Chem 20

Clover went to the vet for a fairly routine physical last week. In addition to a few suspicious lumps, he had a blood panel run.

I am happy to report that the two lumps turned out to just by lipomas - benign fatty tumors. Clover has a lipoma on his chest we looked at last year - they are generally soft, just under the skin, and relatively easy to move. The only concern with them would be if they grew large enough to interfer with the dog, such as being large enough or in a location that inhibits movement. Many vets call them "lumps" or something rather than tumors, because the word tumor often gives people the wrong idea in the case of lipomas.

Clover's two new bumps were suspicious because they were small, somewhat harder, and seemed to be further under the skin. Lindsey (my ever marvelous vet) felt them and said we should definitely aspirate them - use a needle to draw out a bit of the bump and examine what it is. After several nervous minutes, she did confirm both were simply lipomas - they were probably under a bit of connective tissue that made them feel harder. Phew.

We did do a blood draw follow up to his July 2010 elevated kidney levels. We strongly suspected it was his high-protein food, and agreed to follow up after he'd been on a lower protein food for a period of time.

When she called on Monday, she started with, "Well the good news is his kidneys look beautiful..."

Unfortunately, he had elevated liver and platelet readings. With his age, this is consistent with the early signs of Cushing's Disease. This is an adrenal disorder that affects the body's feedback system, making the brain and body miscommunicate things like hunger, thirst, or other hormone-based functions. Left unchecked, the body continues to go awry and opens up possibilities for more illness, from infections to diabetes. But, it's not uncommon in older dogs, and reasonably treatable.

Lindsey and I discussed some of the other symptoms, but they are sort of vague and easily confused with "just getting old." In Clover's case, the symptoms he has are also very reasonably explained by outside factors.

Has Clover been drinking (and peeing) more lately? Yes - but it started when my heat start running and my apartment got very dry. Has he gained weight? Yes - but it started when I switched his food. Does he seem hungry? Yes - but it started when he was getting fat so I cut back his ration. Does he seem to be panting (in his case, oinking) more than usual? Yes - but it started a few months ago when I put him on food with grain in it again, which is is clearly allergic to, and has been going away the longer he's off that food. Does he seem somewhat stuff, perhaps hesitant to jump on furniture - yes, but he had two knee surgeries in under a year, and he's certainly better than he was. Does he have a pot belly? No. Does he have skin or coat problems? No.

So it's a tough thing to call. You could say that ice cream causes drowning - after all, more people eat ice cream in summer, and more people drown in summer - but you also need to examine outside factors (more people eat ice cream when it's hot, more people swim when it's hot) to see if they do actually correlate or if they just appear to.

The other issue is Clover will have to come off his Temeril (which has prednisone in it) to test for Cushing's. The adrenal glands produce natural steroids, and prednisone is a steroid, so you can't test the natural steroid level with some other ones floating around. Since he's still detoxing from his grain allergy, and the fall pollen is still up, that's not a sensible option right now.

Lindsey's advice was to wait and see. We'll see if the eating, drinking, panting all settle down - signs that they were environmentally related - or if they stay the same or worsen. By January, the well-frozen ground and several months on the new food should have his need for Temeril to a minimum, so we might be able to get him off long enough to test and see.

I hate "wait and see." It's my absolute least favorite thing. But I guess we'll see how things look after Christmas.

Berry Powerful Indeed

There is a nearby holistic vet who intrigues me. I love my regular vet and plan to continue seeing her, but I've personally found a lot more relief from my various ailments through non-traditional means.

Example: I've had hip problems almost my entire life. When I was 15 or so, we tried to figure out exactly what it was. I had an osteo specialist at Children's Hospital Boston - a hip and pelvic specialist - look at it and my Xrays and me. He poked my muscles, measured my legs, noted one was longer, discussed the clicking and pain, and told me I would need a hip replacement before I would turn 30. Flash forward almost 10 years to a chiropractor who, when he didn't see the results he'd hoped to fix my pelvis, measured my legs and weight distribution and noticed one leg was different from the other. Oh, he said, your body has to compensate for that by rotating your hip back. Put this lift in your shoe of your shorter leg so your legs act the same length. That stupid piece of heel-shaped rubber decreased my pain about 80%.

