Dog Prosthetic Gives New Life to Man’s Best Friend

If dogs could talk, what a story Riley, an Alaskan Klee-Kai, would tell. Thanks to Angela Boncz, the owner of Specialized Pet Solutions, it has a happy ending.  The story starts with a Lake Placid vacation about seven years ago that ended with a broken leg. A vet put Riley’s leg in a cast and told her owner to take it off in six weeks. Evelyn Treacy questioned whether Riley was walking strangely on the cast, but the vet assured her everything was fine…It wasn’t.
Days later, Riley stopped eating, and Evelyn rushed her to the family veterinarian. She never imagined what would happen next. “They said, ‘We have to amputate your dog’s leg.’ And I remember saying, ‘Oh, no, you must be thinking about someone else. I brought in a dog who’s not eating,” Evelyn explained. “The vet told me they took off her cast, and it had been wrapped too tightly, and gangrene had set in.”  Evelyn and her family were devastated.

They persuaded the vet to amputate Riley’s leg at what we would know as her wrist. That’s when the real work began.  “I went online to search for prosthetics,” said Evelyn. “You can find those for people until the cows come home, but I couldn’t

find anything for an animal.”Finally, she stumbled on Angela. “I flew there with Riley, pleading for her to please help this dog. Angela measured her and did a cast, and we went in a few days later, and Riley could walk,” said Evelyn.  And just like that, Evelyn and Angela started a seven-year relationship aimed at giving Riley a shot at her best life. They remotely tailored prosthetics and developed ways to alleviate any discomfort. Evelyn launched an Instagram page called @HenryMatilda and celebrated life with Riley and her other dogs.

“They all have their quirks,” Evelyn said. “There is no agenda on my page. I’m not there to make money.   I just want to show people life can be happy after an amputation. When everything seems so dark, and all hope is lost, there is always tomorrow.”

Thank you, Evelyn and Riley! We are grateful to walk through life with you.

Learn more about Specialized Pet Solutions here!