It's been hard to see in the pictures I get of him; he's so busy and he doesn't let his bad leg slow him down a bit. But his right leg is smaller and obviously atrophying as he no longer uses it. I can tell at times he is not comfortable and the leg causes his some pain and discomfort. X-Rays of his leg were taken during his neuter surgery to find out more.
The findings were not great; both his right femur and pelvis show healed fractures with the head of the femur being crushed. The vet said it looks like what she sees from being hit with a car. The really bad news is the the leg is damaged to the point that is cannot be repaired to sit correctly in the hip joint; even with surgery. There are some free floating pieces of bone that are causing pain... The leg will not ever be useful to him and will continue to cause him pain. After discussion with the vet and the wonderful people of New Rattitude (Thanks Sue and Janell!!!); a decision was made that we will support the recommendation to amputate his leg. This is scheduled for April 14th. There is a also concern about a possible fungal infection and so he will have some pathology testing done to make sure that he doesn't have that (fingers crossed). To boot; he's got a little sore on his face that popped up last that we are treating. While we are busy getting that treated; I'm also working on boosting his immune system with probiotics, yummy coconut oil and whatever I else I can think of.
We may delay his surgery a bit just to make sure he 100% healthy as can be before this next step.
I'm sad about this; I'm sad that he was injured. I'm sad that he has to have another surgery to recover from. But I'm am confident that he will keep his spirits; that he will bound quickly from this surgery and change in his life. I'm honored to be the caregiver to him and help him heal and make sure he stays the sweet happy go lucky dog that I've gotten to know. Dogs adjust very quickly to learning how to live with 3 legs and I don't think it will slow him down and in the long run; he will be in less pain and discomfort and that's a good thing.
We started a fundraising effort to help New Rattitude to defray his upcoming costs for surgery at http://newrattitude.com/clinic.htm. Thanks to a wonderful donor who covered the cost of the surgery for us (OMG, thank you!) and some others, we have exceeded that goal so quickly! I just love you guys! Of course we will take well wishes you can spare and good thoughts to him for a speedy recovery and back to the dog park asap :) and if you have pennies to spare, please check out the other dogs who are needing a little extra for their medical care!
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