Caymus

THE DONOR

Caymus was a show-dog. He was a large breed dog who was as handsome and wonderful on the inside as he was on the outside. He had accumulated many champion titles in his 5 years and never tired of the show – no doubt his personal energy and great presence were at work here… His owner, Chris was watching him run in the backyard, enjoying the sunshine after a long, wet winter. Suddenly Caymus dropped to the ground. She ran outside to him and he was not breathing. They rushed him to their veterinarian, and Caymus was pronounced dead. How could it be that Caymus; healthy, strong Caymus, who was in perfect condition, could just die suddenly? It was an aneurism. Chris had heard from her vet about the tissue donation program. She chose to donate Caymus’ remains in order to help other animals and in some small way share her showman friend with many others. She knows it’s what he would have wanted. Pets Helping Pets…

Xena

THE RECIPIENT

Xena is a 5 pound Chihuahua mix. In her busy household, Xena was accidently stepped on and her radius & ulna were fractured. Her owners, a young family, didn’t have the resources for a surgery and they pleaded with their local vet to fix her up the best he could. When the splint didn’t appear to work, Xena had surgery, after a while her little bones had begun to heal, but her weakened bone fractured at the end of the plate, requiring then another surgery. Valiant Xena just couldn’t get a solid union after several months. Her vet called on VTS for a bone graft from a donor to help stimulate Xena’s own bone to heal. In just over 2 months, the fractures were fully healed; with intact cortices, her leg was strong. Xena now zips and dodges around the legs of her towering family. Without a bone graft from a donor to naturally jump start her own healing process, it is likely that Xena would be an amputee.