Anyway - Clover went to visit his friend Pizza yesterday. Pizza is a 7 month old Shih Tzu with a name her owner finds hysterical and no one else understands (the notable exception was, when my friend went to pick her up after being spayed, she walked in and said, "I'm here to pick up Pizza"). Clover was happy to see her when she was slightly freaked out by him, then he started ignoring her when she decided he was ok, and then he found a toy of hers to play with. But weirdly, Clover peed in their house. Clover is a meticulously clean, house-broken dog. It was weird.

Then he peed on the steps on the way out of their apartment. Then again in my parents' house. And twice while we were walking. It didn't occur to me until late last night that he might have a bladder infection.

Both vets I regularly use (Lindsey in Providence, and Acorn where Clover had his knees done, which is near my parents) are closed Saturday afternoon and Sunday and refer to emergency treatment centers. It costs $300 to walk into one of those, never mind any subsequent (and generally over-priced) treatments. Still $1700 in knee debt, I had to consider my options.

Clover had a normal temperature and there was no blood in his urine. So I turned to my home remedy for low grade UTIs: cranberry juice. Ok, so I usually drink a container of juice which seemed like an unlikely thing to make Clover do, but the dog eats anything, and there were fresh frozen whole cranberries on hand. I figured, give him cranberries with dinner and reassess in the morning. I gave him probably 3/4 a cup of cranberries, lots of water, and took him out frequently.

He seemed to feel better this morning, so I gave him another serving of cranberries for breakfast. He was back to peeing on a normal schedule and seemed more comfortable. He's sleepy, but his temp is still normal, and he continues to seem better. He is less hunched up and is just acting more comfortable.

I plan on more cranberries for dinner and seeing the vet tomorrow - he is due for shots (I want to do titers), I found a lump in the muscle of his upper arm the needs to get looked at, and just an annual exam as well (which will show us some kidney function on the new food). This time at least, I might have avoided the $300 emergency fee.


As always I am not a vet and do not recommend self-diagnosis or home treatment. Please talk to your qualified pet professional with questions in regard to your dog's health and well being.

Now we're cookin'

Let's talk dog food.

As you might recall, in July Clover's kidney levels were elevated. After a discussion with the vet(s), he was moved off his no-grain, higher protein food. Please note that I think higher protein foods are fine; I personally believe that 40% protein or more is pretty absurd for a toy dog, but I was feeding Wellness CORE which was around 32%. However, his older and weaker kidneys seemed stressed, so we switched.

He'd been on no-grain food because we thought he had a grain allergy. But he'd since been diagnosed with year-round environmental allergies, so we thought that moving him back to regular wellness dog food (which has healthful grains like oatmeal and barley, not filler grains like corn) would be all right.

Apparently, Clover is pretty allergic to grain. Whoops. His oinking got worse again, and he was so itchy that even petting him made him pick up his hind leg and scratch. Even when he was on grain-free food before, I was kind of lazy in that he still ate treats and canned food with grain in it. I clearly had to cut all of this out.

So I did some research and asked for some input and Clover is now on what must be the only moderate-protein grain-free food in the world, Taste of the Wild (the salmon variety). Check. Wellness makes grain-free biscuts that he likes. Check.

But grain-free canned dog food costs almost $3 a can. (I picked up a case of high-end but healthful-grain cans at Job Lot for $1 each, and with some sale searching I usually find about the same).

As I stood their looking at a 200% increase, I thought, "It has to be cheaper to make this."

So I did.

• Pork (three organic boneless chops)
• Apples
  
• Fresh frozen green beans and carrots
  
• Cottage cheese
  
• Parsley
  
• Dried Seaweed
  
• Olive oil

I had seaweed and olive oil. Everything else cost me about $20 at Trader Joe's. I cooked the meat, cubed everything, and threw it in the food processor with some water. The result does indeed look like canned dog food.

I refrigerated some and froze some. We'll see how long it lasts and do a cost-benefit analysis.

When I offered Clover a taste on a spoon, his eyes literally bugged out like a cartoon character. I'm lucky I didn't lose the spoon.


Note that I used canned food for supplemental feeding only. Please discuss diet changes with your vet or qualified pet nutritionist.

Moving Along

I apologize again for another hiatus. Life gets in the way, what can I say.


Clover is now more than 12 weeks out from surgery. He goes to the dog park (where he mostly just pees on things, but hey, he can lift his leg), goes for walks, likes to run, jumps on the sofa, even leaps over little creeks nowadays. He let me know when he was ready to do these things (generally, by doing them and not turning up limping that night). It's satisfying to see him trot like he never even had any knee problems.

