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K-State Veterinarian says
Disabled Pets can Lead Good Lives

A three-legged dog or a blind cat may not seem to have much of a future, but advances in veterinary medicine have made it possible for many injured pets to continue to lead happy and healthy lives.

"I have dealt with a lot of deaf dogs, and half of the time you'd swear they weren't even deaf because they adapted so well to the owner's routines," said Walter Renberg, Assistant Professor of Small Animal Surgery at K-State's College of Veterinary Medicine.

"For example, they sense vibrations, they hear the garage door going up, so they know to run to the door because somebody's coming home.

"Blind dogs have a routine. There are obviously some things they can't do, but by and large they have a tremendously high level of function," he said. "And dogs with arthritis or orthopedic disorders, as in the human field, every month or year there are new medications and technologies being developed, so I think achieving a reasonable quality of life is becoming more and more possible."

"We see animals go through some tremendous things and some of them maintain a wonderful attitude the whole time," Renberg said, "not all of them by any means, but they certainly overcome a lot of hardships and are an encouragement to other pet owners who face similar circumstances.

"If you see a dog running around with three legs and it's doing amazingly well, it's running through the park or jumping, people are more apt to consider that as an option if they are faced with a situation where their own dog needs to have a leg amputated."

According to Renberg, many pet owners face difficult decisions about their animal's health and well being. He said people have to decide what they want from their pet, what they feel their pet would be happiest with, and how they, as owners, can handle it. "The individual personality of the pet makes a difference, as well as the owner being prepared for some of the nursing care and rehabilitation that comes with getting the animal ready for whatever level of function it's going to have," says Renberg. "It's a time commitment, and for some people it's not an option to take several days or weeks off to really adapt with the animal to the new situation. Some people just don't have the abilities or just don't think they could do it emotionally, so there are a lot of different decisions to make in regard to having a disabled pet," he said.

For more information, visit the Pet Health News link of Kansas State University:
www.mediarelations.ksu.edu/WEB/News/NewsReleases/pethealth.html