Gwen’s story started in August 2020 when she was surrendered to a local shelter at 9 weeks old with both of her front legs broken and already beginning to heal. She has a long story that we hope you will read.
Right away it was obvious that Gwen’s left front leg was broken and deformed. Two orthopedic specialists were consulted, and surgery was not an option, so we proceeded with amputation. The same day that her left front leg was amputated, an x-ray of her right front leg was done which revealed that leg also had an old break at the elbow.
In September 2020, Gwen had surgery at Chesapeake Orthopedic Specialty to repair her right broken elbow. The surgery went well and all seemed fine until her 8-week follow-up x-rays which showed her surgery had failed. Chesapeake Specialty recommended we take Gwen to the University of Pennsylvania specialty hospital for a second opinion.
In November, Gwen had another surgery to repair her right broken elbow. We did x-rays in December just to see how things were going and those x-rays appeared things were on track. So, in January when Gwen had her 8-week follow-up x-rays, and we were told things were not moving in the right direction we were devastated. The bone appeared to be dissolving under the plates. Farm decided to give her more time on strict crate rest to see if she would heal.
Early in March 2021, we noticed swelling at Gwen’s elbow and we knew this wasn’t good. She had developed an abscess. The vets called it implant-related infection. The plates holding her leg together were causing a large abscess that opened and was draining. The strong antibiotics to fight the infection made her not feel good. She wasn’t eating and her stomach was upset often.
After weeks of antibiotics and wound care with no improvement, we were faced with a very hard decision. The implant/plate needed to come out for the infection to clear. But we couldn’t take the plate out because the bone wasn’t healed. After much thought and taking into consideration that we could see Gwen felt sick and was done fighting this infection, we decided to amputate her right front leg making her a double front leg amputee.
Gwen’s amputation was on April 2nd. That very night the University of Pennsylvania sent us a video of Gwen standing and moving around on her own. She had spent months not using that leg and seemed to adjust to the amputation almost immediately. After almost 8 months of crate rest/activity restriction, she is finally able to move around and be the happy puppy she wants to be.
We hope you will find Gwen’s story a happy one. She is very happy and adjusting well. She will see a physical therapist in the very near future to be fitted for a wheelchair/cart to help her be able to run and play.
We need your help to cover the costs of Gwen’s surgeries and medical care We need your help, to help Gwen have her shot at a healthy, happy puppyhood. Please share this fundraiser and donate if you are able. FARM relies heavily on your generous tax-deductible donations.
ABOUT FARM:
Fallston Animal Rescue Movement, Inc. (FARM), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established by Greg and Barbara Bertling in 2000, is often the difference between life and death for many rescued pets. FARM’s mission is to rescue pets from local shelters who either “run out of time” or are “deemed unadoptable” due to medical issues, behavioral issues, or age. Rescued pets receive required medical care (emergency, routine, and specialty), behavior modification, and training, as well as boarding, food, grooming, and shelter. Thousands of pets have been rescued and adopted since FARM’s inception.