Dudley had one prosthetic foot which fit him well, however, if it cracked or needed repair, Dudley would have to stay in his stall until it was fixed. Dudley needs to be kept quiet and his residual limb needs to be protected and when he's not wearing his prosthesis. So, for Dudley's birthday, we asked people to donate towards a new prosthesis so he would always have a backup. If you donated towards his new prosthesis, thank you so much, we are so very grateful!

It was a lengthy process to create the prosthesis. First, we had to have Dudley's veterinarians from UT Knoxville Large Animal Hospital out to sedate him and take a cast of Dudley's leg. The mold was then sent to Ronnie Graves from VIP Veterinary Inclusive Prosthetics and Orthotics to create a mold of Dudley's leg from the cast. Finally, a prosthesis was created around the mold. This entire process took months. Since the prosthetic foot arrived to us, there have been necessary repairs and adjustments that have delayed allowing Dudley to wear it.

This week Ronnie came out to see Dudley, do some minor changes, and fit the prosthesis on Dudley himself. I am pleased to report that Dudley is now wearing it and so far it seems to fit beautifully. Dudley is back to running around the pasture playing with Miles, grazing with Destiny and Maybelle, charming guests, and passing out hugs to all of us.

Come see Dudley's new foot when you have a chance. Go to www.gentlebarn.org for tickets. And, thank you so much for enabling us to do this work for Dudley and all the animals in our care.

Ellie Laks-Weiner
Founder
The Gentle Barn