This and That

On Monday, after my visit to the Vet, Mommy and I stopped by her office to pick up some files and see my friend M, who had left her jacket at our apartment.

I got to sit in her chair and was going to help her write a press release but then the chair moved and I became to terrified to move!
After I safely made it off the chair, I noticed there were people on the other side of the door in Mommy's office so I barked at them. By that time, Mom had everything she needed and we were pretty much already walking out the door when her "boss" came by and told her that my barking was a problem. Dogs aren't allowed in Mommy's office but, there are animals in the building all the time, occasionally dogs and we know of a dog being hidden in an office that day. It wouldn't normally be problem except for the barking. Ooops!


Well, after doing a lot of research and speaking with the Veterinarian again, Mom has decided that I should have surgery on my leg. Now, it's not a matter of If I get arthritis, degenerative joint disease, lameness, etc., it's a matter of When. By doing the surgery now, we can minimize the progress of the arthritis and its affects later on in my life. There is a chance, I may have arthritis now and there is still a good probability that I will get it after the surgery too. Also, because there is a marked difference in my leg now than there was three months ago and the fact that my leg gets worse with a lot activity, there is a high chance my leg will get Grade III luxation which pretty much requires surgery. If we wait till I get Grade III luxation, the prognosis of surgery won't be as good, more arthritis will develop, and there is a higher chance of reluxation. The goal is to prevent my leg from getting worse, go on with our normal lives and treat arthritis that occurs later on in life. We think the benefits of having the surgery outweigh the consequences.

Mommy's friends have also recommended a veterinarian who is about 2 hours away from where we live, who is not only a great vet but is affordable. Normally, we would not feel the need to switch vets or try out a new one (especially given the TERRIBLE experience we had/still having with the witch doctor-the new vet we went too over the summer). Mother values the opinions and animal knowledge of her friends who recommended the new vet to her. In fact, one of her friends dog just recently had his carnassial tooth removed and all told, the vet bill was 1/4 of the price we paid to have my carnassial tooth removed by the witch doctor.

So, we'll see what will happen. This vet. does live about two hours away, so it might not even be feasible for us right now.

I also will not have the surgery done until January at the earliest because of the post-operative requirements. It's not going to be fun, because I will not be allowed to do the things I love. I will be crate rested for most of the time, then physical therapy is required after a week, then I'm to be crate rested combined with light activity. No running, no jumping, no brisk walking, no playing outside, no playing tug-nothing. It's going to be rough couple of weeks!!

But, at least I don't have to worry about this until January! I hope the next few months go by slowly.

Also, my friend Momo recently awarded me this:



Thanks, Momo! We love your blog too and we really appreciate this gift. In effort to share the kindness you have sent us we would like to pass this badge to Winston, Goodboy Norman Featherstone, The Corgi girls. There are many others out there that we read on a regular basis who deserve this too, however, we've noticed that they've already received the award (or we're too lazy at the moment).