Miracle Dog Born With Upside-Down Paws Finally Learns To Walk

Siggi, the rat terrier born with upside-down paws, has learned to walk after undergoing corrective surgery on her limbs at the Oklahoma State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

She was 13-weeks old when she arrived at a Dallas animal rescue in May. She was then transported to the Oklahoma hospital to meet with a celebrity animal surgeon named Erik Clary who made news in 2019 when he performed similar surgery on a dog named Milo. The dogs had their elbows come out of their joints early in life. This led to a severe rotation of their lower front limbs which made them unable to walk. All they could do was walk, which was very uncomfortable.

A 64-slice CT exam was performed on the 4lb dog which allowed Clary and his team to learn all they needed to know about the shape and alignment of her limb bones. The examination revealed that her bones were significantly deformed in the lower part of her elbow which exacerbated the joint issue. The surgery was performed on May 12 to orient Siggi’s paws. Her elbows were protected with splints and an orthopedic fixator device to allow her ulna bones to heal properly. Then, on June 29, her checkup revealed that the bones were healing and she had her splints removed.

At that point, it was time for her to learn to walk. She caught on pretty quickly. Her progress has been incredible Today, she can do almost anything ordinary puppies can do, like chasing a ball in the yard.

Image Source: Oklahoma State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine