Sheba’s Success Story

Sheba is a two year old staffie who came to the Inner South Vets Clinic in May to investigate a possible cruciate injury after a zoomie play session left her completely non-weight-bearing on her hind left leg. Our Dr Beth performed some X-Rays, and was able to confirm that unfortunately, Sheba had completely torn her cruciate ligament, which required surgery to repair the damage.

Not only is Sheba a well loved companion to her owner Irene, but has been a vital source of comfort during a difficult time where Irene has faced extreme financial and personal hardships. Due to the degree of the situation, our team not only tried to discount the procedure as much as possible, but our reception team then took on the role of crowd sourcing the necessary funds. With the help of our social media pages, and the incredible generosity of our community, we were able to raise all of the money needed for not only the surgery, but all of her followup care as well.

Dr Beth was able to successfully repair and stabilise the joint with a TTA surgery, but the road for Sheba’s recovery was still long after this. Sheba first needed to be on crate rest for several weeks, only allowed to be walked for short periods on a lead to minimise the risk of injuring the leg again before it had healed. Since Sheba is such a playful and athletic pup, this kind of recovery was challenging, as rather then wanting to rest, Sheba just wanted to get back to playing in the yard ASAP. Thankfully Sheba’s owner was committed to making sure she recovered well from the surgery, and gradually increased her exercise over time so she could build up strength again in the affected leg.

Now weeks later, Sheba is back on all 4 paws and has a completely new lease on life. None of this would have been possible without the kindness and generosity shown by those who donated towards her care. Sheba’s story serves as a reminder that even just one dog’s situation can touch the hearts of so many people, and can bring a community of animal lovers together in a time of need.