One Love Animal Rescue: Emergency Medical Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
The grant was used to care for our dog Grace. She arrived to our rescue on transport with a clear case of carpal hyperextension.
With this grant, we were able to get Grace pet physical therapy for her legs. We would have struggled financially with her medical expenses without the help of the Petfinder Foundation.
How many pets did this grant help?
One, Grace.
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Grace came to One Love in early February 2015. When she arrived off the transport caravan, we could tell immediately that she had a big problem with her legs. Her wrists were collapsed from the normal upright position, making her paws look long and flat. This type of deformity is called carpal hyperextension, and it’s caused by poor nutrition during some critical growth periods.
Grace was taken to the vet immediately. They discussed splinting her legs at a future appointment. Grace went back to her foster home to rest and recuperate. She was put on the same five-star food that all of our foster pets receive. Amazingly, after just over a week of good nutrition, Grace’s leg deformity began to correct itself! The power of good food should never be underestimated! It was later decided that splints were not needed, but Grace should see a specialist.
Besides the issues with the front legs, the hind legs were also challenged and Grace continued to have mobility issues. On the advice of our vet, we took Grace to Pet Physical Therapy (Pet PT) to work on both her front and hind legs. Building strength now was preferred to splinting since she had already come so far with the food and activity.
Dr. Russell Howe-Smith of Pet PT saw our Princess Grace and determined that her overall joint laxity was secondary to poor nutrition and confinement/inactivity prior to rescue. He prescribed the use of the underwater treadmill to build strength and tighten tendons. Grace received this therapy twice a week for six weeks.
We are happy to report that Grace was released from Dr. Howe-Smith’s physical therapy after the six weeks were completed. Her prognosis: very good! Her muscle strength has improved dramatically. Her orders? Keep fit with straight-line walking and playing in the back yard. She doesn’t need any pain meds, either!
Grace is now healthy and active and about to be adopted shortly! We have included pictures of her with her forever family, and we couldn’t be more pleased with her terrific transformation.
Once again, we owe a big debt of gratitude to the Petfinder Foundation for providing us with a $1,000 emergency medical grant to help Grace recover. This kind of help is critical to the work of rescue and allowed us to give this sweetheart the best care possible.
