dot me not Posted October 25, 2002 Report Share Posted October 25, 2002 I was taking alfalfa to the horses in our upper pasture last night when Jae ran in front of the truck. I ran over her with the front tire and before I could get the truck stopped I got her with the rear wheels (it's a dually). I consulted with the vet on call last night as soon as this happened and he advised that as long as she appeared stable to keep her home but bring her in first thing this morning. This morning my regular vet saw her and got an X-ray. Jae has a hip out of socket which could be fixed pretty easily but the acetabulum is pretty much crushed on that side with a large triangular piece completely broken off and free floating. My vet got in touch with the folks at the university of Tenn. and they said that they could TRY to go in and wire the piece back in and to reduce the dislocation, BUT it probably won't work because of the arthritic changes that are bound to take place with such a nasty break. The estimate for the surgery was $2K, and that vet was predicting that we'd still have to go back within a year or two and do an FHO. So, I've decided to go ahead with an FHO now, or actually on Monday, after some of the swelling goes down and her internal bruising has a few days to improve. They'll take out the piece of bone that's broken loose and hopefully in a couple of months Jae will be pretty much back to her old self. But she'll probably never again be the free running, hard stopping/turning, 6 foot fence climbing dog she was before last night. I am grateful and thank God though, that I still have my buddy. It could so easily have killed her. I am quite happy to be paying a vet bill instead of digging a hole. Lydia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PrairieFire Posted October 25, 2002 Report Share Posted October 25, 2002 Hey Lydia - my good old dog, Craig, has dislocated BOTH his front elbows (once working cattle in the feedlot and the other seperating rams from ewes in estrus) and he still gets along quite well...vets can do marvelous things these days... May your future be bright. ------------------ Bill Gary Kensmuir, Working Stockdog Center River Falls, WI 715.426.9877 www.kensmuir.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikw Posted October 25, 2002 Report Share Posted October 25, 2002 Lydia, I'm glad she's alive and relatively well. You would be surprised how much she'll be able to do after her recuperation. I hope her injuries will heal soon. ------------------ Inci Willard Clearville,PA 814-784-3414 ikw@pennswoods.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brookcove Posted October 25, 2002 Report Share Posted October 25, 2002 Oh my gosh, I can give you some fantastic news on that FHO. The old dog that my friend loaned me had to have two seperate FHOs. He went on to continue to work his farm (the only dog to work a 250 suffolk ewe flock operation) and WIN at trialing in the Novice classes - most people still remember Steve's old Greg. He continued to trial until just last year at thirteen years old when his eyes, not his hips, gave out. The thing is, work, work, work. Don't ever let those muscles atrophy. I can also highly recommend a liquid glucosamine/chondroitin supplement (check the vet supply catalogs). The best of luck to you. ------------------ Rebecca Brook Cove Farm, NC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dot me not Posted October 25, 2002 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2002 Thanks for the encouragement Y'all. I've been on a pretty bad guilt trip for the past day over this and it'll be much worse the day of her surgery. I've seen several of them when I worked for our vets and they're very painful for a while. I guess if there's a silver lining to this it's that Jae is only 11 months old and is a very slightly built dog at just 29 pounds. Those types tend to fair much better with either FHO's or amputations. I know that eventually she'll be fine but I still feel just awful about it. Inci, How'd your injured puppy do from a while back?? Bill and Rebecca, That's great to hear about those two dogs doing so well. I've seen over and over again in my former line of work what dogs can recuperate from and I'm always amazed to see it. Dogs are blessed with an amazing gift- a lack of self pity. Tonight Jae is resting pretty comfortably with her rimadyl. She's eating and drinking well and has been able to poop and urinate. Her urine was almost pure blood last night but thru the day today it has steadily gotten more normal looking. She doesn't want me to help her with a towel under her belly for support. I guess her tummy is too sore for that, but she can weakly hobble off by herself to potty. I think she's going to be fine. Thanks again guys. Lydia and Jae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikw Posted October 25, 2002 Report Share Posted October 25, 2002 Lydia, The injured pup,Nani,is doing real well. Hopefully her growth plate will close within 3-5 months and we could go on with the surgical procedure. If we didn't know how unstable her knee is,no one could notice a thing. She runs hard with other pups which I try to curtail as much as I can,she started on sheep and could keep up with them and cover them easily on 3 legs (when she gets tired,she hold it up on her own). Another words,she has no idea she's got any form of a handicap. You'll find Jae bouncing off the walls in no time. I don't know how but animals who survives a trauma seems to recover very fast unlike us, the humans. We found a cat after getting hit by 2 limousines back to back,her whole back end was crushed. When we rushed her to all night EV,they didn't expect her to survive overnight. She did and after her surgery with pins and bolts in her half back with one leg about an inch shorter than the rest,she managed to crawl out of her box within 48 hours and was out playing. Another cat we picked up after getting hit by a car,2 front broken legs,broken nose with severely damaged nasal passage and umpteen numbers of broken ribs,we had to built a closure over my whelping box to keep her from jumping out. IMHO,animals don't feel sorry for themselves and don't dwell over their injuries,that helps them to recover very fast. Give your Jae a big,sloppy kiss from me and tell her she's one lucky dawg to have a caring owner like you. ------------------ Inci Willard Clearville,PA 814-784-3414 ikw@pennswoods.net [This message has been edited by ikw (edited 10-25-2002).