I admit that some days he seems sore. He can move about gingerly in the rear, sometimes looks wistfully at me for a lift onto the sofa, and occasionally licks his knees as if they are bothering him.

But on the 23rd of this month, Clover will be 13 and a half. If you apply the x7 rule, that's nearly 95. I hope I am still leaping over creek beds when I'm 95.

At this point, the blog is going to start moving away from Clover's knee recovery and more toward general misadventures. I am still going to try to pull guest posts about various topics, and hope that you will continue to be entertained and enlightened.

The Rather Less Fuzzy Dog

Those who know me know I'm a really even person. Even under pressure, I'm focused and plan-oriented. That's 99% of the time.

The remaining 1%, something like this happens.

With two knee surgeries, Clover has spent the better part of a year looking half normal, half like a Lowchen or Portuguese Water dog. The first time, I was pretty patient in keeping him at the length I wanted and waiting for the hair to grow in. That was my plan this time, too.

Maybe it was the recent stress at work, or my lack of coffee that morning, or my I just didn't want to be reminded of my credit card debt every time I looked at my dog. But today, I picked up my clippers with the intent of taking a little bit off Clover as planned, and did a few strokes down his back with the direction of his hair. Then I though - well, eff it - and started cutting him against the grain with my 1/2" clipper combs. Tossed him in the tub, scissored his legs to the right length, and presto: the notably less fuzzy dog.

I admit, he looks a lot cuter than I thought he would. Hair grows back. He's not 100% even (you can still kind of see the spot on his left leg where he was shaved for the IV drip, and the hind leg you can see is the surgery leg, pretty short still), but, it's not massively noticeable anymore.

He's still fuzzy, though. You know... like a peach.

Guest Post: Luigi

Since Clover is doing too well to be interesting on a regular basis (for which I am thankful), I've invited a few people to guest post about their orthopedic problems with their dogs.

First up: Luigi!

This is a Jack Russell who has a mind-boggling 121 (yes, that's One Hundred Twenty One) titles in multiple disciplines, including several championships with many different organizations. That looks like this:

ADCH/APD/LAA-bronze, TACH-4, C-ATE/C-ATCh-5, ATCH, ARCH Luigi, SCh, AJD-silver, ASD-silver, AKD-silver, ARD, AGD-bronze, ATD-bronze, C-10, ExST/ChST, ExSN/ChSN, ExWC/ChWC, ExCL/ChCL, ExJP/ChJP, ExJU/ChJU, ExFH/ChFH, TMAG-9, TAM-8, RL1X2, RL2X, CW-AR, CW-Z1, CGC 2004 TDAA 12 inch national champion

Margaret thought Luigi's career was over when he blew his ACL (same injury as Clover), but she was delightfully wrong. Here's their story.

Luigi is a 9.5 year old Jack Russell Terrier of the puddin' variety. (That is JRT speak for short legs. In Luigi's case he has "Queen Anne" legs - inwardly turning/bent front legs.) He came into my life one day while driving down a country road. I literally bought him out of someone's barn. Now that he has gotten over his fear of the judge, we are also working on his CD. Basically we will try anything!

When he hurt his leg, Luigi was doing one of his favorite things - pushing a basketball around my back yard. After a while, he laid down next to the ball. I thought he was just tired and kept playing with the other dogs. After a few minutes he came limping towards me, holding up his back left leg.

I had seen ACL injuries before (a friend's whippet had recently had the same injury) and was almost certain immediately what had happened. I took him in and iced it down and called the vet in the morning. My first thought was one of irony. Just that weekend I had been joking with a friend that it was time for Luigi to retire from USDAA where he has to jump higher than in other venues. "After all," I told her, "I don't want him to tear an ACL on the agility course."

If I was correct in my diagnosis, I knew that there was no choice but surgery. To do nothing would leave him severely lame in that rear leg. My only question was to do a traditional repair (where they stablize the knee and allow the surrounding tissue to form a new structure) or a TPLO (where they radically alter the bone structure of the knee to produce a completely different joint structurally). And that is truly a layman's description of the two procedures. I had researched the options a few years earlier when my border collie was injured and have lots of friends who have gone both routes.

I talked with my vet and decided to go with a traditional surgery. One of my deciding factors was simply time. My vet had a surgery concellation that day and could do the surgery immediately. Having seen how quickly they can lose muscle tone and mass from non-use, I decided to take him up on the offer. Also, given Luigi's size (13 pounds 8 ounces) and the fact that he was in fantastic shape physically, he had a very good chance of recovering from a traditional surgery with full use of his knee. Plus, I had the option of a TPLO in the future if I wasn't satisfied with the results. I was headed to a trial that weekend and convinced my vet to let me take Luigi home almost immediately after the surgery.

