Home at last!

 

HOME AT LAST!

When I took Betty to the vet for TPLO surgery on her hind leg a week ago, I was expecting an overnight stay ... not a five night stay! Poor Betty developed a nasty seroma after her operation, so had to stay under close observation in doggy hospital. The vet did an amazing job with her and thankfully, she was allowed home on Sunday and despite two bionic legs, is already walking confidently again! I couldn't be happier for her.

It will take several months to rebuild muscle loss and regain full fitness but the most important thing is, Betty is bearing full weight on her hind legs and the awful lameness that resulted in her being unable to walk properly prior to surgery, is now nothing but a bad memory. With a little rest and recouperation, she is already looking so much happier!

It has been such an anxiety filled year but at last, the worry is starting to fade. This surgery will give Betty back her life and for that, we are so very grateful.

Here we go again..

 

A BETTY UPDATE..

Sometimes life is very unfair... and this is one such time. You may recall me writing about Betty's tplo surgery for a cruciate ligament rupture back in May. Well, at the time I was full of hope that after all the lameness and an anxious recovery and rehabilitation period, Betty was at last progressing back to full fitness. We had started hydrotherapy to rebuild muscle wastage and by about four months post op, were back out walking with my other golden retriever Polly, enjoying the Summer together...

Sadly, by the time we reached mid August, Betty's other hind leg began to fail, which is apparently a common problem after tplo surgery and one our vet mentioned as a possibility after her first surgery. Of course, we were super careful with her rehab and convinced that our previously fit, healthy pup would be fine ... but we were proven wrong when by month four post op, Betty began to limp again but this time on her 'good' leg. A visit to the vet soon confirmed my fears and we were referred, once more, to the orthopaedic specialist vet.

Specialist vets are very busy at the moment so we have had to wait several weeks for our appointment. During that time, Betty's mobility has deteroriated significantly. A couple of days ago I made the decision to keep her home on bed rest until our appointment, as she is clearly in pain and struggling to walk even the shortest walk now. Although she is bored without her little sniff walks, she seems relieved that she can spend time on the living room rug, rolling on to her back, waving her legs in the air instead ... walking may be a problem, but upside-downing is still very much operational it seems!

Surgery is the only option for Betty and although I am extremely anxious for her, I am also relieved she is in the hands of an excellent vet and will be given this opportunity to walk and run again... albeit with a leg full of metalwork.

My goodness this year has been a rollercoaster for our poor girl. She has the sweetest nature and is the most gentle, loyal dog. She really does deserve the very best in life. Praying that soon life will be much happier and pain free for my sweet girl.

All shapes and sizes!

 

Doggy Pals come in all shapes and sizes!

Polly and Nobby

When my daughter rehomed this little Chihuahua who was being bullied by his family dogs, we wondered how Polly and Betty would take to him but we shouldn't have worried, the dogs soon had it all worked out! 

Nobby quickly became devoted to Polly and now rarely leaves her side whenever he visits. Betty is a little less sure of the tiny dog because he likes to reverse manoeuvre into her face then sit down right in front of her nose ... but that doggy indiscretion aside, both girls have completely accepted this funny little doglet as one of their gang and he is now a frequent visitor to our house for sleepovers!

A golden life worth living

Betty update. Week 10 post tplo op:

All pet barriers have now been removed at home so at last, Betty has free reign again. She is using stairs confidently and taking up her old position on the landing outside my workroom door, happily napping while she waits for me to finish work. She is also back to playing a little gentle tag downstairs with Polly. We're not quite back to complete golden chaos on the living room rug yet, but I'm sure it's coming!

Betty is clearly delighted to be back to daily walks with Polly and having short, managed bursts of exercise off lead. Yesterday she was also put through her paces on her second session of hydrotherapy and swam really well. Her exercise is being carefully monitored and she is progressing with great enthusiasm.

This cruciate ligament injury and subsequent surgery has been a long, worrying process. It was so hard to see our girl in pain, but at ten weeks post op, we are now really seeing the benefits of this major surgery for Betty.

I am so glad we were able to give our Betty Boo this opportunity to live a full golden life again. We no doubt have several more months ahead of rebuilding muscle wastage and stamina and will have to be careful with her for the forseeable future, but Betty is now pain free and most importantly, clearly enjoying her life once more.

Garden Party

It has been all about Betty and her surgery lately, so here are a few pics I took of Polly yesterday. She was invited to a family garden party at my sister's house. After eighteen months of lockdown, Polly was beside herself with excitement to find all her favourite people in one garden! She had a wonderful afternoon playing with the other family dogs and greeting everyone!

