Success Stories from Our Clinic
Meet Ricochet
Ricochet was abandoned by his owners and was living in an old building. A good samaritan noticed he was limping and didn’t look right. She was able to coax him to her with some food. He had been hit by a car and was badly injured. She tried to clean him up the best she could and brought him in to be evaluated by a veterinarian.
We called him Skid because he appeared to have been drug by a vehicle. The skin on his side was gone, his tail was in shreds, and his left hind foot was completely mangled. All his wounds were packed full of debris. His rescuer reached out to the community for donations and the result was incredible.
Dr. Nydam determined there was no way to repair his hind foot, it was too contaminated, amputation would be the best solution. Skid went into surgery where Dr. Nydam amputated his leg, debrided and closed the gaping wound on his side using tubing to prevent the sutures from tearing out. His tail was also cleaned up and the end closed.
Meet Sonic
Sonics success story is the result of many dedicated people. It begins with the Chippewa Cree Tribe Fish and Game that found him after he had been attacked by another dog. The caring staff at Friend of Havre Animal Shelter took him in. Dr. Mord at East Side Animal Hospital in Havre sutured the gaping laceration around his neck. She then discovered that he also had a dislocated hip and a debilitating luxating patella from a previous accident. He was referred to Dr. Nydam who recommended we first fix his left knee and then address his dislocated right hip.
Sonics first surgery was a huge success! His left leg was almost completely non-functional before surgery. He was able to walk out of the building. He returned a few months later now favoring his right leg. An FHO (femoral head osteotomy) was preformed on the right hip. Almost all the cartilage was worn off the femoral head from rubbing on the pelvis. Sonic recovered rapidly from his second surgery and is now able to RUN! He frequently gets the “Zoomies” and loves playing with his people.
Meet Phoenix
We first saw this tiny puppy when she was only 3 weeks old. Her mother had bit her and fractured her jaw. With her being so tiny and her jaw non-displaced, we taped her jaw so she could only open it far enough to nurse. A few weeks later she returned, this time with a very swollen front leg. She had quit eating, was very dehydrated and lethargic. She was quickly hospitalized, an iv catheter placed to get her rehydrated. Because she was so frail our lead technician took her home and continued caring for her throughout the night. Within a couple of days, she was eating and drinking again. Her leg was bandaged as it was very infected. Stephanie offered to keep the tiny puppy if her health didn’t continue to improve. 2 days later the tiny pup had quit eating again. Phoenix, named after the mythical bird, was brought to her forever home. Despite all efforts from Dr. Nydam the infection in her leg eroded all the bones in her foot from her ankle down. It withered up and became completely useless and had to be amputated. Stephanie tried to find a suitable prosthetic but was unsuccessful.
Phoenix is now 3 years old and lives a happy lazy life. She gets around very well and doesn’t let her disability slow her down. She loves spending time on the ranch with her best buddy Wiley and going to work everyday with mom. Phoenix is often an enthusiastic door greeter here and LOVES attention from anyone.
