Helena Independent Record, Dec. 6, 2002
No quit in this dog: Caregivers attempt to fix pup's old, nagging injury
By Martin J. Kidston, IR Staff Writer
He's a brown-eyed dog with a long story to tell and on Thursday, as he lay upon an X-ray table with his tongue hanging from his mouth, a team of caregivers took their place in writing another chapter in the creature's young life.
Steve Smith, owner of the Rolling
Dog Ranch Animal Sanctuary in Ovando, holds his friend
Jasper, who Smith hopes will be coming home with him
soon. |
With any luck, Brenda Culver, doctor of veterinary medicine at the Rocky Mountain Animal Clinic in Helena, and Steve Smith, owner of the Rolling Dog Ranch Animal Sanctuary in Ovando will return Jasper to a carefree life.
Jasper's story began several months ago in the Bull Mountains when a stranger called Sandy Church at the Rimrock Humane Society in Roundup saying he had found an emaciated bird dog with a leg problem.
"I didn't like the look of his shoulder, nor the fact that he hadn't had any groceries in a while," Church said. The dog had no collar and his crooked elbow left him unable to walk. So Church took Jasper to a rural veterinarian to find out what was wrong with his leg. "She told us the injury was probably old," Church said. "It looked like he had been hit by a car and whoever owned him never had it treated." The vet felt Jasper's leg should be amputated at the shoulder. She also felt that because few people would be willing to adopt a three-legged dog, Jasper should be euthanized.
But Church wasn't satisfied with the vet's answer. She took Jasper in for a second opinion. "The new vet told us this was a nice, young dog and there was no way he would euthanize him," Church said.
The vet felt that with some physical therapy Jasper could regain use of his leg. Church knew a man named Joe Mathis who handles special-needs cases like Jasper's, so she took the dog to his home. Mathis, who is partially disabled, was sympathetic to Jasper's case from the onset.
"I almost lost an arm, so I kind of had an understanding
of his injury," Mathis said. "When I first got Jasper,
his leg was so atrophied, it was just like a hook."
Mathis worked with Jasper, placing braces on the dog's leg
in an attempt to correct the strange injury. The effort worked
to some degree, but the dog's elbow was damaged beyond the
scope of simple therapy. After a few months, Mathis decided
he had done all he could.
"I didn't want to extend the leg any more," Mathis said. "He's too wonderful a dog to let suffer." But Mathis had grown fond of the spotted canine. While in his care, Jasper had adopted four baby rabbits. He also found comfort in Mathis' lap and spent long hours gazing at the family's Christmas tree. "Of course I fell in love with him," Mathis said. "He just made friends with everyone."
When Smith agreed to take Jasper under his care at the Rolling
Dog Ranch, Mathis reluctantly agreed and let his new friend
go. The animal sanctuary, he knew, was the right place for
Jasper, as the Ovando ranch provides good homes to neglected,
handicapped, elderly and homeless animals. It has also had
success in placing three-legged dogs.
 Dr. Brenda Culver holds a sedated Jasper while Smith examines how the muscles and tendons have atrophied in Jasper's right front leg. Photo by George Lane/IR |
Smith took Jasper to the Rocky Mountain Veterinary Clinic where Culver hoped to finally uncover the root of the dog's ailment.
Jasper's excitement waned under the influence of a mild sedative as Culver began to examine the dog's leg. Flexing was no problem. There was no nerve entrapment. But the muscle, Culver found, had shriveled away due to non-use. "What we're noticing is that the paw seems so much bigger," Culver said. "We have muscle atrophy above it."
X-rays soon revealed the problem: Jasper had suffered a badly broken elbow several months ago. The injury, which had healed poorly, left the dog limping on a leg that was bent like a hook.
"We're guardedly optimistic," Culver said of the dog's prognosis. Smith agreed to Culver's recommendation that Jasper's X-rays be sent to Spokane doctor Jeff Siems, a board-certified radiologist, one of the best in business.
It may take a week for a prognosis, and Jasper may yet lose
his leg. But either way, Smith is certain Jasper will live
a good life, four legs or not.