The only time I second guessed myself was the next day when I had to remove the bandages from his leg. He was in so much pain. But the next day he was already crying in the x-pen becuase his brother and sister were getting to play agility and he wasn't. I knew then that the next 12 weeks were going to be miserable!

I was initially told that it would take 12 weeks to regain "normal" activity. Some how I doubted that Luigi's lifestyle constituted "normal". I knew that Luigi was not going to be happy retired and that I was going to have to help him regain use of the knee in order for him to be happy (and not drive me crazy). I immediately set about doing range of motion exercises and icing his knee several times a day. Within a week of surgery though, he wanted to jump, a cardinal sin of knee rehabilitation. After fighting with him for a short bit, I truthfully gave up and picked other battles to fight.

Since I could not get him to stop jumping, I set about helping him to strengthen his knee. We took walks up and down the incline of my driveway. (If you doubt how much this works your legs, try it. ) I also bought a children's swimming pool and set about teaching him to swim. I never realized that a dog could give such dirty looks!

I also started playing lots of tricks on him to get him to use his "bad" leg. We would put a lose hair tie on the good leg to get him to shift his weight. I would tap his front feet to get him to move backwards. I walked him through a ladder so that he had to think about placing each foot separately. Everything was designed to get him to use his leg since it was easier and faster to hop along on three feet. In the mean time I did tons of obedience with him. This not only used his leg, but also kept his mind engaged.

About ten weeks after his surgery I took him with me to agility class. My plan was simply to run him through a few tunnels. As soon as I took off his leash, he was off and over the aframe and jumping 16 inch jumps (which scared me to death since he only jumped 12 when he was at the height of his competition time and lately only jumps 4 inch "speed bumps"). He was sore that night, but the look of satisfaction on his face was worth it.

Thirteen weeks after his surgery I got the okay from the vet to start running him again in agility. The vet was amazed by his recovery. That weekend he ran one run each day which was enough to finish his CATCh-5 title in CPE. (VIDEO!!)

I've amassed a lot of titles and a lot of Q's with my dogs. Luigi though has taught me that it really is just a game and you do have to appreciate every run since you really never know when you will be done. I have had three "retirement" scares with Luigi. He broke a front leg in January 2006 (chasing that same basketball). In 2007 he had surgery for a sudden onset cataract. Then the recent ACL tear. Each time, I was convinced he would never play again. And each time he has proven that the spirit will overcome.

I think the biggest thing to remember is that an injury is not a career ender, but that you as the owner have to be dedicated to the rehab process to help your dog recover. It is a lot of time and effort (and expense) but these guys give us all that we ask. Don't they deserve the same in return?

Tried to Make me go to Rehab

I am happy to present the LONG AWAITED swimming photos that, despite the reasonable amount of swimming that has been done, my camera(s) tried to make impossible. Actually today I had some pictures taken with only part of the lens cover open (this is what prevented there from being any dog shows photos last weekend), and I snuck some in before the (brand new) battery decided to be low again.

But alas! We took a morning jaunt to the city park with its if not dog-friendly, then certainly dog-ambiguous beach. I live in the Ocean State, and there's really no shortage of tiny beaches along coves and bays and oceans.
Just beyond the wooden patio is a beautiful sandy beach, not rocky like many beaches in New England. It's a cove off a bay, so it's shallow, clear, and generally quite warm, which is perfect for this.

I wade in the water just past my knees, and Clover walks then swims along after me. He had enough leash to swim over to where he can stand and walk in shoulder-deep water - another excellent exercise for post-op recovery. Some rehab places actually have a treadmill they can flood up to this depth - the walking has higher resistance but the water still provides a buoyancy to take weight off the joint. But Clover seems to prefer walking on the sand or swimming.

He has a life jacket - back from when I used to have friends with boats - which is a great because he doesn't feel like he has to work harder to stay afloat. I have to put in a small plug for the Paws Aboard brand here, because this is a pretty awesome PFD. Very buoyant, nice handle, the bottom is mesh that drains well, and both the front/chest and bottom closures are heavy-duty Velcro plus strong plastic buckle closures (like most collars have). I can pick him up and carry him by the handle, it keeps his head above water, and it's as cheap-feeling as some of the other brands I looked at. He is a little too narrow in the front and I have to sort of cross the front flaps and then buckle, but that's a problem Clover has for every coat he's ever had, so I can't hold it against the company. He's also a lot more narrow than most Havs!

