StemCell Therapy

(ZooMontana Press Release)

BILLINGS - During the late summer of 2020, ZooMontana took in a young, abandoned, 7-week-old Grey Wolf pup. The wolf was found, fed, and briefly housed by families in Condon MT, and then turned over to Montanas Fish, Wildlife and Parks in Kalispell.

After unsuccessful attempts to relocate the pups pack, the wolf was transferred to ZooMontana, and aptly named Simpson. During his first few months at the Zoo, officials say he was doing great, with a few oddities attributed to puppyhood. However, as he grew older, his clumsiness and poor eyesight led caregivers to believe something more was going on. After an altercation with one of the Zoos adult wolves, his condition deteriorated significantly, ultimately leading the Zoos veterinarian team to take him in for a CT scan of his brain. The scan unfortunately showed some bad news; Simpson has Congenital Hydrocephalus.

RELATED: ZooMontana welcomes orphaned wolf pup

This condition causes an increased production of cerebrospinal fluid, or "water on the brain", that increases intracranial pressure, said Dr. Haynes Werner, one of the Zoos lead veterinarians. In Simpson's case, his condition is likely to worsen as he gets older, and while he is currently on several medications, long term medical management is not his best option. We got to work to find solutions, and rested on surgery as his best option, Werner added.

Being this is a unique, highly specialized case, ZooMontanas veterinary team contacted specialists in the field to tackle the delicate surgery. After an exhaustive search, Washington State Universitys College of Veterinary Medicine agreed to take on the case. Simpson will travel with his local veterinary team to the WSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital in March to have a shunt placed in his brain to drain the excess fluid and relieve pressure on his brain. ZooMontana Executive Director, Jeff Ewelt, said that everyone agrees that this surgery is the best option available to Simpson, but wants everyone to know that there are many risks are involved.

RELATED: Orphaned wolf pup at ZooMontana adjusting to his new home

The Zoo stated that surgery is expected to cost about $10,000, with another $10,000 in expected habitat changes to make the Simpsons life more comfortable. ZooMontana has setup up a donation link on their website, http://www.zoomontana.org/support-simpson [zoomontana.org], if you would like to help contribute to Simpsons surgery.

Continue reading here:
ZooMontana's wolf Simpson diagnosed with rare condition, to be sent out of state for surgery - KTVQ Billings News

This entry was posted on February 14, 2021 at 7:29 pm and is filed under Veterinary Medicine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |