Orion's story

Owner: Corry Burr Date posted: December 31, 2000 Our Golden Retriever, Orion, after playing with his "cousin," an American Bull Terrier, would have a noticeable limp on his rear right leg and have trouble getting up from a laying position. We mentioned this to our vet and she felt around, but never gave a real diagnosis. We were then referred to another vet by my sister. Supposedly, they were specialists in orthopedics. The vet took x-rays of his hips and part of his knee area. She reviewed the x-rays with us and suggested that he may have a calcium deficiency in his bones (since he was relatively young) and told us to let her know if the problem didn't correct itself in the next few months (that was Feb of 2000). Orion, 10 days after surgery Well, we let it go and kept an eye on it and there was never any improvement. So, we took him back to the same vet that took the x-rays and she took more pictures, but this time in the knee area (I'm not sure if it had anything to do with the fact that I mentioned up front that the problem appeared to be in his knee, not his leg or hip area). After the new x-rays were ready, she went over them again with us and told us that from what she could tell, Orion's ACL had an 80% tear in it and the she was recommending that we see a specialist to determine if Orion was a candidate for TPLO. The next day the vet called my wife at work and told her that the doctor didn't need to see him, that based on the x-rays and his charts, he was a candidate for the surgery. We had 2 choices: the emergency vet clinic or The Ohio State University Animal Hospital. After speaking with a few people who have had experinces with both hospitals, we decided to go to OSU. The same week we made the decision, Orion and our other Golden Marhea went out to play in the back yard. It had just snowed and there was a patch of ice in the back and of course, that's exactly where Orion headed. Needless to say, he slipped and fell and completely tore the ligament. We called OSU and they said that we would have to be put on stand-by for a cancellation. Luckily, someone canceled the next day and we were able to get him in immediately. We met with a senior student, Brian Denning, and Dr. Dyce. They were both very patient with all of our questions and with explaining our different options. Dr. Dyce told us that due to Orion's size (100 lbs.) and age (2 years) that he would strongly recommend TPLO. We gave the go ahead. Dr. Dyce asked us how far away we lived (which I thought was a little odd at first), but when we told him that we only live 5-10 minutes away, he told us that we could take Orion home for the night and bring him back in the morning for surgery. It saved us money, plus it gave both us and Orion some peace of mind. Surgery went fine. According to Brian and Dr. Dyce it was a "routine surgery" and Orion did well. We brought him home the day after the surgery and he slept most of the time. It's been just over a week since we've had him home and he is still babying the leg but tries every now and then to put weight on it. When he's feeling lazy he just tucks it in and uses 3 legs. I definitely felt more at ease after reading this Web site (which I read prior to the surgery).