The 13 - week - previous stinker terrier suffer from innate elbow luxation , a rare condition in which the rotated articulation causes the paw to bend out of place .
conceive of having to creep on your wrists everywhere you go . That was the exact reality for Siggi , a 13 - hebdomad - oldrat terrierrescue dog with congenital elbow luxation , a uncommon aesculapian deformity cause her paws to taper upwards instead of downward . But thanks toOklahoma State University ’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital(VTH ) andDallas Dog RRR , Siggi can now toy like any other pup .
" It definitely was n’t just an legerdemain . It was literal , " says Erik Clary , DVM , Ph.D. , DACVS , and small animal surgeon at OSU ’s VTH . " Siggi ’s paw really were upside down . "
Courtesy of Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine
Though it looks like a trouble with the paws , Clary say the deformity come when the elbows come out of their marijuana cigarette and rotate either while dogs are in utero or presently after they ’re born . Siggi ’s elbow rotate nearly 180 level , causing her paws to aim upwardly .
Avideoposted on the veterinary shoal ’s YouTube page evince Siggi doing what looks like an awkward US Army crawl toward aveterinary staffmember . She shuffles forward , balance on her dead set wrists as her tail give a minuscule waggle .
" It definitely is an issue with deference to theirquality of life , " Clary tells Daily Paws . " They just ca n’t get around well , and on top of that , they ’re prone to hurting the tops of their carpus because those are n’t design for weight unit charge . "
Dallas Dog RRR make up one’s mind to send Siggi to OSU after reading about the OSU vets ' work with Milo , a foxhound puppy with upturned paws Clary operated on in 2019 . On May 12 , Clary performed surgery to put Siggi ’s finger cymbals back in their elbow joints . He had to create fractures along her bones so as to realign them . They then localize orthopedic pin in Siggi to help her heal correctly . The pin were protected by a magnanimous , front - body splint for around six weeks .
Once Siggi healed from the successful surgery , she was sent back to Dallas Dog RRR on June 29 to begin rehabilitation . There , Siggi was placed with Lorraine , amedical foster parentwith DDRRR who was tax with instruct the whelp to walk and build up her muscleman . Clary ’s team helped inform and guide her attention from Stillwater .
" Siggi ’s convalescence is n’t everlasting in the good sense that there ’s continued rehab , but she ’s continued to make progress , " Clary say Daily Paws .
Today , Clary is proud of to describe that Siggi is felicitous , healthy , and live a modus vivendi on par with most dogs her eld . She course and plays , just as a puppy should .
Siggi ’s new elbow room of life is a major veterinary success , one that Clary insists is a product of with child work from a wide spectrum of caring master . Beyond the bookman and faculty of OSU ’s vet school , he ’s especially appreciative of Lorraine with DDRRR .
" [ Siggi ’s ] made very salutary forward motion and I assign that not just to having the surgery done but also to the care that has happened after OR , " Clary says .
Clary suspects many dogs with alarming or abnormal conditions like paws face up may be euthanized instead of fetch in for treatment , but there may always be hope for our furry friends . Siggi is proof .
" Even when things look pretty severe , sometimes these term can be handle , " Clary says .
