Hip dysplasia resulting in euthanasia of my golden retriever

[Brendan2261]

I am just seeking common advice on wheather I have any legal stance regarding my situation or of I should just let it go and move on. 

 

  I purchased a purebred golden retriever puppy for around $2200 on the 15 October 2016 from a reputable breeder registered with dogs Victoria.  

 

As the dog was growing up I realised that she was walking with a sort of swaying motion within her back legs. When she was around 7 moths old I decided to get her assessed for hip dysplasia. After multiple X rays it was determined that my dog had severe hip dysplasia. 

 

Upon being referred to a orthopedic specialist in order to determine possible treatment options, it was decided that in order for my dog to live a relatively pain free life and due to the severity of her condition, she would have to undergo a full hip replacement in both hips. 

 

A few months later we decided to undergo the surgical procedure costing $8000 per hip $16000 in total. She eventually got both hips operated on, after months of strict refinement and muscle rehabilitation,  everything seemed to be going perfectly fine until one day I noticed her limping. 

 

I took her to the vet and got some X rays done and she had dislocated her prosthetic hip joint. I took her back to the surgeon and he performed a salvage procedure called a triple pelvic osteotomy  in order to realign the hip. This procedure cost another $4000. 

 

She seemed to be healing well until new years day this year when I went to take her toilet and noticed she was severely limping again. I then took her back to the surgeon for more X rays  and it was discovered that she had dislocated her other hip joint. Upon further looking at the x-rays the surgeon had discovered that the triple pelvic osteotomy surgery we had done was also starting to fail due to muscle degeneration. 

 

  The surgeon then advised me that his professional advice was to euthanize the dog so that she would no longer be in any more pain. On the 3rd of January this year I made the hardest decision of my life and put her to sleep. 

 

In total I have spent over $25000 on surgical procedures. The surgeon also informed me that in his 30+ year career he had never seen this happen before. This is also one of the best orthopedic surgeons in Australia and conducted everything within a professional manner. 

 

I contacted the breeder when I first discovered she had severe hip dysplasia and they said that my dogs parents had perfect hip scores and that my situation was most likely due to environmental factors. The breeder then provided me with the parents hip score certificates. 

 

Is there anything I can do in this situation or was I just dealt the unlucky card of life.

 

[Rebanne]

Hip Dysplasia can crop up in the best bred and best reared dogs. It's all too late now but, having had 2 dogs in the past with HD, next time around and I sincerely hope there is not a next time round for you, I would treat conservatively until the dog was at least 18 months old and  base further treatment with xrays taken around then. My first HD dog lived a good life with acpuncture and chiropractic adjustments with hips that the vets wondered how she even walked let alone compete in dog sports.

As for the failure of the surgeries, well you've spoken to the surgeon and seem happy with his replies.

I do consider this as one of the sh!t things that can happen when buying a living breathing creature and it probably didn't matter where you got the dog from or how it was bred. My 2 HD dogs,  German Shepherds both, one was from what one would consider a registered back yard breeder and the other from a highly regarded kennel. I've also bred what turned out to be a "lemon" in greyhounds but I had kept him so it was only my heart broken, not mine and a new owner, when I had him put down before he was 4.

I'm very sorry for your loss, it's not an easy time

[sandgrubber]

What a sad and awful story.  So sorry.

 

You might have a legal stance IF you can document that the breeder in question does not test sire and dam for hip problems or uses breeding dogs with bad scores and has sold other pups who developed HD.  If the breeder is doing recommend health tests, I think you should cross it off as bad luck.

I hope you have contacted the breeder.  If they are working to produce healthy dogs they need to know when things go wrong.

[persephone]

 How terrible for you .  I am so sorry you had to try so hard, spend so much, and eventually give your girl her wings ... 

[The Spotted Devil]

What an awful situation. I’m really sorry. 

 

The problem is HD is multi-factorial (environment, diet, genetics, desexing) and even testing sire and dam guarantees nothing. 

 

I agree with Rebanne - I would not go down the surgery path. Too much risk, especially in a young animal that hasn’t finished growing. I’d rather manage and re-assess. There’s a lot to be said for physio, Bowen and muscle strengthening exercises. 

 

As a breeder I would be devastated. 

[Tassie]

Such a sad situation for you.   It does sound as though the  breeder had genuinely been trying to do all that was possible to try to ensure pups had the best chance of having good hips and elbows.   But as @Rebanne and @The Spotted Devil have said, it is still not possible to have guarantees with a problem which is multifactorial like HD.    You had really bad luck in the THRs failing.   I understand from the experience of a friend with her working sheep dog that the recuperation period from a THR is incredibly difficult  for a young active dog, requiring very long period of little and then very restricted activity, and thorough rehabilitations where that is available.  Apart from the cost, how very, very hard for you to have to make that decision to free your girl from a life of pain.

[ish]

What a terribly sad tale and ordeal you’ve been through - I am very sorry you had to make the hardest decision for your pup. As a breeder of a different breed which is also prone to HD, providing the scores of the parents of the pup were low and your pup was exercised and fed appropriately, unfortunately you’ve just been dealt a very unlucky hand by Mother Nature. Hopefully your breeder is sympathetic at least 

 

Wish you much better luck in the future