Leo's first few days in a cast

He was very quiet his first full day home from surgery. He slept a lot and didn't move around much.

In this picture, it was the 2nd full day home from surgery and he has managed to jump up on the couch to sit in a sunny window.

Information about Janice is from this website: http://www.pawsability.ca/

On June 30th, we went in for a follow-up examination. Our appointment is with both Dr. Carl Porter and the lady from PawsAbility, established in 2007 by Janice Olynich, a Certified Prosthetist. Janice's early interest in animal care started when she took a part-time job at a veterinary clinic while in high school. She has an Honours degree in Kinesiology from the University of Western Ontario (London, ON), then graduated in Toronto at George Brown College from the Clinical Methods in Orthotics and Prosthetics program. When she came to Toronto to study she began working part-time at Westside Animal Hospital and kept that job for seven years, while studying and later while working full time.

She proceeded to work at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in their prosthetics department. A chance opportunity to fit a dog with a prosthetic leg led to the idea of creating a Toronto-based custom prosthetic and orthotic service for animals. At our appointment she announced she will be working with pets full time, no more humans! Prosthetics and Orthotics for animals is an emerging specialty within the broader field of Animal Rehabilitation. Fortunately, it's accessible (in Toronto) and Leo is benefiting from its services.

Here, Janice works on the initial mold for the brace. One of TVEH's vet techs (in purple) is holding Leo. Leo was a good dog. He laid patiently (for about 45 minutes) as the cast was cut off, a mold was taken and a cast put back on.