La Cañada animal lover works to restore a four-legged friend
Christine Broyles, 30 of La Cañada Flintridge, holds Nimble, a 1-year old female Chihuahua mix born with disintegrating legs at Mayors’ Discovery Park in La Cañada Flintridge on Friday, April 15, 2016. After seven surgeries, Nimble is set to get some new legs with the help of a 3-D printing company.
From the time she was born, the runt of a litter of six puppies delivered by an emergency Caesarean section, it was clear there was something different about her.
The beige Chihuahua-Pomeranian mix seemed in good spirits but was born with only partial legs. The mysterious problem worsened in the first few days of her life and by the time she was 10 days old, all four of her legs, just below their knee joints, plus her tail and part of her left ear had withered from necrosis.
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Her obvious disability caused her mother to neglect her. Left with two options — potentially expensive surgeries with uncertain outcomes or the dreaded needle — the pup’s owners didn’t know what to do.
Enter Christine Broyles, a dedicated veterinarian technician at Montrose’s Hillcrest Animal Hospital who shares a home in La Cañada Flintridge with her mother, daughter and nine wayward animals she’s rehabbed from near death or abandonment.
Among her “menagerie” are felines with Down Syndrome and a MRSA-ravaged face, a badly abused pit bull found tied to a Van Nuys street sign, a mastiff with PTSD and cat left in the bread aisle at the La Cañada Ralphs in a hastily aborted sidewalk adoption.
“I take in the cases where people are like, ‘Just put it down; it has no hope,’” says Broyles. “I like these cases. These are the ones who become members of my family.”
And so, at 5 weeks old, the young female pup joined the Broyles household, where she earned the ironic yet somehow fitting moniker “Nimble.” Though each leg was at least one-third gone, Nimble’s bones continued to grow, causing painful lesions on the skin covering her tender nubs.
With determination, Broyles scrimped and raised money to cover the cost of the operations, working with boss and Hillcrest vet Edward Fries through each procedure. Today, at 16 months of age, Nimble has undergone seven bone-shaving operations to reach a relatively healthy canine adulthood.
The next mission is getting her two new pairs of legs, something more doable than one might think, thanks to the wonders of 3D printing and a Denver company willing to work with Broyles on an innovative prosthetic solution.
“What’s next for Nimble is going to be freedom,” says a hopeful Broyles. “That’s the main goal here — to create an independent lifestyle for her.”
Nimble received a 3D scan and had her measurements sent to Colorado, where technicians at the 3D Printing Store used the specifications to help craft traditional prostheses.
Justin Finesilver, co-founder and director of operations and marketing for the 3D Printing store, explains fitting the small dog with four full prostheses is a multi-step process. At first, basic models will help her acclimate to walking and build her musculature so future models will be more comfortable and, ultimately, successful.
“We’re imagining this being something that would be done in phases to help Nimble develop,” says Finesilver, describing an eventual front-leg assembly that will rock to allow for more fluid motion.
This isn’t the first time the 3D Printing Store has helped animals. Staff members have made shells for injured tortoises, have a guinea pig job coming up and “are in talks about a goat,” Finesilver says. The potential for animals is so great, company founders have created a nonprofit called 3D Pawsthetics to help raise funds for wayward animals in need of prostheses.
“We’re very excited about exploring those possibilities, and Nimble is a great case for that,” Finesilver says.
Broyles says once the leg situation has been figured out, Nimble could become a great therapy dog, possibly for people suffering from their own disabilities.
Broyles’ 11-year-old daughter Madelynne confirms the small beige dog would make a great companion for someone in need of a little cheer.
“She makes everybody happy,” she says. “Sometimes I’m not in the best mood, and my grandma puts Nim on my bed, then I pet her and feel so much better. If your day isn’t going the best, you get Nim to cheer you up.”
To learn more about Nimble’s journey visit facebook.com/nimblethisway and for more details about 3D Pawsthetics visit www.facebook.com/pawstheticsanimalprosthetics.
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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com
Twitter: @SaraCardine
