Miracle workers: Cornell clinicians give
two-legged dog new lease on life
By all accounts, Scooter is lucky to be alive. The pointy-eared, white-and-cream-colored mutt has no back legs. Found dragging herself around on the streets
of Thailand by a local animal rescue organization, Scooter's lower body was covered in huge, inflamed sores. Now, thanks to her new owner Willow Sullivan, several caring donors and volunteers, and the veterinary medical team at
Cornell University Hospital for Animals (CUHA), Scooter is healing and on the move. "She's truly a miracle dog," says Sullivan.
A highly unusual case
When Dr. Chris Frye, resident in both
sports medicine and
clinical nutrition, first examined Scooter, the extent of her injuries were unlike anything he had seen before at the hospital. "The whole case is highly unusual," he says. Besides her missing hind legs, (which looked to have been removed purposefully)
Scooter's spine had been broken, causing a tell-tale hump in her back. A whole body CT scan revealed several fracture sites in the spine, neck, ribs, and in both femurs of the back legs. "She must have sustained massive trauma," says Frye. "We know that it
must have happened over three months ago, and that she had been living like that for at least that long. She's an incredible dog."
Mobile once more
The medical team outfitted Scooter with a custom-designed cart, funded by a donor, which allows Scooter's lower half to be strapped in and gently supported
by a cloth sling. Scooter's first experience with the cart "was pretty amazing," says Frye. Initially unsure, she walked backwards into a wall. But with encouragement, she began to walk forward using her front legs. "We took her outside, and Willow [Sullivan]
called to her-she took a few steps, and it was like a light went off in her head-she just took off running. You could see how excited this dog was to get around on her own." Sullivan was amazed as well. "The sports medicine [program] did an amazing job working
with her," she says. "They truly have given her back her life."
Now, Scooter easily wheels herself around Sullivan's home, which also serves as an animal sanctuary called Willow's Wings. There, Scooter explores the fields
and rolls into the barn to meet and greet the other rescue animals. Both Scooter and her cart are remarkably durable; "Sometimes she'll flip over in the cart," says Sullivan, "but we just flip her upright and she's on her way again." After the wheeled excursions,
Sullivan removes the cart to give Scooter's front legs a rest.
Scooter's personality has also undergone a complete transformation; upon arriving in the U.S., the dog was terrified and aggressive-biting Sullivan when
they first met. She wasn't too keen on the CUHA medical team either. "She was very hard to handle, she didn't trust people- you could tell she had had a really tough life," says Frye. Now, Scooter is a different animal, one who happily approaches and nuzzles
strangers.
Perhaps she knows how lucky she is. "Her life is 100 times better than it was when she first came in here," says Frye. "Scooter is particularly special.
She really is a miracle dog. It's a phenomenal story."
by Lauren Robert