So yesterday morning , Miss Nelly went to the Vets for a GA , she had extensive Xrays ( ouch, my pocket ) and scans . We picked her up at 4 , she was wrapped in a blanket and being cuddled by all the nurses . So , the outcome is sort of good and bad but not as bad as we had feared . Her left hip shows some distortion of the femoral head , its a little misshapen , but not as much as the Vet had thought . Similarly her left knee is a little iffy , but again not as bad as it was . The scan showed some degree of soft tissue damage, but not great . The combo of all three is resulting in her limp on her left leg and at this point, the Vet believes that the tissue damage is the major contributory factor . She advises that, for now , we do nothing surgically , phew ! We`re more than happy to go with this , manage the situation, make sure she is comfortable and pain free ( metacam for now ) . I have her on glucosamine with chondroitin , to help build up her back end muscles which are not great , this hopefully will help to carry the rubbish joints , we will watch her weight carefully , and continue hydrotherapy . She may at some stage require surgery on her left side , but not yet , it would be a daunting task given that there is a hip and knee in question but I do know that many people stave off surgery with very careful management, so hopefully we can do the same . Nelly doesn't demand or need lots of exercise, but she must have some short walks , this will suit Paul as his walking is severely restricted too , talk about a matched pair ! This leaves me free to go off with Sam for longer walks , although his stamina has suffered recently , due to his cancer , but he still enjoys his time with me , so all in all , I think it will all work out just fine . Poor little Nell , I am convinced that she is a victim of shockingly bad breeding , but she is a very happy outgoing little dog , and we shall continue to do our very best for her xx
Pleased to read the outcome is not as bad as expected, maybe that now the problem is identified there can be gentle ways of improving it with exercise (of the right kind!), hydrotherapy etc. Dear little Nell, she is now well loved and happy.
She's in the best place she could be Kate, with people who love and care for her dearly. Little love, glad the outcome is better than you had feared. xx
Thank you xx She is very loved indeed , Paul is besotted by her ( not me of course ! ) . Its over four months since we offered our home to this little deaf dog , who is a true delight to us . She and Sam rub along very nicely , never a cross word , its hard to think that we are her fourth home and she is only two years old , never mind we are her last home !
Glad it seems manageable. It is shocking though that the poor lass has to endure all this from such a young age. But thank goodness she's with you. She's experienced the worst and the best sides (you!) of humanity.
So relieved for you Kate, at least you know you can manage Nell especially with your experience. I'm so glad she is with you and not with her last owner who obviously couldn't have cared less. xxx
Great news and pleased for you. Sure over time it will get better and those short walks will turn into longer ones. Hope Sam is is feeling better too.
So glad the outcome was all in all better than you expected and that Nell doesn't need surgery at the moment. She may continue to surprise you with her progress and never need it. She's very lucky to have found you as her real family!
So glad it's all manageable with no surgical intervention at the moment. Nell's so lucky to have you. The short walks for her with Paul and the longer ones for Sam with you sound ideal - and Sam and Nell have each other for company and adventures at home!
