COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (CBS4) -- Penny, Colorado's youngest giraffe, is expected to undergo surgery at Colorado State University on Monday.
Penny was born at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo on June 4. Nine days later, she was found splayed in her pen.
"Splaying means that her legs had gone out from underneath her in an unnatural way," officials explained. "This can be anywhere from not very serious and treatable to life-threatening."
Since then, Penny has received specialized care around the clock.
Last week, the veterinary staff put casts on both Penny's front legs, as well as a longer brace on her front left leg, meant to help with bowing. Learn more about the casts and braces here.
(credit: Cheyenne Mountain Zoo)
The material for the casts were contributed by Colorado Canine Orthopedics & Rehab and Southern Colorado Veterinary Internal Medicine. The leg brace was donated by Colorado Springs Orthopaedic Group.
On Sunday, Bob Chastain, president and CEO of Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, gave an update with a very affectionate Penny by his side, licking his face and nuzzling up against him.
(credit: Cheyenne Mountain Zoo)
Chastain said Penny was getting around better and they were seeing improvement in her front legs, however her white blood cell count had begun to rise again.
"We're concerned about that... she looks bright and seems stable, she doesn't have a fever, but if the white blood cell count continues to rise we'll see her start to decline," Chastain said.
7/29/18 Penny Update: Since the last update on Friday afternoon, the care team has had to switch gears to focus on the site of Penny's infected area in her right hind leg. They have been in constant communication with the Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Her white blood cell count has started to increase and the x-ray results from Saturday morning indicate the abscess is big enough and deep enough to require the help from surgical specialists at CSU. A small team of #CMZoo staff plan to transport Penny up to CSU, using a vehicle donated by The Broadmoor since the surgery is scheduled for tomorrow. Dr. Liza, Jason and a small team will travel and stay with Penny, and will remain a part of the core care team during this process. Dr. Matt Johnston will be the one coordinating Penny's care up at CSU, where he is the faculty chief for avian, exotic and zoological medicine. The veterinary staff at the James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Colorado State University are specialists with specialized equipment, and we believe they can help provide Penny with the best possible outcome. We plan to deliver a brief update late tomorrow afternoon.
Zookeepers were also concerned about an infected area in her right hind leg.
"X-ray results from Saturday morning indicate the abscess is big enough and deep enough to require the help from surgical specialists at CSU," officials stated on Facebook. " The veterinary staff at CSU are specialists with specialized equipment, and we believe they can help provide Penny with the best possible outcome."
CMZ staff is collecting blood from other giraffes, just in case Penny needs it.
"Dr. Liza, Jason and a small team will travel and stay with Penny, and will remain a part of the core care team during this process. Dr. Matt Johnston will be the one coordinating Penny's care up at CSU, where he is the faculty chief for avian, exotic and zoological medicine," zoo officials said Sunday.
They hope to bring Penny back to the zoo on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Last week, Bob Chastain, president and CEO of Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, said Penny had been eating well.
"She is eating and she's gaining weight. She had a record --she drank a 2-liter bottle of milk in less than a minute today," Chastain said.
She's gained about 20 pounds in just over two weeks, Chastain said.
You can watch the previous updates from Friday below.
7/24/18 Penny Update (part 1 of 4) - For today's #200Tuesdays update, we're joined by Dr. Liza Dadone, head veterinarian and Zoo vice president, and Bob Chastain, president and CEO of the Zoo. We're also meeting some of Penny's extended care team - Beth and Vicky, who work with our maintenance department and helped fashion some new customized boots to help support Penny's fetlocks. We're also hearing about some of the many ups and downs Penny and the care team has endured over the past several days. Bob is explaining why the decisions we're making on an hour-by-hour basis make it difficult to give Penny's fans frequent meaningful updates, because we are changing and modifying our course of treatment constantly. Dr. Liza will tell us about some of the new developments that have happened through consultations with Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Equine Lameness Prevention Organization and OrthoPets over the past several days, which includes a recommendation for less resting time to keep her joints from getting stiff and keep her muscles actively engaged, as well as new mechanisms to support her front legs. (We apologize for the technical difficulties today.)
7/24/18 Penny Update (part 4 of 4) - For today's #200Tuesdays update, we're joined by Dr. Liza Dadone, head veterinarian and Zoo vice president, and Bob Chastain, president and CEO of the Zoo. We're also meeting some of Penny's extended care team - Beth and Vicky, who work with our maintenance department and helped fashion some new customized boots to help support Penny's fetlocks. We're also hearing about some of the many ups and downs Penny and the care team has endured over the past several days. Bob is explaining why the decisions we're making on an hour-by-hour basis make it difficult to give Penny's fans frequent meaningful updates, because we are changing and modifying our course of treatment constantly. Dr. Liza will tell us about some of the new developments that have happened through consultations with Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Equine Lameness Prevention Organization and OrthoPets over the past several days, which includes a recommendation for less resting time to keep her joints from getting stiff and keep her muscles actively engaged, as well as new mechanisms to support her front legs. (We apologize for the technical difficulties today.)
7/24/18 Penny Update (part 3 of 4) - For today's #200Tuesdays update, we're joined by Dr. Liza Dadone, head veterinarian and Zoo vice president, and Bob Chastain, president and CEO of the Zoo. We're also meeting some of Penny's extended care team - Beth and Vicky, who work with our maintenance department and helped fashion some new customized boots to help support Penny's fetlocks. We're also hearing about some of the many ups and downs Penny and the care team has endured over the past several days. Bob is explaining why the decisions we're making on an hour-by-hour basis make it difficult to give Penny's fans frequent meaningful updates, because we are changing and modifying our course of treatment constantly. Dr. Liza will tell us about some of the new developments that have happened through consultations with Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Equine Lameness Prevention Organization and OrthoPets over the past several days, which includes a recommendation for less resting time to keep her joints from getting stiff and keep her muscles actively engaged, as well as new mechanisms to support her front legs. (We apologize for the technical difficulties today.)
