When I was told that a goose was going to possibly help war veterans, I wasn’t sure I had heard correctly. I knew about service dogs, but service geese? And then I was told that the goose had only one leg. How in this world can a one legged goose help anyone?

I met up with Shannon Todd at Evelyn’s Wildlife Refuge. Shannon is currently in the navy, but also does wildlife rehabilitation. She told me, "I received Gwenevere (Gwen) around the end of May. A motorist had struck her and her family. Both her parents and all her siblings were killed. In order to save her life, the doctors at Bostic Veterinary Hospital amputated Gwen’s leg. Gwen came to me the day after her surgery."

Shannon continued, "Gwen is an amazing little goose - brave and determined. She has learned to hop around, using her opposite wing for balance. Unfortunately, if she continues to do this, she will permanently damage her wing and will never be able to fly. She cannot swim well either."

She explained, "Geese can live up to 30 years in captivity and that is a long time to deal with such a handicap. In the coming years, I hope to use Gwen as a foster mother for future orphaned goslings. Canada geese are amazing parents and have been even been known to adopt and care for ducklings. Because I felt that Gwen couldn’t go on living in her current situation, I contacted veterinary hospitals, schools, and prosthetic companies all over the country. I was determined to do what I could to give Gwen back a portion of her old life -- a life that was forever changed by the negligence of a human being."

There are approximately 1.9 million amputees living in the U.S., a figure expected to jump to 2.7 million by 2020 -- mainly because of returning Iraq war veterans and patients who lose limbs to diabetes-related complications. Gwen is hopefully going to be able to help some of these people through continued research on osseointegration.

"Osseo" refers to bone and "integration" refers to how prosthesis can be integrated with the bone in residual limbs -- both arms and legs. Osseointegration allows doctors to directly fuse an artificial limb into a recipient’s bone. This is done by first inserting a titanium bolt into the cavity of the bone. Titanium is used because it is a material that does not cause soft tissue inflammation and is not rejected by the body. A portion of the bolt is left protruding from the limb, which is temporarily capped during a waiting period of several months while the wound heals and the bone and bolt fuse firmly together. Later, the titanium bolt is exposed and the prosthesis is then attached to it.

If ongoing research proves successful, it will foster a breakthrough in the design of next-generation artificial limbs for humans. This is extremely important because of the current shortcomings of how an artificial limb is currently attached to the body, with a sleeve. This sleeve is usually made of Fiberglas or plastic, into which the remaining portion of the limb fits like a thumb in a sewing thimble. The wearer often fights painful skin problems (rashes, blistering, and tissue breakdown). In addition, the artificial limb is not as well controlled by the wearer because of the "soft connection" and requires significantly more energy to move it than a natural limb.

Much to Shannon’s delight, she found "a brilliant surgeon at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine willing to take on Gwen’s care. Gwen is now scheduled for a CT scan and additional x-rays at the end of October. The surgeon, Dr. Denis Marcellin-Little, plans on implanting a titanium sleeve around Gwen’s remaining limb and after about 6 months, Gwen will have a custom-made prosthetic leg attached. But, everything is dependent on next month’s preliminary testing, of course."

If testing shows that Gewn is a good candidate, she will be the fourth animal and first bird to receive this surgery anywhere in the world. In August, Dr. Marcellin-Little performed the initial surgery on the right hind leg of a 5-year old German Shepard mix, Cassidy. Dr. Marcellin-Little had previously tested it successfully on two cats, George Bailey and Mr. Fonz, but Cassidy’s surgery was the first time it had been attempted on a large animal.

Design is now underway for a prosthetic leg for Cassidy. In a press release by the North Carolina State University, members of the research team explain:

The final prosthetic legs and feet are built with strong, lightweight biocompatible metal made by NC State’s Department of Industrial Engineering and an outside firm. "It’s pretty ambitious, but there is a lot of energy behind this project. There are a lot of great minds at work and lots of energy. There are no boundaries, since this has never been done before.

By the end of my time with Shannon, I knew that it wasn’t only Gwen who was brave and determined. The same can be said of Shannon. She is now raising three young children on her own, after the sudden death of her husband six years ago. After the trauma of such a life altering experience, you come to see the world a little differently. "I am now able to sit quietly in my yard, watching Gwen, and be completely happy."

Shannon will be retiring from the Navy this upcoming year, and as an engineer, she could easily find work in the technology field. And if Gwen continues to be a good candidate for Dr. Marcellin-Little’s surgery, there will be some financial consequences for Shannon. But, her focus is now on animals, and making their lives better.

Because of Gwen and Shannon, many other lives may be made better, too.

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