I don't know if you got properly welcomed to FHC, JotulYokel, but your cat-lover bona fides make you very welcome!
Quite the different dog from the first pictures. I am so glad he is fitting in with the rest of the pack.
I am also allergic to cats. When I was a kid my Mom had a few barn cats and we cut a hole in the horse barn with a piece of mudflap so they could get out of the weather. Ugh I was also allergic to the horse's when they licked me when I was cleaning stalls.It would be neat to see how Floyd would be with a cat in the house.
DaveGunter how is the hound that you were considering surgery for? Just wondering which direction you took and how he is making out.
Jackson had bilateral TTA surgery on the 26th, he is doing very well, thanks for asking! It was not an easy decision, there were many factors to consider including some big family changes. Luckily there is an orthopedic vet who is fairly local to me. We had a consultation/ortho exam and she patiently answered all of my questions including several follow up phone calls, I felt very comfortable with her and was not pushed into a decision one way or the other. I also got a lot of help from friends with dogs, both locally and some from FHC who had or are having the same issue. The doctor can't tell the extent of the damage without scoping the knee or actually opening the joint surgically. Her pre op estimate was a 75% tear in the left and 25% in the right. Jackson was completely three legged by the time his surgery date. Here he is pre op. Part of the surgery is an arthrotomy, where the vet "opens up" the knee to "clean it out", sounds gruesome. This is supposed to help with arthritis and also allow her to repair any damage to the meniscus that may have occurred as a result of the ligament tear. It turns out that Jackson had a complete rupture on the left, the ligament was basically gone. Since I was having both of his knees done at the same time, she opted not to do the arthrotomy on the right side because she was fairly certain that there was no meniscus damage on that side and the arthrotomy procedure in addition to the TTA makes the recovery a little harder. So we are not sure of the extent of the tear on the right but she says it was likely significant. Here I am getting the stink eye dropping him off. His recouperation is going very well. A little too well actually, he wants to be too active, so he has been on some pretty serious meds. He was able to bear weight on both legs right away. Here he is 24 hours post op, he just needed a little support getting up and establishing his balance, and laying back down was hard too. The ride home. Napping with his new best friend "the cone" 3 days post op, nose to the ground, a good sign! 7 days post op, you can see he want to go when he gets "buzzed" by his brother The vet was trying out a new pain management regime involving a long acting local anesthetic that is injected directly into the joint at surgery. It is a little more pricey, but she has seen some promising results. This was her first bilateral case using the new regime and she asked me if I wouldn't mind documenting him. We still have a long way to go and it's tough with 4 other dogs in the house but I'm hopeful he will be able to return to his full active life. I've got big plans for him!
Thanks for sharing with us. It is quite a handful trying to get him to recuperate. I think you made the right decision for surgery. Your dogs are so active it would be hard to have to leave one behind all the time when you were headed out. Best wishes for continued success on his recovery.
That certainly is a good documentation of what was done and his progress. Thank you for sharing. I hope it last for him. Trick is to keep him from bursting into a full run. My old boy had one leg done. recovered well, I had to hold back some pain meds to slow him down. But with years, arthritis set in and he slowed down considerably. While only 9, he can't run at all, do steps, and walks with a limp. I give him a mild anti inflammatory med. He seems comfortable with it. He will walk the power line with the kids, even in the snow. But when he comes home, it is nap time. Thanks for the reply. I hope his recovery goes well.
