Goodness me!

Enjoying the bed before the op!

I have neglected this poor old blog (and all of Blogland) of late. Life in general and concerns about Dusty have kept me busy plus I can’t think of anything to blog about just now.

So I’m sorry, but it’s another update about Dusty – and another operation scar to look at.

Day 2

We took him back to Newmarket last Tuesday. He wasn’t limping, but did a little hoppity skip occasionally. Our own vet had already diagnosed luxating patella which he was sure would need an operation.

We saw two vets there. The first was lovely – so easy to talk to and he spent a good time talking over my concerns. Then he got the head of orthopaedics to come and take a look – it seems they’ve been discussing Dusty and looking at the x rays done by our own vet. He was very nice too.

Apparently his patella luxated to the outside which is unusual. When they examined him under anaesthetic, they found the patella moved even further out of place and said it would have caused him big and painful problems later on if left untreated.

So last Wednesday he had the op to correct it which involved deepening the trochlear groove (so his patella fits better into it – his was almost flat) and tightening his ligaments. While they were in there, they removed the plate and screws from the last operation as they are no longer needed (yay!). Now he has pins and wire holding everything together from the latest op and he’s hopping round on three legs.

It can take a while for them to bear weight after this operation.

So I’ve been cold packing his leg and using arnica cream for the bruising. I mentioned to the vet that I was concerned about what happened last time - he got an infection in his scrotum, I think from where he was shaved and his sensitive bits became irritated which meant he ended up wearing the lampshade for weeks while the antibiotic cream did its stuff. He made a note and assured me they would take care of “his little bits”. When we picked him up, he said they hadn’t shaved those bits at all! I know it sounds daft, but I was impressed that he’d taken my concerns seriously.

While he was there, we had two phone calls a day to let us know how he was doing. He’s always been very nervous, but I know they were making a fuss of him. He even licked the physiotherapist’s arm when she was talking to us before we brought him home.

He is to be very restricted for two weeks, then building up very gently to more use of the leg over the following four, then back for a progress check at 6 weeks post op. He has someone with him 24 hours a day – mostly me. I can’t even go to the loo without getting someone to come and sit with him. Sometimes I wish I’d cage trained him when he was a puppy so he could be left safely for a few minutes, but I’ve never liked cages for dogs. Anyway, it won’t be for long and we’ve been through it all before.

He has to wear an extra big lampshade as he is an expert at getting round them, but he does have time out not wearing it. You can see in the photo below that almost his whole leg has been shaved.

Cuddling with Lovely Grandson

While he was away, my lovely oldest grandson put all Dusty’s toys away and when I asked why he said, “I didn’t want you seeing them all the time and getting upset.” Bless him. When the grandchildren come round, they crawl in on hands and knees (so he can't jump up) and bring him a treat and lots of cuddles.

The support from family and friends has been wonderful. I don’t know what we’d do without them – you! Thank you!