Another Sore Leg Story

[Shadowmum]

Merlin, me and Tala send you lots of healing wishes to you, your family and little Holly ... you are doing really well and Holly is lucky to have a mum like you ...

Dear angelbrook

It's very sweet of you to send such lovely wishes... Holly can certainly use them.

Poor little pup isn't having a good time (she's 15 months by the way) and she nearly has a heart attack when she has to go to the vet. When we get about 3 kilometres from our usual vet she knows where we're going and starts to shake all over. When we went to the other vet, where she's been before but very late at night, she'd forgotten and was all interested and excited until we went to the consult room and she saw the metal table - I thought she was going to pass out - she truely swooned.... And, yes I have taken her for visits to our vet and the nurse happily makes a fuss (done that about 5 times) and it made no difference - she was too caught up in fear to understand or realise that nothing bad was happening. I plan to have a good talk to what ever vet does the operation and make sure that we bring her in just in time to be sedated to help minimise her anxiety and see if there is anything I can give her to calm her before hand. I'm going to see if I can find a Chiro as per Gareth's suggestion too and have a talk to them and see what they recommend. I do feel that this will have to be an operation though - she's lame everytime she walks now.

Thanks again for your sincere wishes - I'll remember them...

Heidi

[Shadowmum]

Hi,

Just thought I'd touch base and let you know that we had a total panic. Well, the leg got rapidly worse, and we'd been to three vets - non of which, when asked, could recommend an orthopedic vet for the operation and I couldn't find one quick enough. We trailed into week 4 of this knee dislocating and Holly just became so dispondent and clearly things were going rapidly down hill. We found a fouth vet. Walked in, he picked her up, gave her a cuddle and spent about 10 minutes just being with her and asking some general questions. He may have not been an expert, but he was a veterinary surgeon.

I had some very kind people who were at the ready to find me an orthopedic vet, but I think we hit crisis and knew we had to do something fast. He appealed to us because he was the first vet that took an interest in comforting Holly and building some, although, short sort of relationship and was careful to explain everything - especially to Holly's mum (my 14 yo daughter). So he operated for us the next morning - today. The poor little mite is fine. Not very happy about being confined and perhaps we are overdoing the confinement, but I'd rather be safe than sorry....for her sake. The best news is that the vet said the surgery was 100% sucessful, he's already manipulate the knee and said it didn't dislocate and he is very pleased with the outcome and confident that with the exception of a trauma injury it will be fine (thankfully). I'm very relieved (I have lost a dog - years ago, after an operation because it couldn't take the anaesthetic - the vet then said that the dog must have had something wrong with it's heart ----never the less this has remained with me ever since --- so I didn't fare too well throughout the day and last night was simply painful...sniff sniff).

Brilliant news though...She's fine. My daughter's done a little video thing with her web cam and I'm trying to workout if I can put it on somewhere and you can see the poor little sweetie. You should have seen the look on her face when I handed her over to the vet nurse! I called the surgery 35 mins after dropping her off (went to work so I didn't drive the surgery crazy all day) and she said that they sedated her as soon as we left and were preparing her for surgery and would be operating in the next five to ten minutes and said to me that she was very scared, but brave. She got a certificate for bravery. I think they should have given me one - I know I aged 10 or so years today - so much for wrinkle cream.

Thanks for all your support and advice. We go back on Monday, have the cast removed, go back 7 days later and have the stitches removed and she's not to do anything much for 4 - 6 weeks. I could do with doing nothing much for 4 - 6 weeks...then in 6 months we go back and do the left knee....then (because I've always been to scared to put her under anaethetic to get it done earlier, but know now that she'll be okay) we'll get her desexed next year. I'm a sook. I know. I couldn't bare the thought of losing her under anaesthetic so put up with cleaning up after her. We didn't have to worry about males because she's always with us - she lives inside and is with us when we go walkies.

Thanks again.

Heidi.