Operation

Scout's lame leg was amputated June 19.

I took her to the vet in the morning and picked her up in the afternoon. I thought I would have to carry her to the car but she hobbled out to meet me, groggy and oh so glad to be getting into the car.

The vet had wrapped a 12-hour time release pain-med bandage around her hind leg after the operation. He said it should tide her over until the next morning. He prescribed a week's supply of painkillers but cautioned against giving her any -- unless absolutely necessary -- because pain meds dramatically slow the healing process.

The jury is out on that view it seems, according to the following:

* Article on pain management
* The pain management guidelines for pets from the American Animal Hospital Assocation.
* Recommendations from the International Veterinary Academy on Pain Management regarding the signs, causes, and treatment of pain in our canine compadres.

Scout was a champ after her surgery, but I wonder in hindsight if she was in more pain than I realized. Surgery in the torso for dogs is up there in the highest pain range, according to the vet academy on pain management article.

She was back on her feet the next day, although slow and definitely wounded. She never cried in the following days so I chose not to give her the pain pills. Her physical recovery was truly remarkable -- the vet and his office staff were astounded. Still, I wonder how much she was hurting but not communicating or that I wasn't detecting.

The incision was a giant triangle, the edges bound together with industrial-strength staples. Two weeks later, the vet removed the staples and her fur has been growing back ever since.

The total cost of the amputation was about $1,300 including pain meds, antibiotics and three followup vet visits.

Now, three months have passed. She's 3 pounds lighter and wrestles and runs with her boy dog buddies. Her center of gravity has shifted and she's more agile. Amputation was definitely the right thing to do.

Questions about cancer

If anyone has any input on this, especially vets, please comment.

Anthony writes:
"Well I found out the exact type of tumor on Sonny's paw (it recurred from one he had about 3 years ago that we thought was cleared after surgery and radiation).

It is hemangiopericytoma.

After doing some research on the net about it, I started to find out that while it will probably recur if removed and it is classified as malignent, 'they tend to have a relatively benign behavior; that is, they are locally invasive and rarely metastatic.'

Of course amputation would clearly eliminate the issue. It seems that if we don't do the amputation, then we are looking at dealing with any issues he may have as far as discomfort or ability to use his paw. Even when he had the tumor the first time, all the way through now, Sonny shows no sign of any discomfort at all.

So our probably course of action is going to be to just deal with any growth on his paw as is comes up (i.e., surgically remove anything that grows.) I'm hoping that Sonny would let me know if we need to do any more.

I'd be interested in hearing from anyone (vets included!), if they think this is a wise course of action considering the type of tumor it was.

Sonny says Happy Birthday to Scout!"

Another Border Collie jumper lives to tell the tail

Here's a story from my newspaper, the Ventura County Star, about a border collie mix who jumped over a cliff after a tossed rock and miraculously survived. Sounds a bit like my Scout. Good people came to the rescue including a vet who donated surgery.

It's my birthday all month

It's Scout's birthday all month (because I don't know her exact birth date). She's 2.

Think I'll make her a chicken-leg cake.


...I'm so wise now that I'm 2

I recently started her on a raw food diet and it really agrees with her. Her eyes are clear, her coat shiny, her teeth super clean, breath fresh, poops less and less messy ...










...And so elegant

Check out these links on the benefits of raw food for dogs:

Top 50 questions about raw food BARF diets
Appropriately named, because I felt like barfing the first week of watching her scarf down raw chicken legs and crunch the bones. But I got over it. If you can't stand it, freeze the legs, it cuts down on the ick factor. They love 'em - chicken popsicles.


The BARF diet
This site has a ton of recipes for all kinds of dog food diets, including cooked ones. Emphasis is on wholesome foods rather than processed kibble.

OR maybe not.......

The ball is my job ... well sort of

(Music: "Independent Women" by Elbow recorded live on UK's Radio 1 Live Lounge session)

Here's more video of Scout playing with a new 4-legged friend and chasing and fetching her ball. Every day, every walk, every mile -- the ball has to come!

Border collies are known for always being on task, but Scout is on the social end of the breed. Her philosophy: Grass to eat, a new friend to smell, a passing pedestrian who wants to pet me -- hey, it's all good.

I love this photo of Sonny as the most adorable pup. Hope the news is good this week at the vets, Anthony!

Another story

Sonny
"... I am facing possible amputation of the front leg of my best friend "Sonny". He's an amazing 10 year old Border Collie. Frisbee catching and running are his passions. About three years ago he was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor on his front paw. He went through surgery and subsequent 5 weeks of radiation. After a 6 month followup, he looked to be free of it. Unfortunately, this week, it appears that it has returned. Since there might not be enough tissue left to perform surgery again, we are probably facing amputation of his front leg.
The thought of him not being able to be the dog he was and to do the things he was able to do is breaking my heart. I envision helplessness (like him lifting a leg to pee and falling over!) But seeing the little clips of Scout is so encouraging. I paid close attention to specific parts, like him running and walking among the rocks. Sonny is such a strong willed and agile dog, I'd like to believe that he can come along as well as Scout appears to have come.
I'd love to see more video of Scout and hear any more you have to contribute. Thanks for sharing your story.
Anthony & Sonny

August 22, 2007 1:40:00 PM PDT ..."



