Update on Lulu

At the last posting we had found out that Lulu had torn her CCL (dog equivalent to a human's ACL) and had an appointment on Friday to see a surgeon at the Regional Veterinary Referral Center. Lulu and I met with Dr. Anderson and based on her assessment and options I left Lulu in her very capable hands Friday morning for surgery. I guess we were lucky they had availability that day. Lulu had already been denied breakfast that morning so we wouldn't have to fast her later on in the week. While we would have paid any price to repair Lulu's knee, because of her size and her weight (which we maintain at around 60 pounds) Dr. Anderson said that the extracapsular repair was a viable option. Wasn't cheap but was cheaper than the other options. Lulu had to spend the night and I was able to pick her up on Saturday morning.

This is Lulu's third scar. And she is only 2 1/2 years old!

She was so drugged up that it took her about three minutes to realize that I was even at the RVRC to bring her home. Poor puppy! Above is what she looked like for the first couple of days post-operation: high as a kite and napping. The nurse said this would be the best her leg would look during her recovery. We must have a wonder dog because her leg hasn't bruised or swelled in the least. And starting yesterday she is putting more weight on leg. She can take stairs again and surprised me last night when I turned around and she was on the first floor. She shouldn't use stairs until after her first physical therapy appointment next week.

She is ready to rumble and is becoming quite the hand full in her limited capacity. She wants to run and play and frolic. And I cringe and hope that she doesn't hurt herself again while telling her no. Only a week to go before the sutures come out!

Ruptured Anterior (Cranial) Cruciate Ligament (aka torn ACL)

Tuesday night Lulu went on a tear in the backyard, what we call her "crazies," running from gate to gate at brake neck speed after dinner. And then she just stopped and sat down. When I got up from the table she got up and I noticed that she was limping, favoring her left hind leg. This of course was a great concern for me. I sat down and she limped over, I ran my hand over her leg but she didn't pull it away or whimper with pain. Oh boy, was I going to have to go to the pet emergency room?

I gave James a call (he was out to dinner with a friend) and we decided that perhaps it was a pulled muscle or cramp and that we would wait and see. While I couldn't take her to the vet yesterday because of previous work conflicts I did make an appointment for this morning just in case. She continued to favor her leg and would hold it up and not put any weight on it at all. She was drinking water and eating as usual, but she was certainly "off."

We just got back from the vet where the x-rays revealed that she has ruptured her anterior (cranial) cruciate ligament in her left rear knee. If she were a human she has torn her ACL. This is apparently the most common knee injury for dogs and if left untreated can quickly cause arthritis.

X-ray of Lulu's left hind leg. Can you spot the rupture?

There are two options to treat the torn ACL: an extracapsular repair (basically a heavy duty fishing line to takes the place of the ACL) or a tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) (where the tibia is cut and rotated in such a way that the natural weight bearing of the dog actually stabilizes the knee joint using a plate). Our vet's office only does the extracapsular repair and we will have to go to a vet surgeon for the TPLO. I have already made an appointment for a consult with the vet surgeon to find out more about the TPLO.

Because Lulu is so young our vet is suggesting that the TPLO is the more appropriate treatment option. But of course (as in all things in life) that is the more expensive option. Frankly, neither option is cheap! However, no more agility for Lulu, no more getting up on the couch or the bed, and no more walks until the after surgery and recovery (six to eight weeks!).

The injury isn't keeping her down, but Lulu's new nickname is Gimpy. We'll keep you updated on her progress.

You can call him Al

Last year we welcomed a new member to our family...Alexander. You can call him Al.

I had a crazy idea in my head that we needed to adopt another cat. But I knew that the old house wasn't big enough for two adults, two kids, a dog, and three cats. When we moved to the new house we certainly had the room. My sister volunteers with Fancy Cats Rescue Team at our local Petsmart taking care of the too many cats who need forever homes. I never paid attention to them really until we would visit Molly during her cleaning and feeding of the cats. Many touched my heart. And Alexander was one of them. He had been in the "cage" for WAY TO LONG. And he needed a family.

We started making the preparations and in June 2011 we made the adoption. He lived in Jaime's room for about a week during the transition. After which we swapped Ben and Roosie and Al between the basement and the first and the second floors to allow additional time for Al to become familiar with the house and Ben and Roosie's scents (and vice versa). After three weeks or so we opened up the doors for all the animals to move freely. It didn't go over so well. Not at all. Let's just say some of the best advice I can give is not to go into a cat fight without gloves. I have the scars and phone calls from Fairfax County public health services to prove it.

Roosie constantly freaked out, Ben will always howl with the most heart wrenching cries, and Al just appears to want to play. Al sleeps in the basement at night with the door closed to allow Ben and Roosie the "freedom" of the second and the first floor. During the day the doors are all opened. However, Ben and Rooise stick to the second floor and our bedroom and under our bed.

However, when I got back from a short grocery store run this past weekend, my niece Makayla comes rushing out of the house to tell me that Al and Ben were on Joe's bed and they weren't hissing or howling at each other. I saw it with my own eyes. Ben looked slightly panicked but he wasn't about to move. Al had his front legs stretched out in front of him napping. Perhaps we have turned a corner and a truce, or at least an understanding, is emerging.

Doggie Dooley

This past Christmas my sister bought Lulu a Christmas present. I thought it was just a toy or something small. The biggest box she brought over was for the dog. I had no idea what would be inside of it. And when I opened the box on Christmas morning on behalf of Lulu, I started to laugh....it was a poo composter!

What is a poo composter? It is an in-ground pet waste toilet of sorts. The dog isn't expected to use the composter. It just breaks down the dog's poo naturally instead of using plastic bags going to a land fill. I've been talking about one for two years but didn't really find anything; apparently if I had searched "in-ground pet waste" instead of "poo composter" I would have found it much sooner. Regardless, the Doggie Dooley was installed last weekend.

The directions suggested installing the "toilet" away from the house, but with the size of our back yard that wasn't really an option, but this corner worked quite nicely.

Why did we wait so long? The "toilet" must be installed in a four foot hole. A four foot hole. So we had to wait for the ground to warm up and an extra pair of hands. James' brother-in-law John came in handy.

John and James made quick work of the four foot hole. However, it left a big pile of dirt in my backyard for a week.

To get it started you add 6 gallons of water and the digester power (which is added weekly).

Lulu wasn't that excited about the installation as much as I was. No more plastic bags! Except when we are in public and when the ground temperature falls below 40 degrees. Regardless I am very excited about this latest addition!