Ladybug
Update:03/11/10
Beautiful Ladybug is nearly 9 months old now. She will be meeting with the doctor to discuss her next surgery soon. In the meantime:
It has been awhile since I have given an update! It has been about 5 weeks since Ladybug got the OK from Dr. Kerpsack to "enjoy being a puppy" and she certainly has. She loves our morning walks -- which include horses, a pond, and a stream. She is very curious and loves to sniff anything and everything along the way, but fortunately keeps her distance from the horses. It took her a while to get comfortable in the water, but now she goes maybe just a little bit deeper every day. She loves to retrieve sticks, so our yard is quickly filling up with all the ones she proudly carries home from our walks. She has become a bit of a chewer and digger so we are trying to put a stop to that. Other than the typical puppy chewing and digging she is pretty perfect!!
I have attached a few pictures. We really are having a lot of fun with her.
Updated: 01/21/09
Some happy news for Ladybug! Her foster mom reports:
The hip that was operated on in December is doing great and Lady is now allowed to run, play and be a puppy!! We are very excited here, as she has been wanting to play a lot and it has been tough to keep her quiet!! The other hip is still bad, of course, but we can’t do the next surgery until she’s 9 months old. (She is about 7.5 months now).
I have attached a recent picture. She is still a beauty and a good girl (but we’re definitely going to start working on training).
Many, many thanks to all of Miss Lady’s well-wishers!
Update:12/22/09
Lady went back to the vet today for her post-op check. There’s good news and bad news.
The good news: The first hip looks GREAT after surgery! The vet was really pleased.
The not-so-good news: The hip that hasn’t yet had surgery—and was slated to be repaired today—is almost out of the socket. Since at least 15% of it must be in the socket for TPO to be performed & to succeed, Lady was unable to have the surgery. The vet commented that when the first x-rays were taken in mid-November, 60% of the bone was still in the socket, but by the end of the month, only 20% of it was. He was hoping that it would stabilize there long enough to get the second surgery in, but given how fast the dysplasia had progressed in November, perhaps it wasn’t surprising that today, almost none of the bone was in the socket any longer.
So, what now? Lady did have her spay surgery today as planned, and in 2 1/2 months, when she’s around 9 months old, we’ll do a different surgery on the bad hip: FHO, or Femoral Head Ostectomy. In this procedure, the ball of the femur is simply removed, and the bone then smoothed off so that there’s no bone-to-bone contact between the pelvis and the remaining part of the thighbone. As the dog heals, she forms a “false” fibrous joint made up of muscle tissue to hold thighbone and pelvis snugly together. Since the bone is gone, it can no longer cause painful arthritis.
And that’s the further good news: Rehab from FHO is generally uncomplicated and, while Lady won’t be able to perform in agility trials or run marathons, she’ll be able to do most everything a happy pet Golden might like to do. FHO is the very surgery that Rosalyn, another one of our EGF dogs, had earlier this year—and she gets around great.
This wonderful little puppy will still have a happy outcome—she’ll just get there by a slightly longer and different path!
Ladybug is a lovely cream-colored puppy with big dark eyes and fashion-model eyeliner. She’s happy, friendly, open, curious, gentle and affectionate—just the way a Golden should be! And she lived with a wonderful family who has always had her best interests at heart. Yes, when it comes to looks, love, and character, Lady truly was born under a lucky star.
Unfortunately, the stardust seems to have stopped just short of her hips! When Lady was only a few months old, her owners noticed that she wasn’t jumping as much as a normal puppy should, or running as fast. She even had a hard time doggie-paddling in the shallow end of the pool. She seemed painful after exercise and didn’t want to stand up. A trip to the vet confirmed it: severe bilateral hip dysplasia. Just to be sure, the family had a specialist look at her. He agreed: “Without surgery, she’s likely to dislocate her hips, just walking around. She’ll develop arthritis and be in a lot of pain.”
With active small children and another dog in the home, Lady’s family realized they couldn’t really afford the surgery or the rehab, either right now or later. They contacted GRR, and on December 8th— just two days after Lady arrived in foster care—the surgeon performed a TPO (triple pelvic osteotomy) on her right hip. In this operation, the pelvis is cut in three places, then rotated to position the hip socket properly vis-à-vis the head of the femur. The resulting joint is stable and pain free. The operation went smoothly… and if everything goes according to plan, the second hip will be repaired on December 22.
What will be absolutely crucial to Lady’s success is attenttive post-op care. The most critical element is confinement—Lady will be need to be limited to a small area with comfy bedding and good footing. No slick floors or stairs; no jumping, running, climbing, or acrobatics. She’ll also be having physical therapy to help with recovery. With good luck and good care, she should be ready to resume the life of a typical pup around Valentine’s Day. Luckily (again!), Lady is living with a super foster family who have really studied up on her post-op needs. (In the photos, you see her with two of her newest and biggest fans!)
What does it all add up to? Well, even with a generous discount, this major surgery comes out to $1,600 per hip. Lady’s owner went above & beyond and contributed a sizable sum toward her care, but we still need to make up about three-fourths of the cost. If you would like to help this beautiful girl on her way to an active and pain-free future, please make a contribution to the Extraordinary Golden Fund in Ladybug’s name.
Thank you from all of us at GRR!
