A week after we brought you the story of Miss Phit, the abandoned Maltese-Yorkie mix puppy who was found tied to a garbage can and needed surgery, the Williams Lake BC SPCA let us know that everything went really well — the surgery and the fundraising.
“I am happy to report that the medical appeal to cover the total cost of her care has been completed,” branch manager Liz Dighton said Thursday as she sent us an update.
Miss Phit’s surgery was performed on April 10, 2015 to repair a fracture and dislocation to her left hind limb.
The fracture is believed to be caused by an inherited condition call Legg Calve Perthes, Dighton explained.
The condition causes an interruption in the blood supply to the head of the femur, where upon the portions of boney tissues, starved of their blood supply begin to die and the overlying cartilage that lines the hip joint collapses.
This leaves a painful poorly fitted joint.
The surgical repair is called a femoral head osteotomy. The femoral head is removed allowing the joint to heal as a false joint. Most dogs will begin to bear weight within the first two weeks. The sooner she resumes normal activity the faster the cushion of scar tissue will form.
Miss Phit is enjoying her foster home with her three new companions that are all her size.
She goes for numerous short walks throughout the day and greets everyone visiting the branch, Dighton said.
The day our story went up on our website we received a note from a former resident who lives in Alberta asking how she could donate.
There’s something about injured animals that brings out the generosity of people far and wide.
As Dighton said when the story first broke, it’s important to keep tabs on animal cruelty in our communities.