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Beagle On Mend After Joint Surgery

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By Cheryl  Bentley | The Suncoast News

Published: January 14, 2009

Life is good, Magnum's constantly wagging tail seems to say.

To that end, the irrepressible 6-year-old beagle appears to have a way of attracting just the right people. A number of animal lovers recently joined forces to give the limping beagle not only love but also the latest high-tech medical treatment to set him on the road to a good life.

In return, Magnum opened the heart of everyone with whom he came in contact.

Magnum's story began two months ago when a woman surrendered him to the Pasco County Animal Services shelter, in Land O' Lakes. Magnum was limping and overweight. This lover of life evidently loved food just as much. He tipped the scale at 50 pounds. For his size, he should have weighed about 10 pounds less.

He stayed at Animal Services for more than two weeks. No one wanted Magnum.

But Magnum's tail never stopped wagging. After all, life is good. And so it was. Tampa Bay Beagle Rescue agreed to take Magnum.

Alberto Quintana, a foster care giver with the Tampa-based animal rescue group, remembers picking Magnum up at the shelter. "There was so much joy in this dog in getting out I almost cried. He could barely walk but at the same time, he was pulling me."

The first order of business was to deal with Magnum's leg. His excess weight had given him a ruptured cranial cruciate ligament in one of his stifle joints, as the canine equivalent of the knee is called. Magnum would need an operation to stabilize the joint.

That would not be easy. Many veterinarians will not work with rescue groups because they make no money for their efforts, explains Quintana. But a beagle with a wagging tail and a throaty howl has a way of getting to people.

Dr. Callum Hay, a veterinary surgeon in Tampa, agreed to perform the operation. Many animals like Magnum would have to be euthanized if some veterinarian didn't step up to the plate and do operations at cost, Hay says. "It's their last chance."

But another problem arose after the successful operation. Magnum would need physical therapy to strengthen the muscles of the leg and help with range of motion.

Port Richey based veterinarian Dr. Valerie Fucci, who has a long list of specialized veterinarian certifications after her name, volunteered her state-of-the-art underwater treadmill. Like Hay, Fucci has a soft spot for animal rescue groups.

"She's not in this for the money," says veterinarian technician Judy Fay.

Fay describes how instead of delegating the job to an employee, Fucci herself goes to her clinic late at night to look in on boarding patients such as Magnum. The veterinarian has been known to stay there into the wee hours of the morning with animals needing either extra medical care or just a friend.

Magnum's therapy involved exercising him on a treadmill in a container filled with water. The treadmill strengthens and builds muscle while the water takes the pressure off joints.

"There are studies that show dogs that have had surgery and have had underwater treadmill rehabilitation will recover more completely, more quickly and with less pain," Fucci says. She also threw in some laser treatments for good measure. Research indicates they are effective in hastening healing and alleviating pain.

Magnum spent three weeks at Fucci's clinic exercising on the water treadmill twice a day. He worked his magic on Fucci and her staff.

"There's not a mean bone his body," says veterinarian technician Kelly Fox.

By the middle of December, a much slimmer Magnum was ready to stop treatment. He will fully recover except maybe for a little arthritis, Fucci notes.

As he left Fucci's clinic with Quintana, Magnum stood squarely on the leg that had been unable to bear his weight a month before. He lifted his other leg, sprayed a bush, and finished with a jaunty pawing of the ground.

Magnum was fostered by Quintana at his home in Lutz until last week when a bay area couple adopted the beagle.

As Magnum would be the first to affirm, life is good, indeed.

For more information on other beagles needing homes, go to www.tampabaybeaglerescue.org.

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