Pretzel’s Beginning: A Puppy in Need
A lonely puppy limped up to a family in a busy Madison Park & Ride lot, his hind leg clearly causing him pain. Lucky for the young pup, this kind family made sure he was picked up by an Animal Services Officer and transported to Dane County Humane Society (DCHS) to get the care he urgently needed.
Thanks to the compassionate support of generous community members like you, DCHS can react immediately to emergent situations and help any animal in need. When you give between Saturday November 26th and #GivingTuesday on November 29th, your generous gift is DOUBLED thanks to our incredible matching gift challengers.
His name is now Pretzel, and he’s been with DCHS for two weeks. As soon as he arrived, he was examined by DCHS veterinary staff, who determined Pretzel is only about three months old. He was friendly, wiggly, and loved all the pets and attention, but he wouldn’t put any weight on his right hind leg. Our techs didn’t find any obvious wounds or swelling, so they started him on pain medication while they waited for results from x-rays.
Pretzel’s x-rays showed his right hip had a complete fracture of the femoral neck. To fix this, he would need a femoral head ostectomy, a surgical procedure that would restore his ability to move without pain and prevent further damage to his hip.
Fortunately, our skilled veterinarians can perform this type of operation at DCHS.
Because the procedure isn’t considered an emergency surgery, DCHS veterinarians needed to wait to operate until after Pretzel’s stray hold was over. This is the period of time DCHS is legally required to wait before making a dog found without identification available for adoption or performing non-emergent medical procedures. During this time, DCHS’s Shelter Resource Counselors searched for Pretzel’s family, but no one came forward to claim him.
While he waited, Pretzel was kept comfortable with pain medication, and he even got to spend some time in a staff office where doting staff members showered him with affection.
Pretzel had his surgery two weeks ago and was taken home by a foster family not long after. The surgery was successful. Now, he needs physical therapy and time to recover. Thank you for making Pretzel's recovery possible and helping more puppies like him!
Update: Pretzel is Thriving in his Foster Home!
Pretzel went home with his foster family on November 15th, and he’s been thriving in their care. Karee and Thom regularly perform physical therapy exercises to increase the mobility in his leg. Under their expert care, Pretzel’s gait has improved immensely.
And when they’re not doing physical therapy, they spoil him with snuggles!
“Pretzel is an especially sweet and happy puppy,” say Karee and Thom. “He loves people and has been so brave while recovering from a tricky start to life. He is bright and active, and after play time he loves relaxing on his bed near a space heater, on the couch with us, or in his crate for bedtime. Pretzel loves chew bones and toys, especially his stuffed hedgehog.”
Karee and Thom have even started some basic puppy training.
“He loves treats of all kinds,” they say. “He takes them so gently and is already learning sit and wait; he’s doing great with his housetraining too!
“He isn’t allowed to run and play yet,” they continue, “but he really enjoys smelling in the yard and exploring (as long as it isn’t too cold!). Pretzel is a good co-worker too, happy to entertain himself while we work from home. He is a sweet, wrinkly little guy with the cutest ears and spots. He will be the perfect addition to any home!”
Pretzel still needs some recovery time before he’s ready to find his new family. All available animals are listed on our website, as is a detailed explanation of our adoption process.
Generous supporters like you allow us to provide immediate and ongoing care to Pretzel and puppies like him, whether they need surgery and treatment, recovery time in foster, or a temporary place to stay until their new family can find them. When you give between November 26th and November 29th, you can DOUBLE your impact up to $28,500 thanks to our incredible matching gift challengers: Bob Bartholomew, Deb Walton, Clay Rehm and Giannina Milani-Rehm, Joyce & David V.G., and the Pamela B. Phillips Memorial Gift.
