Thomas Update
Progress Report - Thomas!
Hopefully you're now all familiar with the story of Thomas, the handicapped Great Dane puppy who was abandoned by his owner on the grounds of Pets Alive Westchester. We appealed to the community to help us help him and we are so happy to say that it paid off for Thomas in a big way!
Thomas had corrective surgery on both of his front legs by Dr. Jennifer Bonczynski of the Animal Specialty Center in Yonkers, NY, a reconstructive procedure to correct deformity of the forelimbs to prevent further lameness of the front legs. For the medically curious, here's the summary of his operation in technical terms.
Thomas was first brought into Animal Specialty in Yonkers, NY with bilateral angular limb deformity. The deformity was likely due to premature closure of the ulnar physis. Thomas was operated on by Dr. Bonczynski, DVM. Bilaterally, a routine caudolateral approach was made over the distal ulnar physis. The tendon of the carpi lateralis was retracted ventrally and a sharp incision was made into the periosteum over the distal 1/3rd of the ulna. The periosteum was elevated medically and laterally, and a sagittal saw was used to make 2 cuts in the ulna to remove approx. 1.5 cm of bone. This was done on both front legs.
The surgery went wonderfully, Thomas tolerated it very well, and the follow-up was routine. He also tolerated his post-op restrictions very well; he needed two straight weeks of cage rest with only two 5 minute walks per day with absolutely NO running, jumping, or playing - tough for a puppy! Thomas sailed through everything like a trouper and walked out of the surgical center approximately two weeks later on four good legs.
Finally, the last piece of Thomas' puzzle fell into place: a great home. We are happy to say that he was adopted by a couple to live with them on their large upstate property along with their other dog, Daisy, a female Great Dane who is only 15 months old - and when Daisy and Thomas met, it was love at first sight. They're now free to roam the place together, running and playing and getting into trouble like puppies should 
- their favorite game is to play tug of war together with a toy! Daisy makes Thomas look tiny - but now that he has four good legs fully capable of supporting a full size Great Dane, he's up to 85 lbs from his 65 lb pre-surgery weight. Thomas is very close to and affectionate with his new people and his sister.
It is because of you, our supporters and our community, that we were able to help Thomas. Without your generosity none of this would have been possible. We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts. With your continuing support we will continue to help animals in need - together.
