Learning to walk, one step at a time!

Siggi was born just like any average puppy, bursting with energy at first, yet this spotted rat terrier is different, she was born with her front paws upside down. A successful corrective surgery performed by a team at Oklahoma State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine has given some hope to Siggi of a normal life. The team that brought her paws into the downward position as they should be normally had only done this once before at the university’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH) on a Coonhound named Milo in 2019. Siggi, who is from a Dallas animal rescue group, was brought into the VTH at 13 weeks old, hoping for the same surgical success as Milo. 

 Dr. Erik Clary VTH animal surgeon said via a press release, “As with Milo, Siggi’s problem looked like it was in the paws, but it was actually in her elbows. For reasons not fully understood, these patients’ elbows come out of joint early in life and the result is a severe rotation of the lower front limbs and an inability to walk. At most, they might muster a crawl that seems most uncomfortable and is poorly suited for a dog’s life.”

Things were a bit more complicated for Siggi as a CT exam revealed “significant” deformity in the bones in the lower elbow, as per Clary.

“The CT helped us plan a more complex procedure that would require an intentional break high up in her ulna bone to de-rotate the limb,” Clary added.

Even though Clary’s team did the actual surgery, he attributes Siggi’s happy ending to OSU’s marketing team that helped spread Milo’s story and let people know the surgery is an option for such cases.

Clary said, “Siggi found care and came to OSU’s VTH because Milo’s story was shared beyond our walls. Milo has brought much joy to many people and I expect the same will be true of Siggi.”