Jenny's story

Owner: Gail Kelley E-mail: rgkelley10015@earthlink.net Date posted: October 31, 2000 My dog's name is Jenny. We live in Everett, Washington. Jenny is a Norwegian Elkhound/Akita/Misc mix. She is what I would call a medium size dog -- she currently weighs about 50 pounds but 40 is really her ideal. She is an extremely active/high energy dog so I have had my hands full with her since I got her. I was livng in a small apartment when I got her. So we bought a home. On June 24th 1990 Jenny moved into her new home with her own yard and discovered she had wonderful neighbor to play with (40 pound, 4 month old Max, a Golden Retriever puppy, one that was big for his breed and was going to get much bigger). Max's owners realized this was good exercise for Max so Max became a semi-permanent resident in our yard. On August 27, 2000 I took both dogs out to the middle school track to play. Well just as we were headed for home they both took one last hell-bent chase of the birds. Jenny came back limping. I watched her close for a few days -- gave her some buffered aspirin that I had been told by my vet was "OK" for minor discomforts. She would be OK for a few days and I would forget about it and then I would notice she was favoring it again. I wasn't sure if it was a minor sore muscle or something else. Finally about three weeks after the first incident I noticed that she actually was not using it at all and the muscles in that leg were starting to atrophy. So off to the vet we went. My vet immediately diagnosed a torn cruciate ligament. She explained the various procedures and talked about what would need to be done, what it would cost, etc. But I was in much too much of an emotional state to hear much of what she said. The vet did say it should be done as soon as possible to prevent any further damage and if possible to prevent arthritis from setting in. This I heard. I went home and once I had calmed down and realized that -- once again -- sometimes life isn't easy. I went to the Internet to get as much information as I could about what it was and how to fix it. Upon completion of my research on the Internet, I contacted my vet and told her to schedule Jenny for the operation and to please confirm that the mobile surgeon that would be coming to do the surgery could do a TPLO. My vet's clinic did not have anyone qualified to do the surgery so they made arrangement for a surgeon to come to the clinic and do the surgery. The surgeon was an E.B. Okrasinski, Diplomate ACVS (American College of Veterinary Surgeons). He and the entire veterinary staff at my vet clinic have been helpful and informative. I was provided with very specific information regarding her medications and activities. (Basically apart from keeping her inactive I was not provided with any further information regarding rehabilitation). Jenny went in on October 16th -- a little over two weeks ago. When I picked her up I was given a handout with information on how to care for her over the next 4 months. The information and support I have gained from connecting with others, via the Internet, who have undergone this situation has been of tremendous assistance. She was very uncomfortable the first 2 - 4 days (obviously). She was on pain killers. However we stopped with the pain pills on the fifth day, she seemed fine with that. I have not started her on any sedatives yet but if/when I go back to work it may be a necessity. I have been fortunate (or unfortunate, depending on your perspective) to have been unemployed during this difficult time. I have rigged ramps on the stairs to get into the house, and I have rigged a small enclosure in my living room to confine her when I am not with her. We are both sleeping on the floor so I can keep an eye on her at night (even though she knows she is not allowed on the bed and/or couch without specific permsission she occassionally breaks the rules and that is a chance I can not take). I have been with her almost constantly - we sit out on my deck with a lead on her so she knows she can't go anywhere. She is not particularly happy about her confinement (especially when she sees how busy the squirrels are at this time of the year) but we have had only a few scary incidents. She gets excited when my roommate comes home at the end of the day, and when I come home after leaveing her to run errands for an hour or so. I took her in to have her staples taken out this past Monday, October 30, 2000. The vet says she is looking really good but I must continue to make sure she stays still, which of course at this point is a major challenge -- she wants to roam freely. She is still favoring the leg -- she puts it down some but she is not really putting any pressure on it. Which I am hoping is normal. So far so good (apart from the normal stress involved with a major operation). If I could come up with a solution to keep her occupied without having to buy her a new doggy chew bone every day. She just doesn't sleep much.