*******

What a moving message Anthony!

From my experience with Scout, dogs are so resilient. She was jumping and running within 3 months of her injury (and even more unstoppable when I stopped being so protective!) Now she runs so fast and jumps so high to catch the ball, twisting in the air, so agile and beautiful. I'll take some more video and post it soon.

The delay for amputation for me has been cost and the non-urgency of her condition. She's doing OK with the lame leg because it's tucked up high, out of her way and she doesn't chew on it. Still I'm convinced the best thing will be amputation to get rid of the extra weight. So I'm putting aside a little $ each month into the Scout fund.

My neighbor is a vet assistant who says its amazing to see how fast dogs rebound after amputation. They wobble a bit for a few days, figuring out the new balance, then they adapt their bodies and don't seem to notice the loss at all, she says.

Sonny sounds quite the athlete -- I bet he'll amaze you!

Cost of amputation

I Wanna Be Your Dog

This is a movie of Scout where I went a leeeeetle crazy on the special effects.
But it shows how agile, happy and fast she is on 3 legs.

Soundtrack is Iggy Pop's "I Wanna Be Your Dog" (1969).



Amputation will cost $850 to $1,050, according to the following surgery quote from the vet:

Anesthesia: $100
Gas: $40
Surgery: $600-$800
Fluids: $30
Injections: $35
Meds: $41

A day at the beach

Just about ready to set a date for Scout's amputation surgery. Maybe the end of April.

Her leg has completely atrophied now. Hair is growing from the underside of the unused paw, blonde and so long I can braid it!

The lame leg is hard and hooked and catches on things like stools and leashes and other dogs when she's playing. Not good. All muscle is slack and thin in her shoulder so there's nothing anchoring the leg bone. I know she'll be happier when it's gone.

This weekend, my son and his deaf dalmatian Zander came down from Sacramento to visit.

We went to the beach and let the dogs run free. Scout and Zander bonded the instant they met -- both high spirited, playful pups, sensitive to scoldings, happy when their humans are near.

( Zander and Matthew, my son's partner)

The Dalmatian Club of America recommends destroying deaf dalamatian pups. I can understand that position if you're breeding, but not a wholesale "cleansing" as they seem to advocate on their website.

Especially this statement: "IF YOU ARE THE OWNER OF A DEAF DALMATIAN, and are having problems with the dog, don't feel"guilty" about it. Consider starting over with a healthy, hearing pup. (And DO have the deaf dog put down.)"

My son and his partner -- both hearing impaired -- have a special affinity for Zander. He is what he is. Sleeps the deep sleep of the hearing impaired, growls at passing cars like a maniac, loves, loves, loves his owners, hard to train, a bit hyper but nothing a good run won't fix.

Scout adores him. Here's some pix from our day at the beach, and after.

Scout's tripod paw prints in the sand

Crashing at day's end...

Deaf Dalmatian

Here's a new addition to my dog family...






Zander is a deaf Dalmatian, adopted this weekend from the Sacramento animal shelter by my son Kearnan and his partner Matthew. He's a 2-year-old purebred abandoned twice by owners who didn't want to deal with the deafness.

Kear and Matt are hearing impaired themselves and felt empathy for this pup after checking the pound's website. Matthew is profoundly deaf, Kearnan is moderately deaf, meaning his hearing aid helps him hear within the "normal" range in ideal conditions (no background noise from crowds or traffic, etc.).

Both are awesome people who don't know the meaning of the word handicapped.

Matt tutors high school deaf students in math while attending college. Kear is in his last year at UC Davis, a Neurobiology major who plans to go on to medical school later this year.

My son and my border collie are my life teachers.

Scout's latest adventures (& misadventures)

I recently found this terrific website on three-legged dogs. I particularly like the pages (and pages and pages) of stories and photos. This page tells you what to expect from amputation.

We're still saving up for Scout's amputation, or were until she ate my foot stool a few weeks ago, including a big ball of stuffing foam. It clogged up her stomach and intestine, and the vet had to use an endoscope to drag it out. She was literally stuffed up -- no eating, no pooping -- for three days until the rest of it finally passed through.

Geez, this dog and her misadventures!

On the positive side, she's gone on two more hikes since her last. And she's running a mile every other morning, two miles on some weekend days. What an inspiration she is -- running this funny bouncing three-legged gait, her lame leg pulled up and flopping around, looking back up at me every now and then to make sure I'm keeping up with her!


Link