Max (puppy With Inverted Rear Paws) Comes To Subang Today!
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Early this morning, I texted Jacinta to make sure they have the address and directions to the clinic. They arrived at 9.55am, right on the dot for the 10am appointment, all the way from Ipoh too.
Kelly with Max!
He’s oh-so-so adorable!
Max had not urinated along the way. Jacinta is feeding him some water. Jacinta is very touched that we’ve provided all this help for Max and both Kelly and Jacinta are very grateful to everyone who is helping.
Max had been rescued with pretty bad mange, but Kelly treated him and he’s all well now – a very handsome fellow, I must say.
He still did not want to urinate.
Taking down the history of Max first.
Look at how Max adjusts himself. His legs are on one side.
The ligaments and muscles are quite tight, but they can still be flexed. Max also had no testicles in his scrotum. Probably both testicles are inside and underdeveloped. The vet suspects there is more deformity than what meets the eye. It is probably a birth defect. Max is also quite anaemic. Kelly said she had been feeding him only kibble food and he does eat well.
Max was abandoned along with two siblings at Kelly’s doorstep a month ago. At that time, Kelly had not informed me and she did not know it was urgent to get the puppy attended to by a vet. It was only later that she brought Max to her regular vet and was told surgery would cost RM3000 per leg. On 10th October, Kelly appealed for help.
Although the soft tissues already feel tight, there is still hope that the leg can be flexed back to its “right” position. The vet advised massaging both legs a total of 100 times three times a day. “100 times” sounds like a lot, but it should not take too long.
Surgery is not necessary and should be the last option. There is also no urgency for surgery at this moment. The vet advised physiotherapy and an X-Ray. But the clinic’s X-Ray machine was not functioning so we would have to get to another clinic. Oops, I didn’t know the directions to that clinic. But we’ll figure out how to get there somehow (I’m completely hopeless with directions outside Subang Jaya).
Lydia soon arrived. I had enlisted Lydia’s help in this case.
And Lydia has a GPS, so that will guide us to the other clinic. Great!
Lydia brought a rubber mat too.
The vet said using the rubber mat for rehabilitation is an excellent idea. Sometimes, during the growing period, the wrong type of flooring could jeopardise proper growth.
The vet explained which muscles need to be worked on.
Lydia and the vet both concur that the is hope that physiotherapy may help.
We needed to have an X-Ray taken at other clinic, so off we went. While driving there, the taxi driver who had brought Kelly, Jacinta and Max down from Ipoh called to say his taxi had been smashed up while he was driving to get lunch. The taxi was so bad, it had to be towed. There was no way the taxi could be repaired in time for the trip home. Oh dear…how will they go home today?
I called some friends for help. Nobody was going down to Ipoh today, but a friend was willing to drive them all back after 7pm today. I called a taxi service and they were willing to take them back to Ipoh but cautioned that pets are not allowed on taxis. Should there be roadblocks, there might be problems.
On thing at a time, let’s get the X-Rays done first.
Max still refused to urinate and Kelly and Jacinta were getting worried. I told them not to, Max will urinate when his bladder is full.
It turned out to be a blessing in disguise that we had to come to this clinic to get the X-Rays done as we could now get a second opinion on Max’s condition.
A lot of technical jargon here, which I cannot remember now, but it’s roughly the same diagnosis – soft tissue problem.
We wanted to see how Max would walk.
He hopped like a bunny! He has adjusted himself to his condition that he uses his buttocks to move forward. The two hind legs are used as “walking sticks” that move in unison as the buttocks propel him forward.
As Max was taken to get the X-Rays done, we quickly went to a nearby shop for lunch. No time to waste.
A quick recall for those who are not familiar with Kelly and Jacinta’s work: They look after about 118 dogs in a small shelter in Tanjong Rambutan (some dogs are in Ipoh, in unoccupied houses of friends). Kelly sold her own house to set up this shelter and she is unemployed. Jacinta works in an office and spends her entire salary on the shelter and the dogs. They are very committed in looking after the dogs and take turns going into the shelter. We support their work with our Medical and Food Fund.
The X-Rays show that the primary cause is the hips.
It’s severe hip dysplasia. It’s not the knees.
The hip socket is missing. It had not been properly formed.
The problem at the hips caused everything else in the legs to be “abnormal” during this growing stage. So, if the hip problem can be corrected with physiotherapy, there is still a chance everything else might grow back correctly. Max is estimated to be about 3 months old and is still growing.
There is hope.
The vet explained using this model. There is supposed to be a groove in this hip bone, but Max doesn’t have the groove because of the deformity.
So, the diagnosis is the same. Max’s problem can be helped with physiotherapy. Only if this fails, surgery can be done much later.
By now, after some phonecalls, we managed to get a fosterer (who has requested anonymity) to look after Max for two weeks while Lydia will work with Max daily with physiotherapy and the needed care.
