| NINA Nina is a purebred female Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier. Her estimated DOB is 2/07 Nina was a release from a Missouri Puppymill. She is missing her right rear foot. We were told that her mother chewed it off at birth. The rest of the leg seems to be totally normal and healthy, she moves it when walking and running and uses it to scratch. We are going to look into the possibility of getting a prosthetic leg for Nina instead of amputating the leg. We will be doing some research in the next week or so to find out the feasibility and cost of having a prosthetic foot created for Nina. As you can see in the video, she gets around quite well but it is very sad to see her trying to use the back leg and she looses her balance on uneven surfaces. One way or the other we will take care of the leg so that she can move around easier and with better balance. Despite starting her life in a mill, Nina is very sweet and although a little shy she is friendly. Her tail wags and she will give little kisses. She is a beautiful dark wheaten shade and has very arresting amber eyes with lots of dark eyeliner around it. UPDATE Nina went in to the vet today. The intention was to spay her but after anesthetizing her and shaving her belly they discovered she had a staph infection there and we obviously could not proceed with the spay with that present. The did go ahead and clean out her ears as they were quite badly infected. After the infection is cleared up she will go back for spaying. UPDATE #2 Nina went in today and was spayed. She came through with flying color. Her staph infection is gone and her ears are 90% better - as bad as they were I am very pleased with the way they look now. Her personality is really coming out. She is VERY food motivated and loves treats and comes with her tail wagging when she knows there are treats involved. After she is healed from the spay she will be ready to start her journey towards a prosthetic foot as soon as the funds are raised. UPDATE #3 Nina's journey to get a new foot is about to begin! The President of the Rescue, Wendy, will be leaving Kansas City on November 29 and personally driving Nina to Raleigh, NC. Although we could set up a transport, we think this is best for Nina to reduce her stress and so that if there is any reason she cannot have the surgery she can be brought right back to Kansas City and a second transport would not have to be scheduled. Her first appointment is scheduled at NCSU on December 1. Her new foster mom will be there as well. Nina will be examined and then anesthetized at that appointment and will have a CT Scan and x-rays done to get measurements for the pin and the prosthetic foot that will have to be custom designed for her. Nina will be scheduled for her first surgery which will consist of a pin being inserted into the bone of her leg. The bone will actually grow into the pin which will eventually have the prosthetic foot attached to it. It will take several months for the pin to implant. Not only is Nina being helped by the surgery, but the procedure is being studied during these animal trials so that it can eventually be used in humans who have lost limbs. Nina has a great new foster mom, Vanessa, waiting for her in NC. We appreciate her taking on a long term foster in order to help Nina get her new foot. We will update again after the first appointment. UPDATE #4 - THE JOURNEY BEGINS On November 29th, Nina, Denny, Erin and Paris left Kansas City headed for North Carolina and new homes along the way. Erin went on to her new home in Kentucky and Denny and Paris moved on in North Carolina. On December 1st Nina had her 1st appointment with Dr. Marcellin. It went very well and we are pleased to announce that Nina has been cleared for surgery and she will be getting a new foot! Nina had both x-rays and a cat scan at her first appointment. It was found that her kneecap has come out of position and moved to the inside of her leg so that will be repaired as well when she has her surgery. We don't know yet what the additional cost for that will be but it will be important that her kneecap be in the correct position when she actually starts using the knee and it begins to bear weight. It will be approximately 4-5 months before Nina will actually have the surgery. The surgeon will be making a precisely life size plastic replica of her hips and legs and all the joints using the cat scan and will then build the pin and the prosthesis to exactly fit her legs so that she will be balanced absolutely perfectly when her new foot is attached. The surgery will consist of drilling into her bones to attach the titanium implant that will be manufactured specifically for Nina so that is will fit her bones precisely. The bone and skin will actually grow into the implant and then when it is healed the prosthetic foot, again built to exactly match Nina's needs, will be attached. If you look at the top x-ray on the right, you