgery.
"It was more a cost versus quality of life and for the price of the prosthetic. It was not even really a question," Sam Swift said. Polo uses his prosthetic leg like a real paw. His owners say he likes to get up and walk like he used to and is back to his husky ways - quick to curl up in a pile of snow.
2 comments:
I initially was going to have a prosthetic leg made up for my dog. When I saw the GSPCA ad advertising her in local paper she still had a stump (after losing her leg from being hit by a car). I wanted a dog and thought I could help her out with a home and a new leg made by the fella who makes mine.
But when I went to see her for the first time they had operated on her again and removed the stump as she seemed to be hitting it on things. Without a bit of leg to attached it too a prosthetic wouldn't have worked.
She adapted fine and is grand on the three.
I maybe wrong, but this dog looks a bit heavy/unbalanced to just be walking on three legs.
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