Viewers first met Terri Marks DVM in 2008, with her Mastiff, Bo, short for "Kubota." Terri owns a practice in New Jersey, South Paw Animal Hospital, and we met at the Westminster dog show in New York. Bo had a story to tell; first of injury then of rescue and recovery. He went on to become a show and therapy dog. Now Terri is back with a new dog, Porter (view large image), who, like Bo, has a few stories to tell, too.
Bo continued with showing and therapy work after the 2008 Westminster show. As Bo was nearing retirement from the show ring, Terri decided to look into a smaller show dog, the French Bulldog. She located a breeder who coincidentally raised both Mastiffs and French Bulldogs, and found Porter.
Porter arrived at the end of 2007, at twelve weeks of age. (His birthday is 9/24/2007.) From the start, he was quite at home with his much-larger housemates. He didn't waste any time snuggling up to Bo and Buford, the senior Mastiff, who sadly died from Lymphoma later that year.
At six months of age, Terri began showing Porter. He did well and loved the show ring. At 8.5 months of age, Porter began to limp. There was no known history of illness or injury. Terri brought him in to her hospital and took radiographs (x-rays), finding... nothing. Terri admits feeling frustrated, not being able to diagnose why Porter was limping, but no problem, that is what veterinary specialists are for.
So off they went. They saw 3 separate veterinary orthopedic specialists and a fourth specialist at the University of Pennsylvania veterinary school. The pain was localized to the outside toe of the right foreleg, but no firm answers. An MRI was performed. The diagnosis was osteomyelitis, a potentially serious bone infection. The recommendation was amputate the toe. Terri was told that Porter would lose his toe, and possibly his foot. Either way, he would never show again.
Terri didn't want to amputate just yet. Porter was happy and healthy in all other respects. Osteomyleitis is infection of bone, and is most commonly caused by bacteria, although fungal and viral causes are also possible. The consensus was that Porter must have been stepped on or otherwise injured, causing damage to his sesamoid bones (tiny round bones) in the foot. The subsequent degeneration and death of the damaged bone leading to osteomyelitis.
Working with a specialist, Terri started Porter on a three-month course of oral antibiotics, chiropractic and acupuncture treatments. After about one month, Porter began to respond. The limp went away. One sidenote: Porter almost caused additional injury to himself after quickly gulping down one of the acupuncture needles in his foot, to the horror of Terri and the other veterinarian. Thankfully, this too passed without incident.
After six months of therapy and rest, Porter was as good as new, all toes intact. Like Bo, Porter is a therapy dog. He has passed his Canine Good Citizen test and is waiting on the next available time slot for his Therapy Dog International certification. Terri participates in the Girl Power program with Bo and Porter. Girl Power is a mentor program for girls aged 9 to 13 years old who are interested in learning about science and veterinary medicine (and other topics). The dogs patiently allow examinations, heart and lung auscultations, and whatever else is needed.
Thank you, Terri, for another interesting and informative interview. Best wishes for continued health and success with Bo and Porter.
