The little border collie who could

New pictures

2011-11-04T16:33:00.000-07:00

Six years old. Happy girl.

Timmy! Scout's domestic partner

Operation

2008-09-30T21:04:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-21T20:54:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-09T18:03:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-01T10:54:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-29T20:17:00.000-07:00

(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

2007-08-23T19:38:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-24T19:59:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-30T21:39:00.000-07:00

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

2007-02-11T22:15:00.000-08:00

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)

2007-02-07T17:46:00.000-08:00

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

Back up to the mountains

2007-01-07T18:01:00.000-08:00

Scout goes hiking

Pictures are worth thousands of words. Here's a link to my photos of Scout's first hike since her injury.

She was pure happiness today -- this dog absolutely LOVES hiking. Has since she was a puppy.

She herded me a lot of the way, staying right at my feet, nuzzling my hand as it swung back every now and then. Then she'd bound ahead to chase birds and shadows and climb rocks.

After two miles, we dropped down off the trail to a stream filled with boulders. We did some stretching and doga on a flat warm rock. Took a dip in the cold water. Ate apples. Drank lots of water (it was pretty warm -- typical Southern California sunny, balmy January day). Chased flying bugs (Scout did, not me.)

She went four miles over rocky terrain, a few steep climbs up and down, and never stopped investigating everything along the way. She still scrambles up rocks fearlessly, right to the ledge. Scared me a couple of times, but I'm working on making myself get over that over-protectiveness. It's a leftover fearful feeling from watching her disappear over that wall in September.

I'm convinced after today that she's going to have a full, happy dog life. It's only been three months since her injury. No telling what she'll be doing in another three. Agility?

A trip to the pound

2007-01-05T19:12:00.000-08:00

Recently, I went to the Ventura County Animal Shelter to film video for a multi-media story for our newspaper's website.

As we walked through the facility, the director pointed out dogs and the reasons why people had either abandoned them on the streets or dumped them at the pound. Several border collies were there, given up for reasons like "constantly working," and "don't like the staring thing."

Why did these people get a border collie to begin with? Working is what they do. The good news is that these "impounded" border collies will probably be saved by the local B.C. rescue organizations.

But other breeds are not so lucky.

Many of the dogs had just been abandoned. A lot of chihuahuas. And, of course, pit bulls were there in large numbers, some with their ears cut off by their owners who had put them in dog fights -- a lucrative and brutal underground "entertainment."

Unbelievably, many dog owners brought their dogs to the pound and wrote down their reasons without a qualm.

The reasons included:

"We're going on vacation. Will get a new dog when we get back."

"Female dog keeps having babies."

"Husband doesn't want the dog anymore. Would rather start a garden."

"It's codependent. It loves people." (Yes, this was really given as a reason)

And one of the worst: "Dog didn't match our new furniture and rugs."

Here's the Ventura County Animal Shelter website. And a link to the national Border Collie Rescue organization.

A trip to the vet

2006-12-14T18:23:00.000-08:00

Took Scout to a new vet on Saturday. Dr. Sam Thomas. He was the no-nonsense kind: didn't try to sell me any food, or vaccinations or medicines she didn't need.

Just examined her leg after I filled him in on her injury and diagnosis and said: "That leg isn't coming back. I've never seen a leg in this condition regenerate. There's severe atrophy, the joints are frozen, and there's no feeling or reflex."

My response?
"Thank you!"

For the first time, a clear diagnosis, one that just resonated as the truth, so let's get on with this and fully accept my sweet, swift runner is a three-legged dog.

He said we humans are the ones who seem to suffer more about the loss of our dog's leg than the dogs do.

"They do fine with three legs. They're dogs. It's people who bring all the thinking about loss to this," he said.

Dr. Sam said I didn't have to rush to amputate. It all depended on how Scout is doing. He has seen dogs where the leg atrophied and pulled up all the way against the chest and stayed out of the way so amputation wasn't necessary. Others were miserable, dragging this dead weight around, tripping over it, self-mutilating the limb.

