Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 27, 1994 TAG: 9408290026
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
So they were all concerned when Pepo, the iguana who has been a resident of the school since mid-1991, suffered a broken leg in an accident. He had been allowed out of his cage for a brief stroll and failed to move out of the way in time when a staff member opened a door, not knowing he was in the room.
That was in mid-August. Pepo was taken to the Dublin Animal Hospital, where X-rays confirmed the break.
Dr. David Stanley operated Aug. 18, inserting a permanent pin in the leg. Pepo remained at the hospital until Wednesday when he was returned to the school.
People at the school had missed him. They weren't sure why.
``He's just endeared himself to everyone, and he's not a very nice animal,'' said Pat Duncan, the school's director. ``We all love him.... I took him food over Saturday morning.''
She found him relaxing on a heating pad at the hospital that day.
Stanley, who is a participant in the school's mentorships program that allows students to work at facilities involving science and technology, never had operated on an iguana before. The anatomy was a bit different, he said, but the procedures were the same as those used to operate on any other animal.
Because reptiles have a low metabolic rate, however, it will take Pepo longer to heal completely than the six to eight weeks it would have taken a dog or cat. ``We're looking at probably four or five months,'' Stanley said.
by CNB