will see an area circled in blue - that area, which is what is left of her original foot, will be amputated. The area which is circled in yellow is where he intends on attaching the titanium implant. She will be able to keep the ankle joint which is great as that means her prosthesis will not have to have a joint built in which is one less thing that would have a chance of breaking in the future. She will only need to have a foot attached. The surgeon was very optimistic and said that Nina was the perfect candidate as she is on the small side which will put less pressure on the prosthesis but she is large enough that her bones are thick enough to be able to handle the implant. It will be important that Nina always be kept at optimum weight and not be allowed to become overweight to minimize the stress on her bones and prosthesis. We will be getting an update once a month from the surgeon as to where they are with manufacturing the pin and prosthesis for Nina and will update with new information as it becomes available. For anyone interested, a copy of the first bill can be seen by clicking HERE UPDATE #4 - NEW IMAGES FROM DR. MARCELLIN We received an email today from Nina's surgeon. He reports that they are currently working on the design for her prosthesis. He also attached the blue and green images to the right that are 3D renderings of Nina's bones made from the CT Scan that was done at our first visit. These are being used to custom make the titanium pin and the prosthesis for Nina. The circled area in the bottom image shows how Nina's kneecap is displaced. They will fix this also when she has her surgery. ONCE AGAIN - THANK YOU FOR ALL THE DONATIONS WHICH MAKE THIS WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY FOR NINA A POSSIBILITY! She is spayed and up to date on shots. She is located in Greensboro, NC |
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| Nina's Missing Foot |
| Carrie Saupe |
| Sue Kutenplon |
| Susan Castle |
| Godfrey Yew |
| Poh Lin Kiser |
| Laureen Dean |
| Eric and Judy Nemeth |
| Christine Desanzo |
| Leslie Steis |
| Bristol's Barkery |
| Darlene Ghents |
| Patrycja Piescik |
| We have found a surgeon, Dr. Denis Marcellin-Little with the North Carolina Veterinary College, who can create a prosthesis for Nina that will allow her to walk on her leg. This prosthesis will be permanently implanted into the bone in her leg so that it eliminates the sores and discomfort from the boot type prosthesis' that are available and gives the dog better range of motion. You can see some of the other animals that have gotten this type of prosthesis at the links below: LINK 1 LINK 2 LINK 3 |
| Margie Powers |
| Nancy Schafers |
| Candysse Miller |
| Annemarie Mical |
| Lisa Ostruh |
| Cara Dey |
| Connie Vancil |
| Lisa Davis |
| Ann Kaat |
| Audrey Plowes |
| VANESSA SMITH |
| Heidi Kaessler |
| Larry MacGlashan |
| Ellen MacLean |
| Kristen Beyer |
| Monica Buchwald |
| Laureen Dean |
| Lorraine White |
| Kara Wells |
| Betty Kwisnek |
| THOMAS NOLAN |
| Stephanie Weeden |
| KATINA PILKINGTON |
| Richard Ekstrum |
| Poh Lin Kiser |
| Wayne Austin |
| Brooke Rhodes |
| Linda Stephens |
| Lynda Jrab |
| Carole A. Collier |
| Debra Holderman |
| Kathleen Wright |
| Jeanne Donnan |
| Linda Duggan |
| Jennifer Graves |
| Christina Miller |
| Michael Shaffer |
| Wendy Akeman |
| Bobbi Reedy |
| Betty Kwisnek |
| Annemarie Mical |
| Linda Duggan |
| Cheri Lippstone |
| Jennifer Volpe |
| Nancy & Brian Piotrowski |
| Norma Bowman |
| Kathleen M Hower |
| Susan Miranda |
| Geraldine Lambrecht |
| Margaret M McMahon |
| Judy Beck |
| Wendy Harter |
| Patrycja Piescik |
| Joan Milner |
| Ann Radcliff Designs |
| Julia MacGlashan |
| Kelly Frost |
| Matthew Fleckenstein |
| Amanda Bowers |
| Nancy Burroway |
| Monica Buchwald |
| DONNA TRIMBOLI |
| Judy Glenn |
| James Clarke |
| Harry Bogard |
| Joanna Volk |
| Elena Acakios |
| Nora Jean Baroody |
| Peter Connell |
| Emmie and Coco |
| RJS |
| ROBERT BURKE |
| Sarah Sloane |
| Abigail Hines |
| Jacalyn Levine |
| Adalena Wilson |
| Hal Burt |
| Mark Dykstra |
| In Memory of Lorraine Kulka |
| Joseph Santoro |
| Karen Monteleone |
| Patricia McCallum |
| Poh Lin Kiser |
| Mary Slaughter |
| Mary Goessling |
| Cynthia Bowen |
| Tamara Abreu |
| Linda Stephens |
| P.J. Ratajczyk |
| Colleen Carroll |
| Christine Carter |
| Sally Dorfman |
| Wilfried Vaerewyck |
| Candysse Miller |
| Elena Acakios |
| Emmie and Coco |
| Dana Speakman |
| Rebecca Humble |
| KATINA PILKINGTON |
| Deborah Peterson |
| Karen Monteleone |
| Judy Walterick |
| Barbara Buyer Danz |
| Tiffany Mitchell |
| All strapped in and ready for the long drive to North Carolina. Denny, Paris and Erin came along for the ride to go to their new forever homes. |
| NORTH CAROLINA HERE I COME! |
| Karen Berube |
| Monica Higgins |
| Teri Sullivan |
| Janet Olin |
| Havanna Tabbal |
| Leslie Steis |
| Marilyn Dooley |
| Laurie Brown-Nagin |
| JANIECE CRUMPLER |