Isn’t that the happiest news ever?
In these two weeks, hopefully we will see progress. The vet had said that even if there is a little bit of progress in two weeks, forget surgery. Max is still growing, his chances would be good. So, these two weeks is quite crucial, and Kelly was really worried she wouldn’t have the time to do the thrice daily massage or to do it correctly.
Now, that worry is solved. Lydia will work with Max daily and Max already has a place to stay during this period.
Now, we had to settle our human problem. Kelly and Jacinta’s belongings were still in the taxi, and the taxi driver kept calling for us to collect the things as his taxi had to be towed from the traffic police station. I didn’t know where the traffic police station was, and I did not want to cart Max around in the car, so I suggested we drop Max, Kelly and Lydia back at my house, let Max have some food and rest while Jacinta and I go look for the taxi driver to collect their things.
Back at my house, Max was SO happy to see grass he frolicked happily in the garden.
It was so nice seeing him hop around cheerfully. Bosco and Raven played the perfect hosts and greeted everyone.
Max also urinated, to everyone’s relief!
I brought out some of my home-cooked food and Jacinta and I left to look for the taxi driver.Bosco and Raven were left in charge.
We found the police station, the taxi driver…and his car.
Gosh, this is pretty bad. Apparently, the driver said he banged into a 4-wheeler at the traffic lights. The 4-wheeler got off with hardly a scratch, but his taxi….wasn’t as lucky. The taxi driver had family in KL so he said not to worry, he would be okay. I had arranged for a friend to send Kelly and Jacinta to the bus station for a ride home, so I thought the driver might need a ride too.
Since he did not need help, we took Kelly and Jacinta’s belongings and bade him farewell and good luck.
Back home, Max had eaten a meal, taken a nap and was now happily doing reflexology on himself by walking (hopping?) on the pebble walk in my garden! Lydia was quite surprised that he liked “walking” on the pebbles. Hey, it’s ancient Chinese reflexology and Max probably knows it.
With a bit of walking, we saw him flexing one of his paws in the right way already.
Hey…there is hope.
Max is completely comfortable with Lydia.
Animals know, don’t they?
We went back to the first clinic as the vet was waiting for the X-Rays.
Yes, his diagnosis is confirmed.
A chart is brought out to explain the condition further.
The hip socket (No. 2) is missing in Max.
See?
At this point, with the benefit of youth, physiotherapy is the most effective method to correct this deformity. Once the hip is in the correct position, the rest of the leg might just grow back correctly. Max has a fighting chance of recovery. The body will compensate once everything is back into position. It can correct itself, somehow.
The vet also said that Max has to lose some weight. With hip dysplasia, the legs would not be able to bear too much weight. So, Max has to be on a weight-loss diet for the next 2 weeks!
Lydia says she will also work with Max in the water pool as it is easier to flex the muscles under water. Also, before each physio session, hot water compression will be used to encourage blood circulation.
We are all happy to hear the hopeful news.
Aww…
You know what is so adorable about Max? He accepts his deformity, he adjusts his body accordingly and he doesn’t complain. Even when both vets examined him and flexed his legs, at most he would close his eyes tightly to bear the pain (we asked the vets if it was painful and the vets said “yes”). But Max did not make a single sound. He just closed his eyes. We could see he was bearing the pain.
We say our goodbyes now.
A friend had arrived to drive Kelly and Jacinta to the bus terminal in KL.
Lydia will take Max to the fosterer and begin the daily physiotherapy with him.
Lydia will also take Max to Dr Susanna to see if any further treatment can be done during these two weeks while Max is here. Maybe homeopathy would help.
I finally reach home and am greeted by Bosco and Raven after a long day.
“We’ve been guarding your shoes while you were away”, they seem to say.
Today’s taxi and bus fare for Kelly and Jacinta are sponsored by my friends. The medical fee in both clinics was only RM135 (RM120 for the X-Rays and RM15 for the consultation) and is jointly sponsored from our Medical Fund and by Panda N Gang. We will cover Max’s expenses while he is here for two weeks.
Jacinta and Kelly did remark that our vets over here are so knowledgeable, kind-hearted and very reasonable with their charges. Yes, we are lucky, aren’t we?
We wish to thank Lydia for helping Max, the fosterer for giving Max a place to stay and everyone who has helped. Today’s experience has been clearly a case of everyone “working together for Max”. Thank you all. I couldn’t have done it by myself.
Please keep Max in your prayers and wish him a speedy recovery.
Updates at 6.40pm: Max has gone for his first acupuncture session and now has homeopathy medicines. Kelly and Jacinta have just reached Ipoh and are safe and sound.
Source: http://myanimalcare.org/2012/10/15/max-puppy-with-inverted-rear-paws-comes-to-subang-today/
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