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicken Posted October 27, 2002 Report Share Posted October 27, 2002 You'll be very happy with the FHO. In a few months she should be running and keeping up with the other dogs. I don't know about 6' fence jumping, but she will be just as athletic as before. We've had 1 of our dogs get it done and any rescue dogs that need hip surgery only get FHO's and all are back to normal within a few short months. Cathy ------------------ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dot me not Posted October 29, 2002 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2002 Jae had her FHO surgery yesterday and it seems to be a great success! She is gingerly walking on it to go potty (ouch!). Unfortunately when the Dr. got in there she found that the joint capsule totally destroyed so we may have to go back in at a later date and do some more repair work. But for now she got out the big chunk of loose bone that was floating and Jae seems quite comfortable. I ran over Jae last Thursday evening and on Saturday she began walking on that leg even though the hip was out and the acetabulum was crushed. Then she has the surgery on Monday and today is walking on it again!! It absolutely amazes me! With most of the out of socket hips I've seen, whether it be cats or dogs, they didn't want to touch their toes down for SEVERAL days, even up to a couple of weeks. Oh well, I suppose that with her being a border collie she's got other things to do than rest. I'll really have to watch her to be sure she doesn't overdo it! Lydia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary & Dogs Posted October 29, 2002 Report Share Posted October 29, 2002 One of my dogs had that surgery. Don't make the mistake I made. Ellie also had a broken pelvis. She had been hit by a UPS truck and her previous owners were going to have her put down. That was unnecssary as the surgery available works well. After the surgery I was so afraid of hurting her that I didn't move the joint around enough. The muscles on that leg drew up and stiffened. Now she goes like the dickens - but on three legs most of the time. She walks on four - but that leg is shorter than the others and does not have the range of motion that it could have had if I had done what I should have. The Vet can show you how to manipulate that leg so it heals right. It looks awful but I don't think it really hurts them to move it around like that. ------------------ Mary Hartman Kansas City, MO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCMOM Posted November 6, 2002 Report Share Posted November 6, 2002 Hi Lydia, This is my first time responding to the board. What an informative place. So sorry to read about Jae. I recently went through the same thing with my 10 year-old BC getting hit by a van. That completely ran over him. His whole underside was black and blue from his throat to his groin. He had a dislocated hip and his tail was broken about 2 inches back from his rump. Considerable amount of nerve damage. The tail had to be amputated and his hip put back in. Then the concern was would the hip stay in place and would he have bowel control. It's been a little over a month and he is starting to run and play. He has bowel control but his stub of a tail doesn't wag. But maybe with time he will get movement there. If that is the only thing that doesn't work I will be happy. I used him a little with the small herd of cows we had. But mostly he is a family pet that comes with me when I ride my horse or when we go camping. He use to have this prance when he walked, but not any more. He is still the same loving dog and I cherish him very much. Good luck on Jae's recovery. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katendarby Posted November 7, 2002 Report Share Posted November 7, 2002 What an awful experience for you and your dog. You both need to recover and not just physically, but emotionally, too. I believe that dogs (most animals), develop depression from injury or illness, just like humans do. They get frustrated when they can't take care of their own wants, or when it takes more effort to do something they could easily do before. Be extra encouraging in tone and action when Jae does make recovery efforts. Hang in there and don't be hard on yourself either - accidents happen, even if your heart feels like it's going to break. I once broke my cat's tail in the bedroom door jamb and thought I'd cry myself into oblivion. Cats can hold a grudge! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dot me not Posted November 7, 2002 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2002 I took Jae back to the clinic today for suture removal. The visit went well, and we were given the OK to start "rehab" for Jae's leg. She can use the leg quite well but when she wants to go fast she just goes FAST...on three legs! She doesn't have time to dawdle around on a bum leg! So now I get to start slowly, VERY slowly walking her on leash so she's encouraged to use it more. We'll see how it goes over the next few weeks but for now I do believe that we are both going to survive this!! Lydia and Jae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted November 7, 2002 Report Share Posted November 7, 2002 It's so nice to hear the good progress report on Jae (and you). The slow lead walking is going to be a bit tough on both of you I guess, if you're not used to moving slowly. You'll just have to keep explaining to Jae that it's really important (-: Good thoughts to both of you from the other side of the world. ------------------ Barb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.