When Snoopy was less than 6 months old, his leg was very badly crushed in unknown circumstances. His owner couldn’t afford the expensive surgery required to repair his leg, and he was due to be euthanized before his life could truly begin. Luck intervened and he was transferred to the CCRT instead, where we desperately tried to save his leg.
He underwent the expensive, delicate operation and began the long road to recovery. He encountered many complications along the way. After 8 weeks of a hard cast, he had developed so many pressure sores on his leg from the cast rubbing, that the vet had to remove it early. A soft bandage was put on to help protect the bone, which wasn’t healed yet. But Snoopy, being an active puppy, didn’t want to play quietly so the bone could heal. He had to be confined to his crate for most of the day, and was sedated so he would relax. After a couple weeks of soft bandages, another bad sore developed very close to the fracture site. Fearing the infection would spread to the bone, the vet had to take the bandages off so that the sore could be monitored, cleaned and medicated monthly. Of course Snoopy still wanted to play – especially now that the bandages were off his leg! But his leg wasn’t healed yet. His sedatives were increased and he was only allowed to come out of his crate for snuggles or to go to the bathroom.
The sores slowly began to heal. While he couldn’t put weight on his leg, he was allowed to start hydrotherapy to regain some of the strength in his leg. So Snoopy’s foster family got him his very own pool, and set it up in the parking area of their apartment. Snoopy got to go swimming every day. He became a hit, and all the neighbors would come and watch him paddle away in his swimming pool.
After 3 more weeks, a last set of x-rays was taken. Good news – the leg has healed! It will always be crooked and smaller, but Snoopy doesn’t let that bother him! He is free of the crate and can play and run again!
Snoopy’s foster family decided that they just couldn’t let this little guy go, he had wrapped himself so totally into their hearts, and have adopted him. He now has a sister who he can play with all day, and they love to wrestle and play “zoom-doggy” where they race around and around for hours. Then when they get tired, they snuggle together on their big pillow and have a nap in the sun.
Snoopy’s new family is working on his training and teaching him what a well-behaved puppy needs to know. Having spent over a third of his life with a broken leg, he didn’t have a chance to experience a lot of good things. He is very scared of new people, and wants to bite them before they can hurt him. He is slowly learning that no one is going to hurt him again, and is learning to trust new people. He recently celebrated his first birthday, and is looking forward to many more! Especially the cake and presents part!
