Hi! My name is Rosie and this is my story:
A nice neighbor named Lisa rescued me. She tried to find me a home. The Dalmatian Rescue people (that's the kind I am) said they might take me, but Lisa would have to get my special leg cut off first because no one would want me if I needed medical care. Lisa hid me out for a while, then she tried to find me a foster parent while she raised money for my operation. That's how I got to Susan and Jerry's house.
It
was a pretty cool house. There were other dogs, kitties to chase,
birds and even bunnies. One of the bunnies only has three legs!
We became friends very fast! Susan and Jerry could not bring themselves
to name me because I was only a temporary guest. Besides, taking care
of a lively Dalmatian permenantly was more work than they thought
they could handle. They are both disabled and already had a house
full of other children to care for. After a while, my sunny
disposition and unrivaled cuteness won them over. Susan could
not bear the thought of having my leg cut off just because it
was the cheapest and easiest solution.
Susan and Jerry soon became my new "Mom"and "Dad." My new Mom named me "Rosie" because I was black and white but had a "rosey" tummy.
Mom and Dad vowed to try to save my leg if it was possible. They went to a surgeon named Dr. Craig in Tustin who claimed she could help, but she was mean to me and lied to Mom and Dad about lots of things. She took a lot of money from my Mom and then refused to do my surgery when we showed up for our appointment. She made lots of promises and took lots money and would not even let Mom have the xrays she paid her for in cash! Mom and Dad did not trust her any more and went to many other doctors. Some said they could help, but wouldn't. Some said my leg was not important enough to save. Mom took out her charge card many times.
We went to see Dr. Schulman in Santa Monica. We call him Dr. Ego now. He had funny orange skin and a big silly earring. He told my Mom that she should just cut my leg off. Mom said she wished she knew what would make me happy. Dr. Ego said he KNEW that I would be happier without my special leg. Now isn't that silly? He never even asked me! I tried to tell her that he was wrong but she was just learning to speak Dalmatian. I was sooooo scared! Dr. Ego talked about how special HE was and not about how special my leg was. Then he said that there was another doctor close by who was the only other local expert and that this expert would also agree with "HIM". Mom's eyes twinkled as she asked for the "other expert's" name. Dr. Ego's face went white and he stomped out of the room. Mom asked the receptionist if they would call the "other expert" and make us an appointment.
That
is how I got to see Dr.
Robert Olds at the Brentwood
Pet Clinic. Mom noticed how 
modest and warm his office was,
and how many nice grandmas and grandpas had brought their dogs
and cats in. She told me that meant he had many patients who had
been coming for a long time. Dr. Olds was kind and concerned.
He was honest and really cared about helping us. He told us that
Mom had realistic expectations (whatever that means) and he thought
trying to help my leg was the right thing to do! He said he knew
someone who knew more about operating on my leg than he did and
made us an appointment with Dr.
Edward Leeds.
Dr. Leeds was another nice man. He and Dr. Olds agreed to work together to give me the best help they could. But Dr. Leeds was so dedicated (Mom says that means he cared a lot) to doing the best for me, that the best thing to do was to talk to a man who was the most expert at deformed legs in the whole United States. But he was in Texas and I am in California! Dr. Leeds called Dr. Robert Radasch in Dallas, Texas and arranged for my x-rays to be sent to him. Mom even sent him some real cute pictures of me, too!
A few days later Dr. Radasch called my Mom. He told her that he would call his friends who were specialists like Dan Lewis and Robert Taylor and together they would figure out what was the best thing to do for me. Wow! Dr. Radasch even consults with the doctors for human children with leg deformities at the Dallas Scottish Rite Hospital in Texas!
Mom was ready
to take me to Dallas no matter what she had to do to get there.
She cried when Dr. Radasch called her back, because he was so nice
and made her so happy. He said that the best thing for me was to
have Dr. Leeds do an initial surgery and then when I was full grown
I would come to Dallas to see him. He spent a lot of time explaining
everything to her. Mom found out that most of the other doctors
had not been very knowledgable or very honest with her. She even
found out that most of them knew Dr. Radasch. So why didn't they
call him or tell her about him?
When I woke up from my surgery I sat right up and put my weight on the cast that was on my special leg. Dr. Leeds said that was a very good sign! Right away I started using my special leg for the first time in my life because it finally touched the ground! Dr. Leeds had uncurled my foot so that the pads faced downward and he cut a little piece of bone off so that my leg would not grow any more crooked than it was. Mom kept the little piece of bone, she says it's very special.Then I ran and thumped and knocked my Dad in the shins and in the head with my cast!
After my cast came off, I was a little sad. I could use my leg
much more than I could before, but it still was not as long as
the other ones. My mom tried all kinds of boots and exercises
for me. Then she had an idea! If human children could get prosthectic
limbs and braces, why not me? She tried a place that made legs
for horses and dogs. But they never called her back. So she started
looking for colleges that taught people how to make prosthetics.
Cal State Dominguez was close by. The department secretary told
my Mom about a man who lives in our town that teaches and lectures
and likes to work on special projects like me! He even helped
a turtle walk again! His name is David
Eckhous.
David was very nice and funny. Now he has become friends with my Mom and Dad. ( Dad even went to "Stinky Cheese Night" at his house. It sounded very yummy...er...I mean fun!) He put some casts on my leg to help turn my wrist a little more. While they were on I could touch the ground and could use my leg a lot! Thump! Bang! Crash! Yipeeeee! Ouch! Sorry, Dad! Mom says that putting weight on my leg increases the bone density (bone? chew-bone? for me?) and helps build my muscles. After a few months David made me a leg brace that I wear when we go for walks.
My leg has gotten stronger and my pads have grown and gotten tough. Now I can use my special leg a whole lot more even when I am not using my brace! I have to lean a little to the side, but I walk on it all the time! I use it to play with my toys, to climb, to jump down and to balance. Sometimes I use it to dig outside; but don't tell my Mom that it's me, she thinks it's one of my sisters.
Mom planned to take me to Texas the next year to see Dr. Radasch,
but my Dad had a very bad heart attack. Then he got sicker and
they had to take some of his bones out of his chest. Mom said
he almost died. He was gone almost two months and was still very
sick for a long time when he came home. He is getting better now
and Mom says we may be able to go to Texas in another year or
two. Dad was mad because Mom would not let him keep the bones
they took out of him like she kept the one they took out of me.
I
want to thank Dr.
Olds, Dr. Leeds, Dr. Radasch and David Eckhous for being
so kind to me and for not giving up on me! I think Dr. Schulman,
Dr. Diane Craig and many others are just big Pooh-heads!
I'm 6 now and Mom says I will never grow up! When she figures
out how to put movies on my site of me walking she will do it,
but for now, just remember that everyone.....human or not.......deserves
the most hope possible! Check back for updates!
If you wish to contribute to help animals whose Mommies may not have charge cards, you can contact any of my doctors...... or your local ASPCA.