Polly is eight and a half now, but played like a puppy with her pals Nobby the Chihuahua and Boris the mini Schnauzer yesterday. Size really didn't matter, they are all great mates and had a whale of a time together. Polly has missed being able to rough 'n tumble with her sister Betty for the past few months, so watching her having so much fun with her little pals in the garden yesterday, made my heart sing!

Making a splash!

 After Betty's eight week TPLO surgical assessment, our vet recommended hydrotherapy to aid muscle recovery, so I booked Betty in to a local centre and she had her first session last week.

Betty was a little anxious to begin with but with gentle encouragement from her therapist, soon began to relax and enjoy herself in the pool.

She received lovely muscle easing massages between swims and was carefully monitored throughout the session. Apparently a five minute swim is the same exercise as a five mile walk, so Betty had a jolly good workout. These swim and treadmill sessions will help rebuild muscle wastage and strength so they will be invaluable for helping Betty regain a full and active life... and improve her swimming technique in the process hopefully!

By the end of Betty's first hydrotherapy session, she was absolutely beaming. We are now seeing the true value of the TPLO surgery for Betty; without it she was crippled and in pain but now, almost ten weeks after this major surgery, she is enjoying life again and is able to walk confidently, run (carefully supervised!) ... and swim!

I couldn't be more delighted for her.

Smiles all round!

 

SMILES ALL ROUND!

Week 9 post TPLO operation:

Thank you so much to everyone who has shown such concern for my sweet girl Betty after her cruciate ligament surgery. I know many of you own pets yourselves and will understand completely how hard it is to see them suffer. As you know, sometimes you just have to trust the experts to know what is best ... and pray for a successful outcome, which is what we have been doing for the past few months.

Last week Betty returned to the vet for assessment X-rays on her leg and I couldn't be more delighted to tell you, the vet reported that her surgery was successful and the bone is now fully healed. It is such a relief.

We are now able to take longer walks with Polly again and will soon be able to introduce a little off lead fun time. Next week Betty begins hydrotherapy sessions to rebuild the strength in her leg. I think she will enjoy swimming and the treadmill. It should be fun!

It has been a long, worrisome process to reach this point and throughout, Betty has been incredibly patient and gentle with us, despite being in pain for such a long time. I am so glad we placed trust in our vet and went ahead with this major surgery. Betty is now pain free and gaining strength everyday... and best of all, it is clear to see from those great big smiles exactly how much happier she is now!

Betty's ray of sunshine

 

BETTY'S RAY OF SUNSHINE

As we enter week 4 post operation, Betty has good reason to smile... her infection has subsided, wound has healed and the vet has at last removed her stitches! Horaay! We celebrated this progress with a teeny tiny, very slow walk, at one of Betty' favourite local haunts ... and as you can see, she was positively beaming!

We still have a long way to go to recover Betty's full mobility after TPLO surgery. At the moment after her infection, she is still under strict vet's restrictions, but slowly and steadily, growing in strength. Each day we take very short lead walks to gently rebuild muscle loss in Betty's leg; she hasn't run for many weeks which was always her biggest joy, but she is an amazing dog, adaptable and always willing to find the best in life, whether that is a cuddle, a sniff, or simply a short walk on the grass in the sunshine ... or eating the top of my banana!

Yesterday I was able to fold away the pen which has been Betty's safe space for the past few weeks; now the living room feels more like home and less like a doggy hospital. We still have gates placed across stairs and doorways to prevent accidents of course, but my girls are able to share living space once more and it is clear to see they take comfort from being together as sisters again. Hopefully it won't be too much longer before they can play in the garden together again!

In the meantime, this is our week 4 update ... still being careful, but now feeling cautiously optimistic and able to enjoy some sunshine!

Bionic Betty

 

BIONIC BETTY

Betty's recovery after her knee surgery was proceeding well last week, but out of nowhere, my poor girl took a dip in mood and stopped using her bionic leg. On further investigation I noticed the surgical incision was oozing... never a good sign! My husband and I decided not to take any chances and raced Betty back to the specialist vet, over an hour's drive away. He confirmed that poor Bets had developed a post surgery infection in her wound ... so, armed with strong antibiotics, we brought our girl home, feeling anxious. Having a member of your family go through major surgery is a rollercoaster of emotions and extremely stressful as you will understand.

