Puppy Troubles

I have some sad news. Zoe has elbow dysplasia. Yesterday she had surgery at Veterinary Specialist of CT. We set out for Hartford in the morning. I rode in the back seat with her and knit while Mike drove. She napped and minded my yarn. (BTW, she loves when I knit; the soft click of needles and occasional tug at the yarn tell her exactly where I am and what I'm doing without her opening her eyes).

Hartford is a long ride from Shelburne but our consult with our local canine ortho-expert, Dr. Benson (Veterinary Emergency & Speciality Hospital of South Deerfield) and the xrays he took of her elbows last week pointed us in this direction, the sooner the better, in his opinion.

So getting her there took pretty much all day.  After a long consultation with Dr. Berzon of Veterinary Specialty of CT, we left Zoe in his hands. Dr. Berzon confirmed the diagnosis of elbow dysplasia and some serious degeneration of her right elbow. He performed arthroscopic elbow surgery to relieve painful joint yesterday afternoon. 

I know this news must feel out of the blue, but we have had some suspicions about her legs since November when we noticed lameness on and off. I was waiting for x-rays and a first and second opinion before commenting saying anything about it. It sucks. Sorry. But that's it, in a nutshell.

We have two beautiful puppies who love to romp,  fetch, "fence" with sheep and ramble the woods and fields. Farley seems robust and healthy. Zoe has an inherited joint disease that will seriously impair her freedom to do almost everything puppies love do. It's just not fair.

There are things we can do to make her feel better, but it is not a fixable problem. It will get worsen as she ages. I found this little bit of info, if you're interested in learning more about elbow dysplasia.  We are heart sick.

 

Zoe in car 3.foxfire fiber

Zoe in car. 1. foxfire fiber

Zoe in car 2. foxfire fiber

Dr. Berzon called at dinnertime last night to say Zoe's surgery went well, she's resting comfortably. We pick her up later this morning. She's going to be sore for 4-6 weeks and will need to stay calm for two to four months for healing to take place. Physical therapy starts for her next week.

In the meantime, Farley is staying with friends, so Zoe can take it easy when she gets home today. Our friends have two goldens, so Farley is having a great time.

It will be really interesting to see how we can make this all work when he comes home this weekend. I'm not sure how we're going to do this. Have you ever been in this situation? Do you have tips for raising two puppies while keeping one from running, jumping, rough housing, climbing stairs, etc.?

I'd love to hear from you.

Sorry for such a bummer of a post to start the new year, but we have our work cut out for us. She is a super-sweetie and we will do whatever it takes.