Zama's Story of Shattered Pelvis
Zama, a 2 year old Greyhound, sustained multiple fractures in her pelvis after being hit by a car. Two months after surgery, she was doing well. Her owner TY writes:
“Dear Dr. Zeltzman, Words cannot begin to express our gratitude for you and what you did to help our Greyhound Zama after being hit by a car as she escaped under our fence. We are so very appreciative for the surgery you performed to repair her shattered pelvis. Is has been almost 2 months and she is recovering as we had hoped. You are a truly wonderful surgeon and we can’t thank you enough for everything. She will be back to her old self very soon. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
Then 4 months after surgery, Zama’s owner writes again.
“Hi Dr. Zeltzman,
I wanted to give you an update on our Zama. If you recall she escaped under our fence in October and was hit by a car in front of our house. She was diagnosed with a shattered pelvis at the emergency clinic, which is where you came in! We can't thank you enough for your expertise and guidance before, during and after the surgery. We appreciate your honesty and your personalized treatments and information provided to us for her best chance of a full and normal recovery. We never cared about cost, but we appreciate the concern for keeping everything affordable. I was pleasantly surprised when you called us yourself to talk about Zama before the surgery and as her road out of sequestration began.
It is now 4+ months post surgery and she is back to her old ways and an integrated part of our family again. She has re-acclimated to her 2 greyhound siblings and our 2 year old daughter quite well. She is doing stairs rather easily and is using the leg better every day. It even looks like it's beginning to get some of the lost muscle back. (…)
We still walk her on a leash, as she would probably try to run and play outside if not leashed, and that makes us nervous. By the way, we have added another rail to our fence so this will NEVER happen again.
I tried to get a picture to send with this update, but I guess I'm happy to say she isn't holding still long enough to take one that isn't blurry! Overall, we are happy with her progress and I think you would be too. Her leg seems to be a non-issue anymore. (…)
Thank you for everything you did for her. We are so thankful for your services and your philosophy. Words cannot express how grateful we are.”
Then 6 months after surgery, Zama’s owner writes again!
“Hi again, Dr. Zeltzman,
As we talked about on the phone a few weeks ago, we really started walking Zama more and noticing her use of the previously injured leg. She did extremely well. We spent the Easter holiday in Florida where we have a great, flat, backyard and so we started letting her off leash in the yard, without the other dogs. After some time exploring in the yard, and, we believe, testing out her new leg, she started trotting and then running. This made us very nervous, but she has done quite well. My husband captured some of her sprints on video, so I thought I'd share with you. I hope this means she is almost fully recovered! Thanks again for everything.
With great appreciation.”
One year and two months after surgery, she was doing well. Her owner TY writes: “Dear Dr. Zeltzman, (…) This year she is a happy dog. (…) We hold our breath every time she wants to run and release her energy. So far, so good. You’d never know she was as injured as she was by watching her now. We continue to thank you for helping her and knowing that with the proper care and rehab, she’d be herself again – and she sure is! I talk about you like you are a part of the family. With much love. Zama and family.”