Ohhhh Noooo! Not Again!

Dozer Dog here. Mum says to tell you that Cooper has blown his right rear knee like I did last year and the year before. They almost had to pick Mum up from the floor at the vet's office. She was incredulous (which is a big word which I do not understand). "How could this happen?" she squealed. The vet thinks either our family is cursed or it was just "one of those things". (Mum says that I can't say that because the vet never said we were cursed.)

That's the bad news. The good news is that Cooper is pretty much pain-free. He is probably too old for surgery but Mum says they'll keep that up their sleeve in case things go from bad to worse (like if he blows out his left knee). Coop is going to have shots twice a week of some drug into his knee (yeeech!) and Mum said the vet will be doing that because she draws the line at shootin' shots into knees. He'll do that for eight weeks and if it shows it is helping him, then he'll go to one to two shots every month.

Dad threw a fit and started doing research on ACL's in dogs. He thinks we're not eating right or something because Tinker, his Cocker Spaniel when the old geezer was a boy, ate table scraps and ran by Dad's bike just fine and never broke his knees. I'll go with the table scraps theory any day - bring'em on!

This is me being a pirate because this blog is supposed to be all about me and we have spent much too much time on Cooper. Focus on my picture, I am in need of comforting too.

Thank you all for your kind words, prayers and crossed paws on Cooper. This was, of course, not the news we wanted but at age 12 Cooper has many good years ahead. While we joke around on our blog, our dogs are an important part of our lives and I am truly touched by the many nice notes from people I have never met and yet feel are dear friends in my life. Thank you all! Love, Nancy

The Verdict from the Hospital

I am finally home from the vet. Mum took me in for my 11am appointment and I made sure to leave a big (some might say “giganormous”) puddle by the front door of the office so everyone would know I had arrived.

I was ushered into one of the private rooms (Mum says all the rooms are private but I think they have a special one for important dogs like me).

"What? What do you mean there is a limit to how much cheese-in-a-can I can have? Who cares if it gives me the farties? That's fine by me, I don't care!"

We hung out with the most able technician who was very free with the “cheese-in-can”. My heart is just fine and my temperature was normal. Then Dr. B finally arrived. I love Dr. B. and she feels the same about moi. She checked out my knees, comparing the two against one another and determined neither of them was in great shape. I put on my most pathetic look for her and I believe she succumbed to my charms once again.

Then I was off to the x-ray department (Mum says it is just a room and not a “department”…. whatever!) and they took magical pictures of my knees and hips. Dr. B and I came back to my private room and looked at the magical pictures with Mum. I take remarkable x-rays and need to talk to Mum about using them for our annual Christmas card.

"Isn't Dr. B just beautiful? See how gentle she is with me? She loves me and I love her. Actually I like her massage technique best and her opposable thumb that let's the cheese-in-a-can out!"

The decision is that Dr. B is going to have an orthopedic surgeon look at the x-rays and then my “films” go to the Oregon State University Veterinary School to see what they suggest. We should know in a couple of days what needs to be done. My left knee that had surgery last year has a giganormous amount of arthritis so Dr. B isn’t sure the same surgery on the right knee is such a hot idea. The right knee is not as “loose” as the left but I am not sure if that is good or bad. Mum says not to worry about it, that is what Dr. B is there for.

"This was a pawtastic couple of hours but now I am ready for my pain meds and a nap. Time to let go of me ladies, I've got more hearts to break and need to keep movin' down the Road of Love."

I am home now and Mum has been to my favorite pet store, Animal Crackers, and gotten us Frosty Paws for dessert tonight. And we get to unwrap Pink baby too!

More news as it breaks (the news, not my knees!)

Monday, Monday - Not such a good day

Dozer's Mum here. Dozer is going to the vet this morning because we believe he has blown out his right rear knee (you may remember he did his left rear knee almost a year ago to the day). He is not feeling very well but we have him on his pain medication and will get him into see his favorite vets and see if we can schedule surgery or whatever they suggest. We suspect this has been coming on for a bit because he has not been his usual rambunctious self.

