Sally's a star at CSU

Injured dog to get prosthetic leg

Daniel J. Chacon, Rocky Mountain News

Published June 28, 2007 at midnight

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In Kuwait, she was abandoned in the desert and left for dead.

In Fort Collins, Sally the three-legged dog is being considered for a revolutionary prosthetic procedure in which skin, muscle and bone actually grow into certain metallic implants.

"This implant is formed from titanium, and it’s coated with a space-age coating such that soft tissue can grow into the metal and cause it to be a permanent piece of the bone," said Lauren Immel, a spokeswoman for VCA Alameda East Veterinary Hospital in Denver, the only facility to have done the procedure on two dogs.

The procedure, known as biological ingrowth, could one day be used on human amputations.

"Certainly, we anticipate application to more than just dogs," Immel said.

"It has the potential to change the lives of ... animals and people throughout the world, and it’s being done right here in Denver."

A team of doctors at the Colorado State University James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital is consulting with Dr. Robert Taylor of Alameda East to perform the procedure on Sally.

However, additional tests are being conducted to determine whether she’s a viable candidate.

"At the moment, it’s looking pretty positive, but we’ll have to wait and see," said Lauren Cuddy, an exchange student from Ireland.

Sally was found wandering in the Kuwaiti desert around February and was rescued by the Progressive Animal Welfare Society.

Steven Holden, an architect and a volunteer with PAWS, immediately took a liking to Sally.

"All the dogs are fantastic, but she was just so joyful and so playful, and she’d been through so much and it just didn’t seem to phase her," he said. "I just fell in love with her."

Holden, a graduate of CSU, said he contacted the teaching hospital for a second opinion because veterinarians in Kuwait wanted to amputate her leg.

Holden got a response from Dr. Erick Egger, who told him about the cutting-edge technology and that he had room in his house for a dog like Sally, who is a Saluki.

Although Muslins consider dogs unclean, a Saluki gets special treatment in the Arab world. The breed was held in great esteem, according to the Saluki Club of America, Inc.

Holden, who had planned to return to the United States for a short time, said he decided to bring Sally to Colorado.

Egger, who has four other dogs at home, said Sally, who may have been injured four or five months ago, appears to be a good candidate for the new procedure.

"One of the big problems with the traditional socket-type prosthesis is that dogs won’t use them and then they chew them up," he said.

"What will make this work or not work in the long-term is if she’ll try to learn how to use it. But as we watched her walk around, she does (use her injured hind leg). If we can get a long enough stable prosthesis, I think there’s a good chance she’ll be able to use the thing."

In the meantime, Egger will have to work on house training.

"She was fine this morning other than the fact that she doesn’t like peeing in the grass," he said. "I don’t think green does much for her. She likes my tan carpet better than anything."

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