I am writing to tell you about a very special little guy I am fostering. He is a nine week old pit bull puppy who was born with quite deformed front limbs.
Hello, lovers of special pets! I am writing to tell you about a very special little guy I am fostering.
He is a nine week old pit bull puppy who was born with quite deformed front limbs. He was abandoned on someone’s front porch, and that person brought him to the animal hospital I work at here in Portland, OR to be euthanized. If you take a look at the pictures attached, you will see why I was hard-pressed to take part in such a thing. He is not in any pain, and quite healthy apart from his unusual forelimbs.
I’ve been calling him ‘Sidecar.’ He is able to army-crawl and hop around quite well, and as playful and happy as any pup. He has no problem eating or going to the bathroom on his own, and has been incredibly successful withhis crate training in just the week or so that I’ve had him.
When not in the crate, he vocalizes to let me know when he needs to go out! He is even making progress on learning how to walk upright on his hind limbs, but there are no guarantees for success there, so it is likely he will need a front end cart, especially if his front legs don’t grow as much as the rest of him. Based on his radiographs, the surgeons I have spoken to so far do not think there is a surgery that is likely to improve his mobility, but I will be taking him for a consultation with an orthopedic specialist this week to make sure I’m not ruling out any possibilities that could be beneficial for him. I’m not really willing to let him be someone’s guinea pig and go through a painful, traumatic procedure and rehabilitation unless there is a solid prognosis for an improvement in his eventual quality of life. However, that decision may not be up to me as I am really hoping to find the very special ‘forever home’ that this little guy needs.
I will be moving out of the country in a few months and unable to take him with me, even if I had the kind of lifestyle conducive to his special needs (which, long term, I really don’t.) I’m sharing his story for a couple reasons; First, I could use any advice or assistance on creating front-end carts to grow with him until he is big enough to be fitted for a custom job (assuming he isn’t successful walking upright, which I think he may be - today he is able to sit upright on his own for the first time, I don’t have a photo yet but it is super cute and exciting!). Second, and more importantly, I would love any advice or resources (or interested parties!) that could help in finding the very wonderful person or family that can adopt and take care of him. I am able to help out financially in getting him a cart or surgery if that is what he needs. I just really want him to be able to find the very special, loving home he needs. Thanks for taking the time to read Sidecar’s story, and best of luck to all those other special needs critters out there! Please contact me at jesscasey66@hotmail.com if you have any advice for us. Thanks, Jess