Zoe is my Airedale Terrier Puppy - she just turned 1 on June 21st! She is full on energy and a hand full at times. Recently we found out she has sever Hip Dysplasia. This is a genetic gene that both her mother and father had to carry in order for her to develop it. Now we could have brought it out earlier than latter by running her around and she is on the higher end of her weight but in the end it comes down to the genes of the parents.
The Breeder where we got Zoe takes no ownership of this and acted as if it was all our fault. I do not recommend anyone out there looking for Airedale to get a Dog from Hemingway Terriers in Westerlo, NY. I emailed the Breeder just as an FYI and I was completely shocked when she told me we should put the dog down and that it was all environment that caused the Hip Dyplasia. Putting Zoe down was not an option! If you personally know me, I was outraged and ready to attack - but now that I am growing up I just let it go (complained to my friends and family of course) but refrained from writing a nasty email back to the Breeder.
Well enough about that - Zoe will be undergoing a FHO (Femoral Head Ostectomy) next week. They will be removing the head and neck of the femur in order to reduce the pain that is currently caused by her "ball" of the femur is not in the correct place and is rubbing on the outside of the socket causing arthritis to form (see wiki - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hip_dysplasia_(canine) For information on FHO this wiki was helpful for us ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Femoral_head_ostectomy)
We met with an Amazing Vet out in Pattersonville, NY Dr. Glennon - who spent an hour talking to us about our options and showing us XRays of other dogs who had the procedure done. We were feeling more positive about the surgery when we got home and scheduled it right away. July 20th Zoe will go to the Hospital to have her first procedure (not sure which leg because she needs both done). Hopefully with this done she will be able to function around 80% - which is better than what she can do now because she tend to be in so much pain after a while.
I will continue to update through this Blog about Zoe and how she is doing. We had a little scare this week because she started throwing up Sunday and Monday morning. The vet thinks that she ate something that her stomach didn't agree with - they checked her bowels and didn't find anything wrong, she is now taking Pepcid AC to relieve the acid that is building up in her stomach. This morning she had the sad face on and wouldn't get up to eat but eventually she ate half of her food and has been running around playing (no vomit) so I think she is feeling better!
These next couple weeks are going to be difficult because she will be very high maintenance because the most important thing for the FHO to be successful is treatment after the surgery and the physical therapy! Wish us Luck!
I hope the FHO surgery next week is a success and she has a fast recovery. I'm sorry to hear she is in pain, she looks like a sweetheart. I love that photo of her above. -Lindsey
ReplyDeleteGood luck Zoe!!! I wish you guys and Zoe the best.
ReplyDeleteScott
Wow - that tells you a lot about the breeder. Unbelievable.
ReplyDeleteMy friend's mom's 6 month old puppy got hit by a car 2 months ago. He's ok, but he had to have the same surgery Zoe's going to have because of the way his hip broke. She brought him up here to the same vet you guys are using. Apparently, he was running around on it fine a couple of weeks after the surgery. I was really surprised that what seems like such an extreme solution has such a minimal effect on the dog's mobility, but apparently he'll be totally normal as a pet, just running around in the yard. Good luck with Zoe's surgery!