Siggi was born with a rare condition called congenital luxation and dislocation of the bilateral elbows. Simply described, the determined little rat terrier’s arms were backwards. What she lacked in mobility however, she made up in personality and had no idea something was wrong with her that separated her from the other puppies whenever they would all meet to play.
Siggi’s disability, however didn’t stop her from romping around and trying to do everything they did; she just did it in an army-crawl style. Unfortunately, her mode of moving around took a toll on her elbows, shoulders and spine.
Dallas Dog Rescue Rehab Reform had stepped up to help Siggi in May 2021 and reached out to the Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Siggi is now learning to walk on all four paws.
Dr. Erik Clary had done a similar procedure on a foxhound puppy named Milo. He had also been born with a similar condition where his paws faced upward instead of downward. Months after surgery Milo’s case went viral, and the world smiled as the surgery proved a success.
And then it was Siggi’s turn. At 13-weeks of age, she met Dr. Clary. At the time she only weighed four pound and an examination and subsequent CT scans showed her situation was more severe than Milo’s case.
“Unlike Milo, Siggi had significant deformity of the bones in the lower part of her elbow complicating the joint tissue. The CT helped us plan a more complex procedure that would require an intentional break high up in her ulna bone to de-rotate the limb.”
Dr. Clary
And so Siggi had the complicated surgery and was placed in bright orange casts covering the splints and metal devices helping her bones heal in the correct positions.
When it came time to remove the casts, Siggi had to learn to walk; that didn’t stop the energetic pup who was up for the task. Video shows her learning to walk up a ramp with treats offered at the completion of each small task.
Check out her video:
https://news.okstate.edu/articles/veterinary-medicine/2021/second-case-of-upside-down-paws-treated-at-osu-veterinary-college.html
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