On December 27th 2011, our beloved Polita, a 25 kg. mixed female dog seven years old that came to our lives through the local shelter, suffered a very serious accident (Carpal hyperextension) while walking cross-country by the neighborhood. Unfortunately, during the first couple of days we did not understand the magnitude of the problem until we accessed some information via internet and consulted her vet; this accident would affect negatively the quality of life of all the entire family. After many consultations and taking into account that there were not the proper diagnostic media locally, we decided that Polita and I would have to go to Colombia on January 22nd in order to perform a ligament replacement surgery which was very traumatic in terms of physical traumatism and postoperative care and time, but in any case much less traumatic than the arthrodesis or the pan-arthrodesis, the most common option.

Polita experienced big problems generated by the usage of a generic orthotic (non-custom) and a serious problem of implant rejection that complicated the situation even more; her quality of life continued deteriorating progressively. After a lot of research via internet and with the handicap of being working in a long distance, I contacted Jeff and Dorothy on April 10th and started the custom orthotic manufacturing process which finally arrived at the end of April.

As soon as Polita tried the orthotic it was evident that it was the miracle we were waiting for, it fit like a silk glove. The implants were removed on June the 2nd and after that the family regained the joy of having its best friend in normal health condition.

In retrospective after evaluating all this situation objectively and since “one is more intelligent after than before”, I think that in cases like this the best option could be to take a very quick decision acquiring an orthotic since a good one could substitute the action of implants.

The whole family, including Polita, wants to thank the team of K9 Orthotics for their valuable assistance and support in this long process; now we are happy because she is happy.

The Dussan Family, Netherland Antilles