Jude is a nine week old Yellow Lab pup. According to his breeders, he was born with a deformity in his right leg that was untreatable, and that he'd eventually have to be euthanized once the pain was too bad to live with. He was free for the taking, no longer considered valuable to them.  Fortunately for him, we didn't accept that answer, and took him in to ensure that he would recieve the vet care he needs to live a long and happy life.

A week after his arrival, we managed to get a hold of the vet that his breeders took him too when he was four weeks old. She told us that she DIDN'T say that he had to be euthanized; that was just the only answer they wanted to hear. They didn't want to have to put any money into him, nor did they want to tell his potential owners that he might require costly vet care. They were in it for the money, and he was easily replaceable with other puppies that weren't defective. They had a wide variety of animals on their property that they were breeding and selling, it was obvious that this was their primary source of income.

On December the 4th, we took him to visit Dr.Steele at the Southside Animal Clinic. She took four X-Rays of his front legs, which showed a normal left leg and a very deformed right one.

His right leg is a bit shorter then his left. He is missing some cartilage in his wrist and his carpal bones are all pushed over to one side. His Ulna is a bit shorter and fattened at the joint. His radius isn't even anchored to the carpus, it just floats on that end. Unfortunately I forgot my camera, but I'll take pictures of the actual X-Rays at the next one! Dr.Steele thinks it's possible that it was a very early injury, but she is sending the X-Rays to a specialist surgeon to take a look at. He will also tell us what the next best step to take would be, whether a spint, surgery, or amputation.

Taking a look at the skeletal system of a dog might help you understand!

We've finally heard back from the specialist that Jude's X-Rays were sent to! It took longer then usual due to Christmas and New Years, as well as the fact that the specialist sent the X-Rays to many of his colleagues for second opinions. Jude has a lot of knowledgeable people looking out for him and we can't thank Dr. Steele and the specialists enough!

Anyways, they all  agree that this does NOT appear to be a birth defect, but more likely an injury.  He was likely only a week old when the injury occured and he must have suffered a lot while it was healing! His owners either didn't notice it or chose not to take him to the vet. It probably could have been fixed to some degree if they had taken him in.

Unfortunately, it can't be repaired. The vets agreed that he should be allowed to mature and grow, and once he begins showing discomfort there are two options; fuse the bones together to prevent painful rubbing and severe arthritis, or amputate the leg. If the bones were to be fused, he could still use the leg but wouldn't be able to bend the joint. It would have to be splinted from a young age to prepare it for the eventual surgery. The amputation would leave him with only three legs, putting more stress then usual on the joints. Large breeds such as labs tend to develop arthritis at an old age, but preventative care and pain medication in his senior years will help immensely. There are also prosthetics available for dogs that have undergone amputations.

There are pros and cons to both options, and we will leave the decision to his future family. The Southside Animal Hospital has offered to continue caring for Jude and keeping the costs managable for his adoptive family.

Jude the Yellow Lab went to Wetaskawin today to meet his new potential family! We never do same day adoptions, so Jude is back home with us, to give them a chance to let everything sink in, and make sure they are fully prepared for Jude to join their family. The visit went really well, Jude was a very good boy and went to the door twice to go out, no accidents! Lola, the black lab, will be his little sister. They are the same age, but Jude is heavier boned. Jude was a lot more laid back then Lola, as is his breed (Yellows are the calmest of the labs) but absolutely loved her and played himself silly.





It looked so violent! Hackles raised, teeth exposed....but it's just the way puppies play, it was like a whirlwind of Fur! We were a bit concerned that they would be too hyper to realistically raise together but our three hour visit with the family put those concerns to rest. Their personalities go well together; Lola is very smart and is coming along well in her training, but she gets very hyper and crazy when playing. Jude is very smart and coming along nicely as well, but he is more laid back even in play. They compliment each other well. Jude plays with Lola and calms her down a bit with his style of play, rather then riling her up even more by being just as hyper. Sometimes pups of the same age can become a team of chaos, encouraging one another to misbehave and constantly getting into things together. But we think that these two are a great match and will only help one another as they grow up! they're going to go to puppy classes on separate nights and the adopters are excited to have a friend for Lola.

Jude joined his loving new family on Saturday the 9th. Since they're from out of town, we met them at G&E Pharmacy, our favorite and most reasonably priced place to shop for animal supplies. They had already picked out some great toys and his favorite bones, and bought a big bag of the food that Jude grew up on, Acana Salmon and Potato. Jude was excited to see them and didn't look back as they lead him to the car and off to his new life with his new sister.

We'll miss the little guy a lot. We fell for him harder then any other dog we've had come through our rescue. Our initial thought was to keep him as a resident, but we know that with the demanding schedule of running a rescue, that we wouldn't be able to give him the time that he needs to be completely happy. Not only that, but the more resident dogs we have, the fewer we can rescue.

We couldn't have asked for a better family for him, which has made it a lot easier. The house has been a lot quieter and a lot less...adorable...since he left! But he found a family that is willing to pay for the cost of his future amputation or wrist fusion surgery, who will take him to classes, feed him the best food, and give him everything they can to make his life comfortable, happy, and rewarding.