Lobo still does not want to eat much. I suspect the medication is causing him to have an upset stomach. I will take him some turkey breast in the morning to see if this helps. He is starting to put more weight on his right leg and the vet is feeling more confidant that Lobo is healing quickly enough that he will be ready to have surgery on the left leg this Friday. Given his left knee continues to pop and is still swollen, the early they can attempt the surgery the better hope for a speedy recovery on his left knee.
When I spoke with the vet, there was a dog howling in the background. I asked if it was Lobo and they said, no Lobo is a very good boy, quiet but very alert and checking out all the action. I took a tour of the hospital and there is plenty to watch during the day.
On the home front, we have attempted to ready the house; it looks like a puzzle/maze with various carpets laid around. The porch is cleared off and the exercise pen is set up in the living room. Lobo's new mobility harness arrived this afternoon. The other husky, Chance, does not realize it yet but he will be trying it out this evening. A friend offered his dog's wheelchair if we need it but we hope Lobo will be able to walk on own when he leaves the hospital. The body is an amazing marvel; I am always intrigued by the ability of the body to recover and repair the damage...sometimes it just needs a little extra push to help it along.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Monday, February 11, 2013
Day 5
The vet called this morning, Lobo is starting to eat however, they are having to hand feed him. Lobo has always been a picky eater and the only thing we have found him to really have interest in is turkey. He has not ever really liked chicken and beef as much. He is starting to put more weight on his right, surgery leg however his left knee is starting to pop. This means he is starting to have some meniscus tearing. The meniscus is a rubbery, C-shaped disc that cushions your
knee. Luckily, on his right leg he had minimal damage to his meniscus and they were able to clean up the area arthroscopically. As much as they would have liked to have waited 4weeks to operate on his left leg, they have made the decision to go ahead and operate early. The surgery for his other leg is scheduled for Friday. We discussed if it was better to bring Lobo home today and take him back on Friday, however due to the long drive both ways to the hospital, we have elected to keep him at the hospital this week. Lobo most likely would get more rest at home, however, we weighed the possibility of causing more damage to his knees during the transport and elected to have him remain there. They will continue to provide Lobo with physical therapy on a daily basis and be able to monitor his knee for further damage.
If things go according to plan, Lobo should be back home next Monday. They said the recovery should not be much different than if Lobo had one knee operated on if he continues to start using his right leg.
One-two weeks at the hospital for 5+ more years of an active life, I think that is a fair trade.....
If things go according to plan, Lobo should be back home next Monday. They said the recovery should not be much different than if Lobo had one knee operated on if he continues to start using his right leg.
One-two weeks at the hospital for 5+ more years of an active life, I think that is a fair trade.....
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Day 4
The vet called, Lobo is eating a small portion of the food I took up there yesterday. I was very difficult to be so close to him and yet not be able to see him. He is slowly starting to put more weight on the surgery leg. His non-surgery leg is still very painful and swollen. They know he will need to have the other knee operated on but they are not sure when. They would like to hold off until week 4 if at all possible. They may decide to operate at week 2. The surgeon will be out of the country for two weeks, I am assuming that means another surgeon would need to operate if Lobo's knee gets worse before the surgeon's return.
Donnie and I are going to pick up an exercise pen for the living room. Lobo will hate having a fence around him and since Lobo is very skittish, I hope that opening and closing the gates on it will not startle him into jumping up. Our house is a maze of color, we have various carpets gathered from throughout the house with a few grey office runners thrown in among the mix. Lobo is a sun worshiping dog, he loves to lay in the sun all day. We are hoping to find a good way to corral him while the squirrels run by when he becomes more active. Lobo has had two speed since we got him two years ago, fast asleep or going full tilt. His full tilt mode typically would kick in first thing in the morning and around dinner time. We hope he will continue to be a sleepy sun worshiping dog during the day the next few months.
I have spent several hours on the internet looking at the remarkable recovery of dog's having had a TPLO; many appear to walk almost immediately. Majority of the dogs will rupture the ligaments in other knee within 1-2 years. Very few are required to have surgery on both legs within a week of each other. I understand the recovery is similar as to a recovery for one knee however, it is much harder on the dog and the owners having both knees unstable at the same time.
Hope to know more tomorrow, until then Lobo will continue to be in my thoughts....
Donnie and I are going to pick up an exercise pen for the living room. Lobo will hate having a fence around him and since Lobo is very skittish, I hope that opening and closing the gates on it will not startle him into jumping up. Our house is a maze of color, we have various carpets gathered from throughout the house with a few grey office runners thrown in among the mix. Lobo is a sun worshiping dog, he loves to lay in the sun all day. We are hoping to find a good way to corral him while the squirrels run by when he becomes more active. Lobo has had two speed since we got him two years ago, fast asleep or going full tilt. His full tilt mode typically would kick in first thing in the morning and around dinner time. We hope he will continue to be a sleepy sun worshiping dog during the day the next few months.
I have spent several hours on the internet looking at the remarkable recovery of dog's having had a TPLO; many appear to walk almost immediately. Majority of the dogs will rupture the ligaments in other knee within 1-2 years. Very few are required to have surgery on both legs within a week of each other. I understand the recovery is similar as to a recovery for one knee however, it is much harder on the dog and the owners having both knees unstable at the same time.
Hope to know more tomorrow, until then Lobo will continue to be in my thoughts....
Day 3
It is day 3, Lobo is still at the hospital. No
changes in his ability to walk, he can stand for a few seconds assisted
but can still not put much pressure on his back legs. He is not wanting
to eat so I took all his favorite treats up to him to see if they can
coax him to eat something. They still have him on pain killers,
antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory. They will update us daily. They
really wanted to see if they could get
him to put some weight on his surgery leg to reduce the pressure on his
other torn knee. The best scenario would be to try to not operate on the
other knee until week 4 for the most stability during the recovery
process. We will know on Monday which road we will be heading down.
We saw a 6yr old lab at the hospital yesterday that had knee surgery three weeks earlier. She was happily dancing about. They also have another patient that blew out both knees at the same time and is now at week 8. She is doing well and walking around. The surgeon stated that the first five days after surgery are the most critical. They are doing physical therapy on Lobo to assist with both knees. They said it is really up to him now. I question if we did the right thing by leaving him there, while it is emotionally hard on all parties, deep down I know it was the right decision; they know how much to push him. Anyone who has been through physical therapy knows it is not much fun but hopefully the pain killers are helping him get some rest.
More tomorrow.
We saw a 6yr old lab at the hospital yesterday that had knee surgery three weeks earlier. She was happily dancing about. They also have another patient that blew out both knees at the same time and is now at week 8. She is doing well and walking around. The surgeon stated that the first five days after surgery are the most critical. They are doing physical therapy on Lobo to assist with both knees. They said it is really up to him now. I question if we did the right thing by leaving him there, while it is emotionally hard on all parties, deep down I know it was the right decision; they know how much to push him. Anyone who has been through physical therapy knows it is not much fun but hopefully the pain killers are helping him get some rest.
More tomorrow.
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