The life jacket is important because you don't want them to flail as they swim - especially early on, this can actually cause damage - but a nice, smooth doggy paddle. You want them to be moving those legs, working muscles and flexing joints, upping circulation, all those good things, but in a controlled, non-panicked manner. Even if your dog was a strong swimmer, remember they've lost fitness since they've injured themselves, and need to carefully rebuild it. Especially with a dog who is not used to swimming, start off in the water holding the dog, then once they're comfortable use the handle to guide them, and once they're comfortable you can swim or wade and they can follow along.

I'm at the beach probably 20-40 minutes in a stint, but he only swims in short bursts. I will walk about twenty feet along the shore, then walk in and let him stand on the shore for a bit. Swim back and go a littler further, then sit on the wooden deck for awhile and let him warm up in the sun for a bit. Then I'll repeat another time or two, depending on the day. He is never exhausted or panting, and that's how I want him to be - this is strength training and rehab, not cardio.

I pick him up out of the water (usually by his PFD handle!) carry him over the stand to my towel and into the car, so I don't have to rinse sand off of him. I'm lucky to have this beach about 10-15 minutes up the street from me, so this whole ordeal is maybe an hour, tops. If it's nice enough to swim, it's nice enough to let him towel/air dry; he can get a bath whenever I have time.

By far the best part of this excursion - he's happy, tired, and not limping when we're done.

Week 7, Graduation, the wrong Dr Weitzman

Clover has graduated to to being a quasi-real dog. This is, of course, exciting news. Please see exhibit one, Clover sitting happily outside the front door of a wonderful vet and surgeon he hopes to never need to see again.

I was slightly miffed that I got booked with the wrong Dr Weitzman at Acorn Animal Hospital last week - not the surgeon, but who I assume to be his pleasant, androgynous child. So I wrangled out of work early and drove for hours to just have a regular vet look at and approve Clover's knee. I didn't mind having another vet look at Clover's knee this time, as there was really nothing of note, I had no questions, and it's going strong - but I certainly would have loved to have driven 15 minutes to see Lindsey instead. I believe this was an honest mistake by the receptionist, and though annoyed, I certainly continue to hold the vet clinic in high esteem. I hope to never see them again only because I hope to never need a good canine surgeon again. Oiy.

To celebrate his new found freedom, Clover joined me on a trip to the Wachusett Kennel Club shows this weekend, where I was showing The Spazzy Dog for my friend Chelsea. Merci had no idea who I was for the first several hours (despite living with me for several months earlier this year), but we still managed two Best of Breeds in spite of her, um, antics/neurosis.

I was surprised and delighted at how well Clover's knee held up. I grant you, I was still carrying him up and down stairs, and he slept in his pen in the hotel room, and he spent a good portion of his day sleeping in his crate or hanging out on my lap. But, I was letting him walk around among the vendors (and he did his signature face dive into the first bin of toys he came across), around the rings, a bit outside - and even after two days on concrete, there was no limping. I can't even say the same for myself. He did slow down a bit, but dog shows are always extremely tiring anyway, for all parties involved. I am very pleased.

Meanwhile, I am trying to refill his Temeril allergy medications through an online pharmacy (Drs Fosters & Smith) as they charge nearly half as much per pill as my vet does. But oh, the hoops we are jumping through... more on that one later on. For now, Clover is taking strolls around the apartment complex, and if would get about 65 and stop raining, there will be swimming, too. And maybe, if my camera will cooperate - the much promised pictures.

Week 6 & the Great Cucumber Heist

Sorry for the extended hiatus. I had to move into Clover's new apartment (that is, my new apartment which is smaller and cheaper so as to accommodate Clover's need for ligament replacements), and as soon as I was, my computer was attacked by some pretty ugly virus that it took my techy computer brother to save. Hence: hiatus.

Clover will be visiting Dr Weitzman for his six-week check up this week - for the life of me, I'm not sure if it's tomorrow or Thursday, which is probably something I ought to investigate before tomorrow.

