Katara was the smallest of a litter of six puppies born in our Pet Health Centers nursery on Christmas Eve 2020. While her siblings took to nursing immediately, Katara did not. didn’t and she seemed lame and lethargic. While the staff opted to bottle feed Katara, she quickly began to gain weight. However, she didn’t seem to be making progress in other areas, like standing or walking.
Eventually, Katara began having seizures and was diagnosed hepatic encephalopathy, a disorder caused by a liver shunt that allowed some of one’s blood to bypass the liver and not be filtered properly, leading to a buildup of dangerous toxins. Katara was then placed in an oxygen cage, which seemed to work well for a short time, but Katara would need to undergo surgery to correct the liver shunt if she was to survive.
To add to her challenges, Katara also developed a contracture of the carpal tendon (wrist joint) in both front legs. This can happen when tendons and bones grow at different rates. Katara wore braces on her legs to help them straighten and underwent physical therapy to improve her mobility and strength.
![hmh-katara-at-two-months-022821](https://www.animalleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/hmh-katara-at-two-months-022821-1024x683.jpg)