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Putting the rove back in Rover

Sally, dog rescued from Kuwait, fitted for artificial leg

Tillie Fong, Rocky Mountain News

Published September 28, 2007 at midnight

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Sally, the three-legged dog rescued from Kuwait, had her first fitting for a temporary prosthetic leg Thursday, setting her up for a revolutionary procedure that will help her walk.

"Today was the first day we did the trial fit, and she adapted pretty well to it," said Dr. Erick Egger, senior small-animal orthopedic surgeon at the veterinary teaching hospital of Colorado State University.

Sally, a 1-year-old Saluki, was found wandering in the desert in February, with her left hind leg amputated at the hock (ankle joint).

She was rescued by the Progressive Animal Welfare Society and was brought to Colorado in June by a former Colorado State student.

Since then, Sally has been adopted by Egger, who has four other dogs.

Sally has been quite active, using her leg stump to get over rocks and logs when she accompanies Egger on mountain hikes.

"We have some property in Steamboat Springs, and she loves it up there," he said.

The fitting Thursday at the veterinary teaching hospital in Fort Collins was the first step in a long process of getting the dog ready for biological ingrowth, a new procedure that would allow her to have the use of her left hind leg again.

The process involves having skin, muscle and bone grow into certain metallic implants, thus providing a permanent replacement.

But first, doctors have to make sure that Sally can adapt to having an artificial leg.

Thursday, Egger had a see- through plastic "boot" strapped onto Sally to test for fit. The boot will be used to mold the temporary prosthetic.

"We check on the orthotics to make sure that it fits against the skin and soft tissue correctly," Egger said.

Sally also had her gait analyzed while walking on a special device, which measured how her foot hits the ground.

Egger said he expects that the temporary prosthetic will be ready next week.

For the first week or so, she will be wearing it off and on, so that her skin will get used to the contact.

After she becomes accustomed to it, she will have it on all of the time for two to three months.

Eventually, Egger expects that Sally will more than compete with his other dogs.

"With a good functional leg, she's going to beat them all," he said.