On the 12th of February 2019, we at Lorraine Vet received a stressed call from the ladies that work at the Gardens Centre Pet Boutique, stating that they had taken two emaciated pit bull puppies from a gentleman that had left them on the back of his bakkie while he shopped.
Kelsey rushed to the centre to fetch them. Upon arrival she found two white and brown pit bulls of about 8 weeks of age that weighed a staggering 1.3kg! This breed at this age should have weighed about 5kg. To say they were emaciated, does not even begin to describe how malnourished they were.
Unfortunately, the one female passed away shortly after arriving at the Practice, our hearts all broke a little that day. Leva was very weak and close to crossing the Rainbow Bridge with her sister. Kelsey had accepted the challenge of fostering her, as she was going to need around the clock care, if there was any chance of her pulling through. We could see some fight in her and the will to live which spurred us on. Hourly feeds and constant monitoring were what Kelsey signed up for. She brought Leva to work every day with her and we all chipped in to help. Leva crept into all our hearts. We kept hope, but also understood that there were no guarantees of her survival, the first 3 weeks had many highs but also some devasting lows. We honestly thought numerous times that “this was it, but at least we tried”. We had purposefully chosen not to name her until we knew the odds were no longer stacked against her. She slowly went from strength to strength and her fighting spirit became more and more evident.
We felt it was time for a name and the decision was easy, that we had to find a name fitting for her fighting spirit. We Googled many names and had decided on Leva, which in Swedish means “to live”. She had overcome being emaciated and under nourished, overcome numerous parasites of all kinds and all the trauma she had been through. All Leva wanted / craved was love and attention. It became clear that fostering had failed, because Kelsey was besotted with Leva and that feeling was mutual. Through all the hardships Kelsey was there for Leva and their bond is undoubtedly unconditional.
Leva grew into one of the sweetest most loving pit bulls. Her love for all humans, big or small is incredible after all she went through in the start of her life. She is also obsessed with any furry critter that crosses her path, be it kittens, bunnies or dogs of any size; they all need to be kissed, nuzzled, and played with.
We thought all was going well until in early March 2020 Leva started limping, Kelsey brought her in, and it was discovered that she had snapped her left hind cruciate ligament (What is CCL surgery? What options are there for repairing my dog’s torn CCL? When the cranial cruciate ligament is torn, surgical stabilization of the knee joint is often required, especially in larger or more active dogs. Surgery is generally recommended as soon as possible to reduce permanent, irreversible joint damage and relieve pain). Because of age and boisterous behaviour, it was decided she should go to the local Orthopedic specialist for the repair. The procedure came to about R13 000.00. The recovery was difficult to keep her quiet and calm in her cage, but Kelsey persevered. We thought all was going well and she was coping well with her walks and exercise. Unfortunately, she started limping again on and off, so she was restricted and rested. But the limping became worse and she was brought in and sedated for examination. We discovered that the repaired left hind had half snapped, and her right hind leg has completely snapped too.
Kelsey took her back to the Orthopedic specialist and they confirmed our diagnosis. Their recommendation is to repair the right hind cruciate ligament with the TTA procedure and then to repair the left hind leg also with the TTA procedure once the right leg has healed (What is TTA Surgery? TTA is the abbreviation for Tibial Tuberosity Advancement. This a surgical procedure used to treat cranial (or anterior) cruciate ligament rupture in the knee joints (stifle) of dogs. It involves cutting the top of the shin bone (the tibia), moving it forward and stabilizing it in its new position). This procedure will cost about R23 000 per leg.