On October 13, 2007, in what was to be his last race, Lava Flow (Lava to his friends) slipped in the first turn of the 5th race of the afternoon card at Seabrook Greyhound Park and cleanly broke both bones in his front left leg. He was immediately transferred to the adoption kennel on site at Seabrook, and they rushed him to the local veterinarian's office for care.

The local veterinarian determined that Lava's leg would need more than a cast to heal, so he performed surgery to support Lava's leg bones with internal metal plates that were attached with 12 metal screws. Lava convalesced at the track adoption kennel, and in February of 2008 he was transferred to Greyt Expectations Greyhound Rescue in Southern Maryland to finish healing and find a permanent home. A few weeks after his arrival, his foster home noted that he had developed a sore near one of the screw sites that had begun to ooze.

Lava was taken to the group's veterinarian for assessment. It was determined that he had developed a severe infection in his leg. He was put on an intense course of antibiotics, and after 3 weeks, he was re-tested. He still had a significant infection and was referred to an orthopedic specialist. The orthopedic specialist felt that the only way to cure the infection was to remove the hardware from Lava's leg.

The hardware was removed successfully on a Thursday morning and Lava returned to his foster home on a Friday. On that Tuesday, April 1st, 2008, while on leash outside in the rain to take a bathroom break, Lava shook himself (as wet dogs will) and re-broke his leg at the same fracture site.

Since that Tuesday, Lava has had no less than 6 doctors (most orthopedic specialists) in 4 different practices consult on his current situation. There were a lot of concerns about the next step, given the fact that his leg has been weakened by both the hardware and the on-going infection. After much discussion, it was decided to try and save Lava's leg.

On April 4th, 2008, Lava underwent surgery to clean the edges of the break sites on both of his front leg bones, had the bones realigned and set using a bone graph from his humerus, and had pins inserted to support his leg with external hardware. Now Lava faces a long recovery: he will need to be leash walked for the next 3-4 months; he will then need to have the hardware removed and will need another few months of leash walking to heal completely.

Lava has a long road ahead of him. There is still a chance his bones may not heal together properly, but his surgeon is confident that he will be running around playing at our 2009 reunion picnic. It is our hope that by October 13, 2008, Lava will be a happy, healthy, 4-legged, 3-yr-old dog ready for adoption. Through all of this, Lava has remained a silly, friendly, fun puppy and we all want what's best for him.

It is thanks to the many donations, fund raising efforts, and grant monies that GEGR has received, along with the generosity of the veterinary hospitals that have significantly reduced their fees, that Lava will have this chance. Thank you to everyone who shares in this common effort to help Lava!