Dogs and ACL joints.

[stroppy]

I have a lovely English Staffy X Jack Russell terrier.  Imagine a Staffy with slightly longer legs and the white coat with brown patches and you'll get the picture.

Up until recently she has been a very fit pup, even though she is 13.  She could run like the wind, loved to play wrestling matches and loved to cavort around people, whom she adores.  A year and a half ago she develop a lump on her left front leg which looked like the fatty lumps (lipomas...common on terriers and mostly harmless) she already had on her chest.  But when I felt the lump it felt "attached", not like the lipomas which roll under the touch of a human's fingers.  Anyway it was a soft tissue Sarcoma (cancer) and because I was suspicious of the lump and had it checked early it was removed before it could spread (no cancer was found in the margin of tissue they cut around the sarcoma).  She survived the operation and acted as if nothing happened to her...she is one tough dog.

Now a new problem has sprung up.  Last weekend she suddenly started to limp on her back right leg for no reason.  I took her to the vet who has diagnosed a cruciate ligament tear.  Because of her size and weight replacing the ligament with an artificial flap probably won't work so the vet is going to pursue a different operation involving cutting part of the bone near her knee to reshape the joint to repair the tear and give her back her mobility.  The vet told me this is a routine operation he does very often on dogs.  

The operation is going to cost me $AU3500 but I don't care as I want the best treatment for my beloved dog.  Do any of you other forum members have dogs which have had a similar operation?  How did it turn out?

[Peixian]

dog is my favorite pet among  all the animals. I will do the same thing if my dog have to do a expensive operation. 

My beloved dog never suffer from this operation, so I can not tell you how the result will be . 

best wishes to your beloved dog, It will be well! good luck

[bobm12]

Hi stroppy,

Sorry about your dog! I haven't have one for many years. I love dogs and honestly I'm sorry I can't add any good or bad opinion or solution to your dog's problem. I really do and wish everything turns for the best.

Cheers,

Bob

[stroppy]

9 hours ago, Peixian said:

dog is my favorite pet among  all the animals. I will do the same thing if my dog have to do a expensive operation. 

My beloved dog never suffer from this operation, so I can not tell you how the result will be . 

best wishes to your beloved dog, It will be well! good luck

Hi Peixian...

Yes, I am the same.  Dogs are my favourite companion animals.  They give so much love and trust and ask for nothing except their dinner and a good pat.  They never get angry with you or answer back, unlike some human kids I know!

Thanks for your good wishes.

[stroppy]

9 hours ago, bobm12 said:

Hi stroppy,

Sorry about your dog! I haven't have one for many years. I love dogs and honestly I'm sorry I can't add any good or bad opinion or solution to your dog's problem. I really do and wish everything turns for the best.

Cheers,

Bob

Hi Bob,

           I guess you can understand, then, when I tell you how worried I am for my pup.  She's all I have left in the world now and I don't want anything to hurt her.  Despite my sentiments telling me otherwise I know, logically, that she has to leave this earth one day.  I just don't want it to be the result of pain or illness.  I'd much rather her get to 16 or so and then pass gently in her sleep.  She has been such a great mate to me...she's a dog with a real personality and character as most Staffys are.

At night when she sits by my lounge chair I have to keep my right foot in contact with her at all times.  If I don't she gently swings my foot over with her paw so that I can pat her easily.  If you could package love in fur and put it on four legs it would be her.

[bobm12]

Hi stroppy,

Yes, I know what you mean. Time doesn't forgive and life is full of ups and downs. There are moments in life where, I think, we are tested and this will be one of them for you and her. Still you have to realize that according to size, from small to large dogs, 13 years of age compare to 68 to 82 human years respectively...that's an advanced age I'd say and regardless of what happens in the end, she is leading a full life now - and will have done it in the end a few more years ahead -- with the person she loves, you. What else can you ask? Just be happy and live every moment that you still have together. Don't let your worries get in the way of good quality time now that she needs you the most. Keep in mind, she is not a pup anymore...and like humans, after a certain age, everything starts going downhill.

Were you aware that dogs, like most animals, choose their owners? Some people have dogs and they kind of "match" well, but a complete stranger may come along and the dog will "love" that person with preference because that's the person it was waiting for? You are lucky not only for been the chosen one, but because you also chose her! You are doing the right thing and in the end all boils down to bring happiness to you beloved companion. Just be strong, stroppy!

Cheers,

Bob

PS. As an after thought, "owner" is not the right word unless it means "the person where they place their unconditional love, no matter what". We humans believe in ownership when sometimes it is impossible to really have it by the simple nature of things.

[stroppy]

Hi Bob,

           You have an excellent way with words and you have encapsulated my thinking perfectly.  

Yes...she's my companion.  I hate using the word "owner" because it implies the whole master/slave concept and she is anything but a slave!  More often than not I am her servant and she knows it.  

Yep...the vet told me that if you compared her current age to a human (given her breed and body type) she'd be close onto about 72 years of age.  Not young and certainly not decrepit but on the side of age where things can and do go wrong, sadly.  Anyway, I think that given that she is ordinarily such an active dog able to produce explosive bouts of energy in taking off up the driveway to play with her soccer ball...etc... that she'll be with me for some time yet.

You are so right when you write about dogs choosing their human companions.  When I first saw her in a pet shop nearby in 2003 she was with her two siblings.  Her siblings jumped about and were wrestling each other but when she saw me looking at her, she stopped and stated at me for an age.  Even when I turned around to talk to the store owner she was still staring at me when I turned around to her once more.  When the pet shop owner handed her to me for the first time he tail was wagging so quickly she could have taken off like a helicopter!  But as soon as she rested upon my breast and shoulder she just went limp and squished into me.  How could I not have then gone ahead with the purchase?  She had me, fair and square!

Edited April 2, 2016 by stroppy

[bobm12]

Those are the memories we treasure forever stroppy. Just enjoy the time you have and may God grants you both many happy more! In the meantime, let us know how she fares.

Cheers,

Bob

[stroppy]

Thanks heaps, Bob.

[stroppy]

Doggy is now over ten days beyond her operation, which involved the vet surgeon reshaping her stifle joint and other repair work.  Cost me a pretty penny but I don't regret it.  She's getting back to normal.  Still hobbling, of course, but getting better each day.  Stitches come out on Tuesday when she has her second day long physiotherapy session.  Good thing about all the follow-up visits...they are included in the initial operation cost plus my vet loves my dog and so he's kept costs to a minimum.

Doggy is wearing this special Elizabethan collar that is unlike the standard plastic bucket cone.  It's more like a padded neck pillow.  Far more comfortable for her highness.  

Already she is pushing for longer walks but she's restricted to about 600 metres for now.  

I love this dog... Like the new agers say...she's my "fur child"!