On the bright side, we received a package from our good friend Tibby, who resides on the East Coast of the United States. Although Dozer is dying to open the box, we have decided to wait until tonight so we can all sit down together and see what is inside. Could it be something say...pink? Yes, PINK BABY has come to Oregon to visit Dozer, Dottie and Cooper! Can you believe it? Pink Baby belongs to Miss Kylie who lives in Massachusetts. This traveling stuffie has been to Singapore and visited all sorts of dogs like the Musketeers! We have only a week to show Pink Baby our side of Oregon and even with Dozer's serious injury we will do our best.

Disclaimer: We cannot rise to the level of Tibby with Pink Baby. First off, we cannot sew collars, nor can we make teeny little pancakes for PB. We're not entirely sure what we can do to make this a truly Oregon experience but we will do our best!

Please keep Dozer in your thoughts today as we determine what the best course of action is for his leg.

Visit to the Vet - Dozer's Notes

Yesterday it occurred to me that I have not spent much time or money at the vet so I made Mum take me down. I had a bump on my back that Mum and Dad did not like and I found painful. So I made sure I waited for a weekday, so Mum would lose time at work, and got an appointment to see my favorite vet, Dr. B. Turns out it was a puncture wound, someone nailed me, from my play time at Inavale Farm. Since it was healing nicely, we decided to just let it be. Dr. B checked my ears and cleaned out one of them - no yeasties, just wax. It seems to make Dr. B so happy to play with my ears I cannot refuse her. This is me with the ladies (they love me). Yup, it's cheese-in-a-can time while Dr. B checks out my knee. If I had opposable thumbs I could empty that can in a New York minute. So forty dollars later Mum has piece of mind and I have a tummy full of cheese. Mum says it is the most expensive cheese she has ever bought. I say I am worth it! BOL!

Bad News On Dozer

Dozer's Mum here:

I am sorry to tell you that little Dozer Dog is having surgery tomorrow to repair his left rear knee. He was playing fetch and tore his ACL and did damage to the knee itself. I could have let it heal on its own but within 2-3 years Dozer would have had severe osteoarthritis and pain and by his golden years the leg would no longer have been able to bend and he would have been hobbling and in great pain. When this happens to a person, surgery is the only option. Dozer deserves the same.

I took him to the emergency vet on Sunday morning and they gave me all the options and got Dozer on pain and anti-inflammatory meds. The strange part of this has been that Doze has not expressed any pain at all. His left hind leg just hangs and he doesn't put weight on it. I took him to his own vet yesterday and again, he never yelped, growled or showed any indication of pain. They didn't even have to sedate him for x-rays - he laid on his back, on his side and let the technician manipulate his leg without a whimper or any movement. (That said, he does know that the techs have access to cheese-in-a-can and he loves the ladies!) And yes, they did check to see if he had feeling in the leg. Apparently he is a stoic soldier.

I took Dozer down tonight and he will spend the night in the kennel at the hospital and then have the 3 hour surgery tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, it is a painful surgery so he will need to be on strong pain meds and in his kennel at home until a few days have past. The surgery is going to be very expensive (think thousands of dollars) and he will need physical therapy once the knee stabilizes. Again, no one is holding a gun to my head and making me go this route, but it is the only option I will consider. Dozer will be 4 years old in December and he deserves to have a full life with full mobility. I don't like credit cards but fortunately I have one with a zero balance and a low APR, so Dozer can have his surgery right away which means he can begin the healing process. How many people can look at their credit card statement and then look over a sweet corgi sleeping by a fireplace and know that every monthly payment has bought such continuous pleasure and delight? Much better than new shoes any day! LOL!

I have incredible confidence in our vets at Ark Veterinary Hospital and the staff is wonderful. Dozer could not be in better hands. I will keep you posted.

Love, N