Meet our newest Angel Fund recipient: Piper! This young pitbull was seen by our surgery team back in January 2019 after experiencing weight-bearing lameness in her left back leg. Piper was suffering from a torn cranial cruciate ligament (CCL), the dog equivalent of a torn ACL. She had an extracapsular stabilization surgery to correct the issue and was sent home to her family to recover.
Unfortunately, Piper recently returned to VREC experiencing similar symptoms in her right back leg. Our surgery team evaluated her and performed diagnostics which revealed a CCL rupture. The CCL is a band of tissue that connects the bones of the knee joint and rupturing it creates an unstable, painful joint. CCL injuries are among the most common orthopedic injury in dogs.
After qualifying for the Angel Fund, Piper had a successful CCL repair surgery. She recovered overnight in-hospital to ensure she was comfortable as she began healing and was discharged to her happy family shortly after.