Augusta Dog Receives 1st Georgia Knee Replacement

Augusta, GA—Jim Cartee, dog had first GA knee replacement: “She’s the star, she’s been through an awful lot in her little life, and I’m proud of her.”

If you look at 12-year-old Sapphire, today…you may notice she limps a little. Other than that, she’s just a normal, happy lab. But it hasn’t always been that way…rescued by Jim Cartee when she was just a puppy, she was crippled and in extreme pain when she walked.

Cartee: “Her life was far from being over, and we just did what we had to do.”

Eventually, Sapphire had 2 hip replacements…but it wasn’t over. A knee replacement, done by Dr. Steve Budsberg at the University of Georgia was the next step. A surgery that was the first of its kind for the peach state.

Dr. Steve Budsberg, University of Georgia: “Sapphire is definitely a trooper.”

Cartee: “She’s on less medicine than she’s been in all of her life. She’s taken minimal pain medicine and she’s just, she’s just fine, now, because she’s not in pain for the first time in her life, actually. She’s less of a cripple now than when she was four.”

This is what it looks like inside of Sapphire’s leg…a few simple rods…helping her make a full recovery after a lifetime of pain.

Cartee: “It’s a miracle, it really is, she’s done well and I’m proud of her, and really proud of the University of Georgia.”

Cartee: “I think it’s wonderful and I think she’s the star, it’s not me, it’s her. She’s the star. She’s been through an awful lot in her little life and I’m proud of her, and really proud of the University of Georgia.”

There have only been about 200 of these surgeries performed nationwide. And Dr. Liska, the inventor of the canine knee replacement, was flown in from Houston, Texas to help perform the one on Sapphire. On top of that, they’re going to be using the video from the surgery in classes now at UGA.