A little girl in need of help

[TheSkeptic]

She was dumped on the median of a high traffic road. We were lucky to get there before she became road pizza. She is about 6 weeks old. Her problem is obvious from the pictures, a deformed left front paw. We call her Belle. ....









She is at the St. John Parish Animal Shelter.
124 Water Plant Road
LaPlace, LA 70068

(985) 651-7387

lfasm@rtconline.com

[Tambrey]

ooohhhhhh....she is ADORABLE.....if I were closer, I would definitely take her and I know our vet would do any surgeries required to help her...

Belle will learn to get along fine with only 3 legs...especially being young enough...my mother had a dog who was hit by a car, and had a leg amputated at the hip...she still ran around and no one even knew she ahd 3 legs unless she was walking...

I do hope Belle can find the help she needs and lead a fullfilling life!!
Keep us posted, and if there is anything I can do from here...let me know...

[k9Karen]

What a cutie. Hope she gets a good home.

[Traci]

Has the animal shelter staff contacted any of the vets in your area for surgical correction? This sounds like a case most vets would love to try their hand at, chances are, once surgery is done, a staff member at the clinic will probably take heart and may adopt the pup. If the pup tries to use the leg, and if that knee is knuckled, this will probably cause problems later on, in which case, amputating that limb may benefit the pup. On the other hand, if the knee can be re-extended and the correct length, the second limb malformity could be removed and the leg could be "braced" for some time to allow straightening.

[E's]

Traci writes along the same lines as I was thinking... it is difficult to tell from the pictures, but there appears to be a fully formed left paw Belle is using to clutch the hand holding her? I was wondering if the Gonzales, LA extension of LSU School of Veterinary Medicine is still in operation. About 25 years ago, soon after I returned to New Orleans from up North, that unit was doing some fine work re canine problems... The LSU Vet school website is in process of renovation, but you probably have the info for contacting them, there at the shelter.

Thanks for caring, and good luck to Belle. I am having my pre-op exam today, and if Hurricane Frances doesn't come into the Gulf, will have knee surgery on Friday. Tomorrow I will mail the donation I spoke of directly to you. Wish I could do more.

Dot B
Lakeview

[TheSkeptic]

Thanks for caring, and good luck to Belle. I am having my pre-op exam today, and if Hurricane Frances doesn't come into the Gulf, will have knee surgery on Friday. Tomorrow I will mail the donation I spoke of directly to you. Wish I could do more.

Dot B
Lakeview

Good luck on your surgery. Let us know if you need anything.

[Tambrey]

Ohhh....I was not implying that her little leg should be amputated...rather that she could get along on 3 legs if that one never worked right...but if she were mine, I would take her to our vet and see what he thought could be done for her elsewise...

As for referring to my mother's dog...that was just a sidenote that she did end up having to have her leg amputated as the vet tried surgically pinning it and everything and had her in a brace for well over 3 months....but when he Xrayed it after that time, he literally sat on the floor holding SHeba and crying as he had to tell my mother he was going to have to take her leg because nothing had set...but he tried as well as he could, with the damage that had been done and infection that had set in...

I would much rather see a doctor try to heal properly rather that just automatically go the "easiest" route...

I wish all the best for little Belle...she looks as if she will not always be so little As I said, if I were closer or had a way to do it...I would take her in a heartbeat...or my mother would...she has a tendency to take in the injured ones...her SHeba, as I said, had 3 legs...then later lost a toe on another foot to an infection...finally succombed to cancer at we guestimated her to be near to 18, for as many years as Mom had her, and they gray she had already when Mom found her...then Abigail ran into a stick in the field when she was a puppy and lost function in one eye...they just seem to know that she will take care of them and love them no matter what their problems

[TheSkeptic]

Ohhh....I was not implying that her little leg should be amputated...rather that she could get along on 3 legs if that one never worked right...but if she were mine, I would take her to our vet and see what he thought could be done for her elsewise...

As for referring to my mother's dog...that was just a sidenote that she did end up having to have her leg amputated as the vet tried surgically pinning it and everything and had her in a brace for well over 3 months....but when he Xrayed it after that time, he literally sat on the floor holding SHeba and crying as he had to tell my mother he was going to have to take her leg because nothing had set...but he tried as well as he could, with the damage that had been done and infection that had set in...

I would much rather see a doctor try to heal properly rather that just automatically go the "easiest" route...

I wish all the best for little Belle...she looks as if she will not always be so little As I said, if I were closer or had a way to do it...I would take her in a heartbeat...or my mother would...she has a tendency to take in the injured ones...her SHeba, as I said, had 3 legs...then later lost a toe on another foot to an infection...finally succombed to cancer at we guestimated her to be near to 18, for as many years as Mom had her, and they gray she had already when Mom found her...then Abigail ran into a stick in the field when she was a puppy and lost function in one eye...they just seem to know that she will take care of them and love them no matter what their problems

Sounds like a wonderful lady and some real careless dogs. VBG.

We have had several "Tripods" come through the shelter. I sometimes find them easier to adopt out than the healthy dogs. Which makes me wonder. ...

[Tambrey]

Not that I am prejudiced or anything...but yeah, my mom is a neat lady
Even my son's friends tell him he has a "cool grandma"

I am softhearted and seem to go for the underdogs...literally...and can never turn away animals...neither can my husband...or mom...I think we have signs in our yard that only animals can read...they say Stray and Injured Animals All Welcome Here

The vet who did the surgery on Sheba has passed on...but he was awesome...and written up in Reader's Digest once...his name was Sidney Milburn and he worked in Elk Point, SD...our vet now is very good too, and I think he would try just as hard as Doc Milburn did to do whatever he can for a critter...

[TheSkeptic]

Belle has gone to the LSU Vet school, where she will be the test for a new Vet Orthopedic surgeon. His grade and degree will hinge on part on how he cares for Belle under the supervision of an excellent orthopedic vet. Belle is sick however and that has to be cured of her ailment before surgery can be done. The orthopedic candidate has examined her and her x-rays and has mapped out a program of treatment that has been approved. His course depends on the condition of the bones just above the paw. If they are the way they think they are, Belle will only lose the oversized dew claw and her paw will be rotated around and placed in a normal position. If the bones are not as they think, then the whole leg will be amputated. We are expecting a full update on Wednesday. ....