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!