Zoe is one fortunate goat. Zoe is an adult doe who lives with her brother Cosmo in New Jersey. Both Zoe and Cosmo enjoyed climbing a tree which hung out over a ledge in their field. Zoe was much more adventurous than Cosmo and would climb out much further over the ledge. One day last March, however, Zoe fell 15 feet out of the tree and shortly afterwards was unable to walk. She was rushed to Penn Vet’s Widener Hospital’s Emergency Service for evaluation by Drs. Maeva May and Evita Busschers where spinal radiographs revealed fractures of her eighth and ninth thoracic vertebrae, as well as subluxation between her ninth and tenth thoracic vertebrae. The injuries were compressing her spinal cord, causing her to be unable to use her hind legs. Although similar spinal fractures are treated in small animals like cats and dogs, successful treatment in a 150-pound goat had never been reported. Still, Zoe’s owners wanted to do everything they could to help her if Zoe had hope for recovery. |
