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Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Cricket the bionic chihuahua needs a home


This precious baby came into a Houston shelter with an old leg fracture and it looked as if amputation was going to be his only
option. At only 4 lbs, his front leg near his ankle was so shattered that there wasn't enough viable bone to
repair, so a bone graft from his shoulder was required. Dr Jeff Chalkley of Westbury Animal Hospital who has helped me many times, put in a tremendous
effort to repair the radius and ulna. The repair was so extensive there wasn't even time to neuter Cricket, but it has been done now! Dr Chalkley put in a metal plate but warned me that it might not work. It was very hard to go thru the weeks of rehab not knowing if we would still have to amputate at the end. A dog carries 60% of its weight on the front legs, so life is much harder than if a rear leg is amputated.
Yea for Dr Chalkley and Cricket-it worked and Cricket plays with other chihuahuas as if nothing
ever happened.
He is ready for an all adult home that is prepared to have surgery in the future if the plate shifts
or needs to be replaced for any reason.
Marvin Zindler had his angels, I have Houston vets like Dr Chalkley. Thank you, Dr Jeff!