Chelsea the dog with bad hips
Chelsea
has spent much of her life round-tripping through shelters.
By the time she was on her second tour of the Fort Benton,
Montana shelter, she was 5 years old and suffering from severe
hip displaysia in both legs.
Unable to adopt her out because of her medical condition, the shelter asked if we could take her. Saying ‘yes' meant a big financial commitment, because we knew we'd get her the veterinary care she required. And we knew how much hip operations cost. In her case, she'd need two of them. We swallowed hard and agreed to bring her to the sanctuary.
When this big, 100 pound Newfoundland/Rottweiler mix arrived, she walked with a pronounced shuffle. She seemed uncomfortable getting up and laying down. Yet despite the pain she was in, Chelsea never let it affect her disposition. She firmly believes that the secret to getting ahead in life is to greet everyone by licking them in the face … dogs, cats and people.
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She had her first operation, a femoral head ostectomy, shortly after arriving. In this procedure, the ball is cut off the head of the femur and leg muscles are used to provide the support once provided by the failing hip joint. We had to wait a few months for that hip to heal before doing the operation on the other leg. Now she's had both hip operations done and has completely recovered. Chelsea walks with a different kind of gait, but she is no longer in pain and her legs should last as long as she does.
She's built like an NFL linebacker, and given her size she could get away with anything she wanted, but all she wants is to be everybody's friend. She shares her sweet, maternal temperament with all the other dogs.
Her favorite thing to do is to roll around in the grass in her thick, shaggy coat and then come inside, bringing half the yard with her. Nothing gets her more interested in rolling around outside than a good brushing inside.
Photo credits: Lincoln Anderson