Amputation costs between $750 and $1,000, he said. So I guess it's time to start saving. It's an involved surgery evidently, one I'm going to start researching more and will post about next time.

Meanwhile, her other leg may be prone to arthritis because the joint near her paw is taking so much pressure. Aspirin is a good anti-inflammatory, but overdosing is something to watch for in dogs. Here's a website and another one I found that show recommended dosages by body weight.

Dr. Sam also encouraged the use of glucosamine for the swollen joint.

Her lame paw gets banged around a lot, and drags on the stairs and pavement sometimes, especially in the beginning before the atrophy pulled it up a bit off the ground.

A month or so ago, I went to the thrift store and bought a baby tennis shoe, the slip-on kind. I cut an opening across the toe part and then sliced off the back part so her paw could slide into the shoe. Then I used velcro strips for tying computer cords together to wrap around the shoe and hold it in place. The velcro ties were about $6 for six at CompUSA. (The picture shows only one tie, I usually use two or three to really anchor the boot on her while she's running around and playing catch with the ball.)

I put the shoe on with the rubber bottom part across the top of her paw to protect from the dragging. It works like a charm. Keeps her paw clean and protected.

She now knows her bootie means a walk and a game of ball.

Loves it. Loves me. Loves the ball. Loves the cat (sort of).

Her little border collie world is complete.

High rise syndrome

2006-12-02T19:29:00.000-08:00

In the weeks after Scout fell, I scoured the Internet for information on her injury which is called brachial plexus avulsion.

Sometimes I think I've become a para-veterinarian on this particular injury with my obsessive reading of the Merck Veterinary Manual and dogged (excuse the pun) definition-hunting of obscure medical terminology.

Vets who see this cluster of symptoms regularly call it "high rise syndrome." The main causes are being struck by a car, falling from apartment balconies, or plunging or slipping over a rock ledge during mountain hikes.

Scout jumped from a wall encircling the Long Beach Convention Center grounds onto a sloping asphalt driveway 2 1/2 stories below.

Among the things I've learned is that dogs are tough. Much tougher than we are. And their nerves can regenerate much more than ours can. I guess that's what's kept me hoping despite all signs that her leg is just not getting better.

I've come across some strange facts as well in my online forays such as ... Cats often survive HUGE distance falls, and actually do better the farther they fall. Evidently, the height gives them time to relax and reorient themselves.

Here's the actual study abstract on that, some humorous skepticism, and a video of a cat who fell 80 feet and survived.

For dogs, here's the best medical article I've found on brachial plexus avulsion complete with illustrations of the anatomy, diagrams of nerve paths and explanations of degrees of injury.

Treatment for Scout has been a merry-go-round of vet opinions. Put her down. Spend thousands of more dollars on EKGs and nerve mappings. Give it six months of physical therapy.

Last month, I took her to a new vet in town who promoted physical therapy, electrical stimulation of the muscles, and other fancy human-style treatments. The staff took measurements of her stiff leg and how far the joints could be flex and extended. They said they thought they could help her.

And so I gave it a try. For two weeks and five sessions, they jolted her leg with electrical impulses, massaged and stretched the leg and frozen joints. Next they planned to put her on a water treadmill. It was $50 a week. Plus another $135 for the initial analysis.

Her injury has cost me about $1,500 so far with most of that spent on emergency treatment right after her fall.

Last week, I stopped the physical therapy treatments after something my neighbor Orbie said to me struck home.

"That's her real therapy," he said, watching Scout scamper after his three small dogs in our apartment complex dog park. She was fast, leading the pack at times, leaping and hopping in her old way, just three-legged now.

I think it's time to start saving up for an amputation, which I understand can cost up to $1,000.

And let this girl run freer.

Next post...What I've learned about giving aspirin to dogs, how to make a protective bootie from thrift store ingredients, and the latest vet opinion.