When 9-month-old Peanut was brought to the East Main Animal Hospital in Puyallup with a broken neck, the Chihuahua’s chances of surviving, let alone recovering, did not look good.
“He wasn’t able to do much of anything,” said Veterinarian Illina Berton.
He had several vertebrae no longer in line and some bones were even shattered.
Peanut broke his neck when he fell into a 5-foot ditch onto his head. It would be like a person falling on their head from 20 to 25 feet, she said.
He had gotten out of the yard on a freezing January night and was missing for three hours before his owners found him in the ditch.
While hospital staff struggled to stabilize the dog, his owners were left with few options. They could have him euthanized, spend thousands of dollars they didn’t have for procedures that weren’t likely to save him or sign him over to the clinic and let them try to save the pup.
They decided to give him to the hospital and let them do whatever they could, knowing they were no longer the dog’s owner.
Hospital staff took Peanut to Animal Emergency Clinic in Tacoma for a consultation with Dr. Mike Harrington, an animal neurologists. Tests showed extensive damage.
“When we talked to the referral they were a little skeptical (that Peanut would survive,)” Berton said.
To have surgery performed, hospital staff needed to raise more than $5,000. They got to work quickly, because Peanut didn’t have much time. Over the course of a weekend, they were able to raise about $3,000 through different animal rescue organizations.
“We worked through the weekend getting donations for him,” said Office Manager Marni Fleming.
It wasn’t enough for everything, but enough to give surgery a shot.
As soon as they new they had enough to at least try, they sent him into surgery. The surgery took more than two hours.
“That’s a long time,” Berton said.
Harrington inserted six pins into Peanut’s neck and used a internal glue to put the shattered bones back together.
“Somebody dropped pick-up sticks (in his neck),” Berton said. “That’s what it looks like.”
Peanut made it out of surgery, but there would be a long road of recovery ahead of him.
“It was so scary for all of us,” Fleming said. “A lot of the time the ending is not what you wanted.”
The neurologists thought it would be at least a month before he could walk again. But days later he was walking around or at least trying to while he adjusted to moving in cast that covered him from his neck to the middle of his body.
He was a little top heavy, Berton said.
“Even the first two days we had to restrain him because he was trying to go,” Fleming said.
In three months he should be out of the cast and another MRI will be performed to see how he’s healing. One of the pins may be removed, but Peanut will have most of them in him for the rest of his life.
“I think the biggest goal for us is to see him walking and doing what other dogs do when they’re out playing,” Fleming said.
Until he is fully recovered Peanut will spend his days at the hospital and nights at home with Berton, because he still requires months of care.
“She has very much bonded with him,” said Veterinarian Technician Nann Whitmire. “He’s totally spoiled already.”
Peanut often follows Berton around, but prefers when she carries him.
She even has him in the habit of being hand fed, Whitmire said.
“He can’t really get down there, (to a feed bowl)” Berton said, because the cast makes it too difficult.
The hospital does adopt animals from time to time, finding homes for them.
“We do a lot of rescue,” Berton said.
Where Peanut will end up is not clear yet, but either way he is on his way to a full recovery and will be placed in a good home either with Berton or somewhere else.
“He’s a great little dog with a wonderful personality,” Fleming said.
Right now the hospital has been fundraising to pay to off-set whatever cost they can for the surgery. They’ve raised about $3,200, with clients donating more than $250 in recent weeks. But they still need to raise about $3,000 to pay for the whole surgery and MRIs. The recovery period isn’t as quite a concern, because he’s always with someone who can take care of him.
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To Donate
To donate to help pay for Peanut’s surgery, send a check to East Main Animal Hospital, 1102 E Main, Puyallup, WA 98372 and note it is for Peanut or call 253-845-8866 for more information.
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