Three-Legged Donkey Doing Just Fine, Doctors Say
Emma is a small donkey. She runs around the barnyard, kicking playfully. She acts like a normal donkey. But there is something different about her. She doesn’t have a right back leg. Instead, she has a pink prosthesis (pros-THEE-sis). A prosthesis is an artificial(ahr-tuh-FISH-uhl) body part. It is made by people.
Emma was born with a badly formed leg. Doctors had to cut off the lower part of it. Emma has surgery (SER-juh-ree) when she was only 2 days old. Animal doctors at Auburn University in Alabama cared for her. They made her a prosthesis.
When horses, donkeys, and other large animals break their legs, doctors most often have to humanely kill them. Emma is now a test case for doctors who hope to save large animals with leg problems.
Alive and Kicking
Emma had her surgery in April 2012. Today , she is a healthy, active donkey. She lives at Auburn University. Doctor Jim Brendemuehl helps care for her. He owns her best friend – a horse named Tank.
Emma likes to kick at people with her pink leg. “That’s how she plays. She does what any other donkey would do,” Brendemuehl said.
Emma has outgrown a few artificial legs. The legs are made of heavy, extra-strong plastic. They don’t go right on the stump. That is the part of her leg that was left after the rest was cut off. First, doctors put a sock over Emma’s leg stump. Then they put a rubber sleeve over the sock. Then they put on the leg.
Doctors faced a few problems with Emma. They had to learn how to put on the rubber sleeve so that sand couldn’t get inside. Emma likes to roll around and lie down in the barnyard. If sand gets in the sleeve, it can bother her skin.
Doctors also had to find a buckle that the donkey couldn’t open with her teeth.
Solving Problems
The Hanger Clinic company made Emma’s prosthesis. They make artificial body parts for animals and people. Emma’s leg has changed over time.
“Part of the reason is that…she’s changed her activities,” said Kent Wiggins. He works for Hanger.
“She gets different pressure (PRESH-er) points, different problems,” he said. “We have to react and make changes in order to keep her going.”
Emma’s latest prosthesis doesn’t bend. It has a rubber tip rather than a hoof. Students, doctors, and Hanger workers hope to someday make a prosthesis that can bend like a real hoof and still support Emma’s weight.
Emma weights 175 pounds. Horses weigh a lot more. Tank weighs 1,600 pounds. Large animals with leg problems are hard to treat because of their weight and size.