Chocolate has a date with the surgeon.
The Chesapeake Bay retriever whose two broken front legs and traumatic journey have stirred an outpouring of sympathy and support from the community was taken to Washington State University in Pullman on Wednesday evening.
"It's going to be a little bit of a tough road for a while, but I know the physical therapy department is great there," said Dr. Janine Swailes, the veterinarian who handled Chocolate's case at Meadow Hills Veterinary Clinic in Kennewick after he was taken there Tuesday.
"They'll help a lot in getting him back to a state where he can move around," she said.
Bone plates, pins and even an artificial elbow could be part of Chocolate's treatment, Swailes said.
Dr. Steve Martinez, an orthopedic surgeon in WSU's College of Veterinary Medicine, has been assigned Chocolate's case. Martinez hopes to repair both of Chocolate's front legs, although amputating one of them and leaving him a three-legged dog still is a possibility, Swailes said.
Costs are expected to be $5,000 for the surgery, $1,500 for the physical therapy and possibly as much as $10,000 total.
But all plans are subject to change until doctors can evaluate his injuries in surgery, Swailes said.
Through Wednesday, Meadow Hills had received about $5,000 in donations for Chocolate. But the need for more remains, said Brian Conrad, practice manager at the clinic.
Donations to Chocolate's account can be made in person at the clinic, over the phone or online. For more information, visit the clinic's website at www.mhvc.net.
Although questions about the dog's fate remain, euthanasia likely is out of the picture, Swailes said. Disabled dogs may be put down when their families can't devote adequate care to them, but that probably won't be the case for Chocolate, she said.
The friendly dog has gone from zero support to an overabundance of it.
Last summer, Chocolate suffered a dislocated left elbow and broken bones in his right front leg, probably from being hit by a car. He also was shot by a pellet gun.
The crippled animal hobbled around the fields north of Pasco for the next six months, apparently surviving on scraps tossed to him by farm families, until finally Sonia Ayala of Pasco picked him up last month.
When word got out that Ayala didn't have the resources to care for him or any place to take him, the community responded with offers to help with veterinary costs and to give him a home.
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