Fergie was about 3 months old when she was turned into the SPCA because she was limping and her owner didn't want to spend any money trying to figure out why. Lucky for her, she was a cute little girl and, amidst all the sick dogs turned in every day, she was lucky enough to get the attention of some of the vets there. They were able to get some x-rays taken of her hind leg and they found that she had a problem called "avascular necrosis of the femoral head"- a fancy term that means part of one of the bones in her hip wasn't getting enough blood supply and had died, causing her limp. The condition definitely needed to be treated, since without surgery she would become increasingly painful and continue to limp.
The SPCA contacted Cares4pets because they know that we have a soft side for medical cases and are often able to take on the critters that no one else can afford or manage, with the expectation that we would amputate her leg, since it's the cheapest option in cases like these. After a long discussion, we instead decided to do a special (but more expensive) surgery called an FHO, where we remove only the dead part of the bone and create a false joint - thus saving her leg!
Fergie was doing great 2 months after surgery -she was using her leg, running, playing and happy - just waiting for her forever home. Then one day she seemed to have some pain in her foot and started licking it a lot. A few days later, she started chewing on her toes, so much that she caused a wound. After examining her we found that she did not have any feeling in her foot at all, so even though she could use it almost normally, the nerves were badly damaged. We tried several medications and wraps for her foot, but nothing seemed to help, in fact the nerve damage continued spreading up her leg, and worse yet, she seemed to have more pain. At this point we decided that the most humane and safest thing for Fergie was to remove her leg so that it wasn't hurting her.
She again did well in surgery and within a two days was running around on her remaining three legs without a care in the world. Unfortunately for us, however, these two procedures were very expensive. As a rescue group that is always short on funds (since we immediately take on more medical cases as soon as we earn a little money), this second surprise surgery dipped into our reserve funds. Because of that, Fergie is looking for a few sponsors! With any donation over $25, you'll be one of Fergie's Angels! For your support, we'll send you a picture of Fergie, her story, a sponsorship certificate, and a letter of thanks. Sponsorships in someone else's name are also welcome, just be sure to include their name, address, and reason for the gift (ie. birthday, etc). Email us at cares4pets@hotmail.com and donate via paypal or via check (sent to our PO Box). Fergie (and all of us) thank you!
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