Anyway, thankfully Betty is doing better today and tentatively using her leg again. It seems those antibiotics are starting to do their job ... which as you will understand, is a massive relief.

Hopefully we will soon be back on track with Betty's recovery. She is an absolute star patient, so compliant and gentle. Get well soon Bets, it will all be worth it in the end ... with that bionic leg healed and strong again, freedom beckons!

Doggy Hospital

 

DOGGY HOSPITAL

My poor Betty ruptured her cruciate ligament several weeks ago whilst playing ball and running like the wind, as she so loves to do ... despite putting on a brave face, she has been in severe pain and deteriorating while we waited for TPLO surgery. After an anxious twenty four hours, including an overnight recovery stay in doggy hospital, we drove for over an hour yesterday, to collect our precious girl.

Betty amazed my husband and I by walking unaided with her nurse across the car park, where we were masked up and waiting for her as per current Covid19 rules and regs. She was clearly foggy headed, very tired and wobbly, but determined to get back to us for a big cuddle and home. It was such a relief! She rode home on the back seat of the car, snuggled on my lap.

Our first night at home has passed smoothly. Betty is a model patient and mostly just wants cuddles and quiet. She is suffering from separation anxiety and now cries if I leave the room, which is new to us, so I need to help her build back confidence and trust that I won't leave her while she is recovering. I have a mattress on the floor next to her pen so we can sleep together at night and woke this morning to the gentlest of licks on my hand. I wasn't sure whether she would manage to get to the garden without a sling under her tummy to steady her this morning, as walking is currently a mix of three legs and the odd toe tap-hop with poorly leg, but little Bets is a tidy girl and wanted to do her toilet on grass without a fuss, like the lady she is. She walked out steadily on her lead, up the ramp we had prepared to the lawn, did her business, then walked right back in again for a big sleep in her pen... even the smallest trip to the garden is exhausting for her.

We will be 'in recovery' for several weeks as this was a major surgery and Betty now needs to rebuild muscle strength and heal slowly and steadily. It has been a worrisome, anxiety filled few weeks, but this operation will give Betty back her life. Now that it is finally over, I am hugely relieved and ready to give my girl everything she needs to make a full recovery in the weeks and months ahead.

Life in the fast lane

 

LIFE IN THE FAST LANE..

Betty has always been the kind of dog who loves to live life in the fast lane. She is full of joy, a true delight to watch as she races like the wind, returning at the peep of a whistle, good girl that she is.

Unfortunately, it now transpires that my sweet girl has developed cruciate ligament failure, which will most likely require invasive surgery and a long, slow recovery period. Needless to say I am heartbroken for her, although relieved we are now on the path to specialist referral and hopefully, working towards Betty being able to run freely again one day. For now though, we are restricted to short, careful walks and plenty of tender loving care.

Thankfully Betty is currently managing her pain well and is as always, full of smiles, nose nudges and soft licky kisses. 

Happy 8th Birthday Polly

It is eight years since my fabulous big girl bounced into the world. Polly was the most beautiful chunky golden puppy, destined to become my constant companion at just seven weeks of age...

As anyone who has read our earlier blog posts will know, Polly has taught me much about a dog's needs over the years. We have walked many miles together in all manner of meanings and each step shared, has been an important life lesson learned... live in the moment, enjoy life's small sniffs, rainy days eventually turn to sunshine, avoid head on collisions, share snuggles often, shake off stress, listen carefully, protect your loved ones, trust, make sure your bark is always worse than your bite, play like no one is watching ... and of course, love unconditionally.

After re reading my last post, I realise I haven't updated you on the outcome of Polly's surgery. Sorry! Thankfully that worrisome lump was nothing more than a benign fatty lump. That was such a huge relief! 

Last year was a gentle reminder to us to bear in mind that, much as I wish they would slow down, the years are ticking by and despite Poll's eagerness to play like a puppy and happily, a good general level of fitness, I find myself more cautious about the terrain she races over these days and have stopped her from leaping over things when possible, in an effort not to trigger that joint injury again. The problem with her leg at the begining of the year took quite a while to recover from, followed by a painful bout of cystitis and then of course with that nasty lump removal, 2020 was rather challenging healthwise at times for my girl. 

This photograph was taken on Polly's 8th birthday walk yesterday. As you can see, she is currently in fine fettle and full of smiles!

Eight years of loyalty, mud, barks, sticks, stinky teddies, zoomies and the very best of life lessons. I have never for a single moment regretted the day this wonderful girl came into my life.

Happy Birthday to you Poll xxx