In the past, expensive surgery and even euthanasia might have been the only options for disabled dogs. But a B.C. business is changing that, helping injured dogs get a leg up.
OrthoPets Canada offers innovative prosthetic and orthotic devices to improve an animal’s quality of life.
Wallace the West Highland Terrier is an Orthopet patient. The little Vancouver dog has a prosthetic hind leg.
"When Wallace was born, the umbilical cord was wrapped around his leg and when the mother went to bite the cord off, ended up biting part of his leg off," said Ryan Prevost, Wallace’s owner.
So veterinarian Dr. Susan Calverley fitted Wallace with a special prosthetic at her Mission vet clinic a year and a half ago.
Wallace is not the only canine patient. Libby the pit bull wears double knee braces after tearing her ACL.
"Once she got the braces on, boom! She was in the backyard, boom, swimming, doing whatever she wants to do," said Dan Bouch, Libby’s owner.
Patient zero was Sam, a black lab, who needed knee surgery in 2011. But his elderly owners couldn't afford it and they made the tough decision to have Sam euthanized. However, Dr. Calverley had another idea.
"I just couldn't do it,” she said, “So I said leave him with me. We'll fix his knee."
Sam got surgery and a special leg brace.
Bunker, the injured Sandhill crane, was rescued from a Richmond golf course. He lost his leg after being hit by a golf ball. He wears a prosthetic on his right leg and the veterinarian caring for him is considering releasing him back into the wild.
Now, new technology in the form of a 3D scanner is about to make the job of helping injured animals easier.
"We'll scan this, we'll email it to Denver and then they'll just make the mould right from that and it'll be much, much faster," said Dr. Calverly.
The braces aren’t cheap. They start at about $1,000 and prosthetics cost more than $2,000. They're all fabricated in Colorado.
If you want more information you can visit the Orthopets Canada Facebook page.
