Titanium paws put Monika the Russian rescue dog back on all fours
- The pricey and complex operation to give the small beige pooch prosthetics was paid for by a crowdfunding campaign
- Volunteers had found Monika in a forest in southern Russia with serious injuries to all four limbs
Monika the Russian rescue dog is ready for her new life after she was fitted with four prosthetic titanium paws in a pricey and complex operation paid for by a crowdfunding campaign.
Two weeks after the procedure, the small beige pooch is still weak and tired, but she is back on her feet again.
“Luck and experience played its part,” said Sergei Gorshkov, the vet who completed the challenging op.
The 33-year-old from the Siberian city of Novosibirsk has fitted artificial limbs on more than 30 furry patients, including a quadruple transplant on a cat. But this was the first time he had tried the operation on a dog.
Monika had travelled far for this life-changing surgery. She was found by volunteers in a forest near Krasnodar, a city in southern Russia 4,000km (2,485 miles) from Gorshkov’s clinic.
Her four legs were bloody stumps.