Vet’s ingenuity saves dog shot, crippled, dumped in desert
by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris
Dogs get dumped every day, left to fend for themselves on the street, in the woods, or wherever it strikes human fancy to abandon them.
When a certain little pit bull now named Monty got dumped, it was with a bonus. First somebody shot him in the back legs, then left him alone in the desert to drag himself around on his front ones.
But as Helen Keller said, “Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.”
Smiling, energetic Monty waits for a new home Photo: Animal Rescue Volunteers
Balfour found an old infected fracture and wound on Monty’s left tibia. He also discovered that the sweet-natured dog who loved to give him kisses had endured a destroyed and infected Achilles tendon on his right hind leg. On top of it all, abdominal x-rays revealed lots of gunshot pellets.
A challenging case, to say the least. Balfour got to work. Pioneering surgery
First Balfour and his ASEC team performed several surgeries to plate the left hind leg’s tibia. But due to the severe bone loss, they could not restore the blood supply to the area, so the leg was unable to heal. After seven months of effort, the team ended up having to amputate it.
Nevertheless Balfour, a specialist in orthopedic and neurological issues and author of several chapters in veterinary textbooks, was determined to return mobility to the energetic young dog who, in spite of everything, kept up his cheerful wag and smile.
“He had a tremendous spirit,” said the vet, “even when he could barely walk on his hind legs.”
He studied Monty’s right hind leg, the one with the destroyed Achilles tendon. Repair was impossible. But there must be something he could do.
Balfour knew that polypropylene mesh had been used before to strengthen tendon transplants in dogs. That material had never been used in canine surgery to replace a tendon. But he knew the mesh had been used sporadically for tendon replacements in humans. Why not try it on Monty?
“We constructed a fake Achilles tendon out of polypropylene mesh and sutured it in place of the missing tendon,” Balfour explained. “Prior to Monty’s surgery we had never previously attempted to replace the Achilles tendon with mesh.”
Now, in testament to Balfour’s pioneering technique, not only can Monty walk again, but one of his favorite hobbies is pulling his foster mom around on her skateboard.
You’d never know he has a fake Achilles tendon. He’s fully recovered and ready for adoption.
Monty is one of the favorites
“I worked with Monty for about ten months, and he is one of our favorite dogs to come in the hospital,” said Balfour. “Even though I couldn't save both of his legs, I feel ecstatic that Animal Rescue Volunteers gave me the chance to save one of his hind legs and give him a tremendous quality of life.”
Lisa Baumer of Animal Rescue Volunteers had this to say about the vet and his patient: “Dr. Balfour has been amazing and kind. He did everything he could to give Monty the best chance at being able to walk. Monty trusts him as much as we do and he thinks of ASEC as a happy place and gets so excited to go there.”
“Monty has a strange love affair with Dr. Balfour and Zoe the vet tech,” Baumer continued, “and we are so happy that they gave him a second chance! We are so thankful that Dr. Balfour was there to address our concerns and always made sure we knew what was going on, whether the news was good or bad. It takes a village to save a soul and Dr. Balfour was a huge part of that village. We now call him 'the amazing Dr. Balfour' whenever we talk about him.” Monty, at about two or three years young, is “a happy, active boy,” reported Baumer, and he’s always ready to give out kisses.
Balfour said there should be “no lingering medical issues or special care that would be required of Monty’s new family.”
