Rocky Mountain Great Dane Rescue, Inc.

Dottie came to us from a family located in Kansas City, Missouri. She has been in at least 2 homes that we know of because this adopted her from a shelter two months previous to her arrival into our care. She was only 58 lbs and skeletal at the time that they saved her. They nursed her back to health only to find out that she had an angular deformity in one of her legs that needed advanced surgery to correct. Her family loved her very much, but unfortunately were not in a position where they could afford to get her the medical care she required or give her the time and attention required for her recovery, so they contacted RMGDRI for assistance.

November 5, 2007

Dottie came into rescue just a few days ago and is adjusting well to her foster home. Dr. Rooney took a look at her x-rays today and feels confident in his ability to perform surgery to correct her angular deformity. It will be a very similar procedure to the one he recently performed on Boz with an external fixator rather than a plate because it is so close to the bone.

Dottie underwent surgery today with Dr. Rooney at TLC Animal Hospital. The procedure went smoothly and he was pleased with the results. He essentially took a wedge of the bone out so that it is larger on one side than the other to correct the deficit from the side that has been experiencing excessive growth. He put on an external fixator for 8-12 weeks and the first 6 week post-op will require very limited activity and confinement in order to ensure than the bone heals properly. Dottie is alert and comfortable and her foster mom will have her hands full keeping this sweet puppy quiet!

January 9, 2008

Tomorrow will be 5 weeks post-op for Dottie. She’s doing great, but going stir-crazy due to the need for confinement right now. Per Dr. Rooney’s instructions, Dot must be "a dog in a box" for the full eight week period that she has her external fixator. Being a typical puppy, she has destroyed her fair share of e-collars and bandages so far and, due to the probability that we’d just continue to waste bandage material, we’ve decided to stop doing them. Since the bandages somewhat protect the exposed areas where the pins go into her legs, her foster mom is cleaning the sites everyday with sterile scrub and once a week soaking them with iodine sponges. Dot has learned that it is to her benefit to just lay there and let Lauren clean the sites and she seems to actually enjoy the process, which is helpful. All in all, Miss Spotty Dotty is just ready to be a puppy again and we are all anxious for her time to come. Once she gets the fixator out, she’ll have recovery time in a cast as well, but she’ll be allowed to move around more.

February 4, 2008

On Friday, Dottie's external fixator was removed. Since the little rascal wouldn't leave a bandage alone while she had the fixator on, it was left uncovered. Even with her foster mom diligently cleaning her leg every other day and an e-collar to prevent her from messing with it, some areas got slightly infected. Dr. Landry put a splint on her leg that will stay on for 2 weeks. He also prescribed two weeks of Clavamox to clear up the infection. Once she gets the splint off she will be officially medically cleared and ready to go a forever home!