First Dew Claw Amputation Performed at TVFS

Ethel Rose is back to enjoying her retirement as a teaching pig, thanks to the team at Tufts Veterinary Field Service (TVFS) at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. The 600-pound, six-foot-long American Yorkshire was suffering from a cracked dewclaw that needed to be amputated.

“It definitely was a unique case for us,” says Dr. Jacquelin Graber, a clinician at TVFS and assistant clinical professor in the Department of Ambulatory Medicine and Theriogenology at Cummings School. “We don’t see these types of injuries commonly. This is the first pig at TVFS to have a dewclaw amputated—and the biggest pig we’ve ever had at haul-in.”

Ethel Rose lives at River Haven Sanctuary in Hope Valley, Rhode Island. Lucy Butler and her fiancé Jeffrey Hunsinger founded the sanctuary three years ago. When they originally purchased the 30-acre property, they envisioned a hobby farm. Veterinarians and hoof care providers received so many owner-surrender referrals that they decided to open a sanctuary for farm animals instead. To help fund the nonprofit, the couple rents out a guest house and vintage Airstream for families to vacation among the now 53 animals at River Haven, including horses, donkeys, goats, pigs, geese, chickens, roosters, and barn cats.

For the first five years of her life, Ethel Rose was a teaching pig for pre-veterinary students at the University of Rhode Island’s Peckham Farm and part of their breeding program. 

When it came time to move Ethel Rose, “The team spent the better part of a day trying to get her on the truck, and at one point, someone went for a ride—she went through their legs and took off. She was very adamant about not getting onto that truck,” says Butler. 

The program director called River Haven.

“She asked if there were any chance we’d want a big American Yorkshire pig, and we really did,” says Butler. “Although American Yorkshires are the most populous pig in North America, most people never encounter a pig like Ethel Rose. It’s the most prevalent pig and the pig most likely to be consumed. So we jumped at the chance to bring her to the sanctuary.”

They were warned about the sow’s previous loading experience, so they cleared two days on their schedule. To everyone’s surprise, Ethel Rose walked right up the ramp and into their trailer in less than a minute. And she settled in quickly at River Haven Sanctuary.

“Guests fall head over heels for Ethel Rose,” says Butler. “She has a magnanimous spirit and sweetness to her. She’s a little magical, incredibly kind and gentle. It sounds funny, but she’s always smiling.”

Earlier this spring, Butler noticed a crack forming on the sow’s dewclaw (an extra toe on the back of the hoof). When it snapped, she called TVFS for an emergency visit. Based out of Woodstock, Connecticut, TVFS treats farm animals in the field and on-site at the outpatient haul-in facility. TVFS provides wellness and emergency care for all the large animals at River Haven Sanctuary.

“They’re incredible vets,” says Butler. “We appreciate the attention they give to the animals, the empathy and thoroughness, and they’re very knowledgeable. I always enjoy all the students helping out; that’s a unique and fun aspect.”

Graber and her team examined and radiographed Ethel Rose’s dewclaw. Typically, pigs don’t put weight on their dewclaws, but their lifespan is longer than most American Yorkshires. The weight was degrading the tendons and ligaments in her front legs and putting pressure on her dewclaw. Though her deep tissue and bone appeared healthy, Graber knew the pig was at high risk for bone infection. She initially recommended medical care to see if the dewclaw might heal. Butler and Hunsinger tended to her closely, administering pain medications and antibiotics, daily foot soaks, and plenty of stall rest.

When Graber and the team returned the following week, the toe had stabilized but not improved. The team observed the sow walking around her stall and saw the fractured toe pressing into the ground.

“Because of the ligament breakdown and overgrowth of the dewclaws, one of them had become traumatized repeatedly from contact with the ground. We realized that there was no hope for managing it medically. The only option was to amputate the dewclaw,” says Graber.

While TVFS performs some surgeries in the field, Graber felt the amputation should take place at the haul-in clinic. “For something like this, we wanted all of our resources available,” she says.

Graber participated in two dewclaw amputations previously, though not as the primary surgeon. She and the team prepared extensively for the surgery. She consulted with Dr. Thomas Jenei, Director of Hospital for Large Animals at Cummings School, for his orthopedic surgical expertise in forming a plan, and with Dr. Chris Burrows of Arizona Mobile Veterinary Practice, who has performed multiple swine dewclaw amputations.

Pigs are at a higher risk of complications from anesthesia due to their metabolism, excess fatty tissue, and truncated airways. The heaviest pig TVFS had ever anesthetized at the haul-in was 400 pounds, two-thirds the weight of Ethel Rose.

“The biggest challenge was her size and age,” says Graber. “She had going for her a long snout, which is good for airway stability, and she’s not obese. The fact that Lucy and Jeff had been taking such good care of her made anesthesia safer, but definitely still a risk.”

TVFS’s newly acquired anesthesia monitor proved to be a tremendous asset during surgery. Seeing a considerable increase in pig patients at TVFS, Graber recently visited two practices in Phoenix, Arizona, including the one mentioned above, that treat companion swine in high volume.

“I went to witness routine medicine and surgical procedures to get ideas for how we can improve our anesthesia monitoring and protocols. One thing I came back with is that we need a new anesthesia monitoring machine, which was perfect timing for Ethel,” says Graber.

The new anesthesia monitor tracks blood pressure, body temperature, oxygen saturation, and heart rate and provides electrocardiogram (EKG) readings, delivering more data than the previous monitor and now automatically. “All the information we need is on automated settings so that the large animal techs can focus on the rest of the work. We can be much more efficient,” says Graber.

Due to her size, the team specially prepared a daytime hospitalization stall for Ethel Rose. As soon as she fell asleep, the team rolled in the prep carts and anesthesia monitor and began.

“A lot of planning went into the surgery, research, and discussions with Dr. Jenei and colleagues in Arizona,” says Graber. “We all felt prepared for it. My techs were amazing, and my students were great with Ethel. We really had a perfect team that day for her.”

The skin is tight on the hoof, so it is difficult to bring the two edges of the surgical site together to suture after amputation. “Dr. Jenei gave me tips on placement of incision and tension-relieving suture patterns. I was able to incorporate his advice and achieve full closure of the surgical site,” says Dr. Graber.

The surgery went smoothly all around for TVFS’s first pig dew claw amputation. When Ethel Rose woke up, the students kept her comfortable and fed her bananas and Oreos before sending her home.

“It was such a relief when she was out of anesthesia. With pigs, it’s not a given that she would wake back up again,” says Butler. “They did an amazing job. I have such confidence in Dr. Graber and the team. We’ve been so impressed with the care provided by the field service. They go the extra mile.”

By late afternoon, Ethel Rose was back in her stall at River Haven. The sow recovered well, although it developed a seroma, a swelling caused by fluid at the surgical site, which is not uncommon after this type of procedure. Butler stayed in contact with Graber until the issue was resolved, and the team visited her twice for rechecks. The sow is now fully healed.

“Ethel Rose is doing fantastic,” says Butler. “She’s happy, mobile, and living her best life with her friends here. After all she did to teach students at URI, giving her the best retirement we can is the least we can do.”