"Mighty" Max Surgery Update

Weekly goal: exercise 2x
Status: 1x Perfect Cardio - warm up & abs

Max went in for his knee surgery today. He is out of surgery and doing well. Dr. T says the knees had definitely gotten worse since I first brought him in in November. The knee caps wouldn't stay in place at all. Which I was suspecting. That's why I moved up the surgery date. Poor little Max. No wonder he would refuse to walk during obedience training.

So they had to do more during the operation than planned. I was half expecting that from some of the research I've done on Luxating Patella. In addition to the Trochleoplasty, Dr T performed a Tibial Crest Transposition (see 3rd set of pictures here http://www.vetsurgerycentral.com/patella.htm):

...The groove at the base of the femur may be surgically deepened to better contain the knee cap. This procedure is known as a trochlear modification [or Trochleoplasty]...The bony protuberance at the site of the attachment of the quadriceps tendon on the tibia may be cut off and then re-attached in a more lateral position. This is termed a tibial crest transposition. (http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1569&aid=457)

I'm relieved he's doing well. Bummed he has to stay overnight at the vet. I get to pick him up tomorrow morning at 11:30. The vet will explain everything needed then as far as what Max can and can't do. They didn't do post-op x-rays today because Max' body temp was getting too low from the anesthesia. They're going to do those in the morning before I come pick him up.

I wonder how Leia is going to do tonight without Max. She's been alone for the day before, but I've always come back with Max. Wonder how she's going to act? Hopefully better than Tuesday (with Max in the house!). She finished off a bag of dog treats and nibbled on the corner of a paperback book I just bought. I hope Max was able to get a few of the treats...Ahhh, the joys of puppyhood!

Define: Luxating Patella

Sitrep for Last Week:  60 mins treadmil x 2, 30 minutes weights (arms), 50 mins weights (arms & legs).

After the good news I get to keep Max, and a really great weekend that included a "Girls Day Out" along with a trip to the gym, yesterday sure was a rude awakening.

Took Max to the vet for his initial exam. Weighing in at 6.8 pounds & at least 2 years old, here's the summary:

Diagnosis: Loose and infected tooth. (No wonder I have to coax him to eat.)
Remedy: Tooth gets extracted on Thursday.

Diagnosis: Luxating Patella, Grade III (Basically means dislocated knee cap. Both rear legs.)
Remedy: Surgery.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxating_patella
http://petsurgery.com/medialpatellarluxation.html
http://www.cpvh.com/Articles/78.html

So. Along with tooth extraction this week, they are going to do x-rays of both knees to see how bad it is and the vet can decide which type of surgery is necessary.

Max doesn't seem to be in pain, and moves around. But this could be why he's not as playful as you'd expect a 2 year old dog to be. Today at lunch Max jumped up on the sofa into my lap. I checked his knees and actually felt one pop back into place. Gross. Poor thing. Except for a flinch around the eyes, which I'd've missed if I hadn't been looking so closely, he didn't let on a bit. He's probably had this for quite awhile.

I've been gong to this vet for about 8 years now, so I don't think he's scamming me for money. Especially since Leia does that funky hop-skip with her back right leg when she's on the grass. But only on the grass. Vet says her knees check out fine; her feet are very soft so it could just be the grass tickles/pricks her feet. Makes sense as to why she only does that on the grass. And she runs like the wind, so...

I'm really bummed. I don't want to take him back to the shelter, because you know no one else will adopt him with this issue. But I'm so bummed because I thought I'd done with medical issues, and was going to get him insurance, just like Leia. But they require the initial exam, and it's now a pre-existing condition. Which basically means that even after surgery, anything that goes wrong with his legs, period, won't be covered. And while surgery very much decreases chances of arthritis and torn ligaments (both of which he'd almost certainly get without surgery), they are still a possibility. Sigh.
 
So I've had custody of the dog just over a month, been official owner for a week, and already have a vet bill nearing one grand. Good thing I got that bonus last week. And a very small payraise. Ain't life grand? [g]

Dogs in the House, Part Two

Meet Max

Turns out his name is actually “Neo” and I heard “Neil”. Neo sounds too much like “no” to my ears, and I don’t like it much anyway. Even though I’m just fostering him, I’m changing his name. Max is the name that came to me when thinking of him the weekend I first met him & Leia, so Max it is.

He is very timid. More so than I expected. I got him to the house and showed him the kitchen, where food & water are set out, and then the sofa. And that was that. He jumped up on the sofa and hid in a corner of it. Wouldn’t come out. I carried him outside to go to the bathroom, to the kitchen to eat. He wouldn’t eat or drink that first day. When I took them out just before bedtime, Leia came back in on her own but he didn’t. Even though he’d used the doggie door when we first arrived. I had to get a flashlight to find him. He’d bedded down in the tall grass along the side of the house. He was trembling so when I got him and took him inside for the night. He stayed where he was put those first days. On Saturday evening, he inched closer to me on the sofa while I was reading. And later that night he came running across the sofa to me when I patted my leg. I’m trying hard to ignore him when he’s being timid…no soothing pats to reinforce the timidity. It’s tough. Poor little thing.

Also Saturday I got him to follow me to the kitchen where he drank; he wouldn’t eat until I tried desensitizing him to my presence/hands with kibble. Sunday he followed me outside. Now he comes outside most of the time when I take them out together, and comes back inside when I tell him it’s okay. Yesterday morning he started wandering around when I wasn’t in the room. Today he learned how to get on and off the bed using the stairs. That was great. I also put the leash on him for a few minutes so he can get used to it.

So slowly we make progress. He is going to be tougher than Leia. I’m not sure on too many details of his past; the shelter wasn’t very informative. I think they can’t say too much because there is a pending court case. I do hope I can keep him. At the least, I’m going to do my best to get him stabilized and have more courage.

I’m currently reading Cesar Milan’s “Be the Pack Leader” which is pretty insightful. If you watch his show enough, you already know most of it. That’s what the first half of the book is about. But now it’s getting to the nitty-gritty. If he is stable enough, we’ll do dog training in January as well.