I have to say, he's doing really well still. He probably leveled off in the past week or so and stopped gaining massive ground, which had to happen sooner or later. On a leash, he is trotting out without any perceptible limp about 95% of the time. He'll stand up on his hind legs if I have food, or he wants attention; if he's in his pen, he's started hopping up and down in anticipation of getting out - something I am obviously not encouraging but the fact he's jumping is pretty ridiculous. And yes, he's still sneak diving onto the sofa, despite my ongoing efforts to avoid it. He does still float his leg a bit when standing - that is, has most of his weight on three legs but some on the fourth, and as his balance shifts the forth one comes up and down a little bit. Pretty normal, though he's been doing it a bit more while I try to keep the lid on him.

Another advantage is that this time it's easier to tell if the knee is swollen. The suture is string around the outside of the knee, and there are two posts to hold the suture. Because of this, his knee is a little bit wider than it is naturally. Last time, it was hard to tell what was swollen and what was just the now wider joint. This time, easy to tell. And I know how to check stability and, the thing is pretty darn stable. I hope the vet agrees.

Anyway, I will leave you with the story of the cucumber heist. I gardening friend of mine at work gifted me a home grown, moderately sized cucumber, which I put in my purse so I wouldn't forget. Got home, went to the gym, checked my email, and hopped in the shower. Got out of the bathroom and thought it smells like cucumbers out here. And then I see my over turned purse on the coffee table... and then I see my little dog, smug, lying on his bed, half-eaten cucumber poised between his paws like a bone. Sadly, the camera was not available, but imagine it and laugh. I certainly did. And yes, let him eat the rest of it.

Small Victories

So despite Clover's incessant bouncing, swimming, and sofa-surfing, there was one thing that eluded him:

The leg lift.

My masculine (10 pound, fuzzy) dog is an avid leg lifter. He's house broken beyond belief but outside, no vertical surface goes untouched.

I think the worst part of these whole will-be-year-long knee(s) ordeal, for Clover, is that he was forced to pee with four legs on the ground. Both injured and post-op, Clover would attempt to leg lift, only to have to quickly put down the other leg to steady himself. He would shoot an embarrassed look over his shoulder at me, then stare at the grass.

Every morning, or when I come home from work, it's been a ridiculous little game, where I am cheering for every second he manages to support his weight on his single, bald, hind leg. He's been getting closer and closer every day, but needed to put down the leg in the last few moments.

But today, my friends, my dog is again a man (albeit neutered): he made it through the entire, long, post-work pee while balanced on the knee that was reassembled only a few weeks ago.

Sometimes, it's the little things.

Day 24

So I give a shout out to my parents, who donated their not-perfect-but-better-than-mine spare camera for the continued good.

Excited, I took Clover swimming again this morning, new camera in hand, took one picture, and... the battery died. So you're limited to one teaser picture, and maybe some actual action shots next time.

This weekend's "oh crap" surprise is that Clover has decided to start jumping on the sofa again. After a few attempts at jumping up after he hurt his knee again - and he couldn't make it up - he started just looking at me and waiting again. But yesterday, he suddenly looked at me, at the sofa, and hopped up - and MADE IT instead of falling backward on his ass and looking embarrassed. Well, that was that, and now he is literally sneaking around trying to jump on the sofa. Last time, he could barely make it up at the six week mark when the surgeon tentatively OKed him to hop. Now - three weeks?

Again - it's great he has the strength to do this - but the possibility of stretching out the suture and ruining the surgery is still there. I mean, his knee is still really, really stable (once you know how, it's pretty easy to do a tibial thrust test), and he's still walking on it almost normally. My instincts are telling me that if he's off painkillers and is walking on it so normally, that the odds of him ruining it are much lower than last time, when he was still considerably limping and it was still not healed up and entirely stable. But, who wants to take that risk? We'll make it to the six week check up (sometime between August 15 - 20th) and go from there.

Consequently, Clover is now in the pen more than he was a week ago. And HATES IT. I'm also moving, so I am packing and there are boxes everywhere. So I spent all day putting stuff in boxes (hating it) with the dog whining in the background. Oh my goodness, there are no words for how annoying my day was.

It did result in this genuinely adorable photo of Clover, though. I lost track of him and panicked, but he had made his home in a box that had been flat but fell over between my dining room table and sofa. He does like sleeping under things; he will bury under the throw pillows on my sofa, and enjoys sleeping under beds. This only made sense, I suppose.

Day 23

I was slammed at work this week, so look for a real post tomorrow after I catch up on my sleep.

Until then, enjoy Clover at 5 months, and then at 13 years 4 months.

Day 17

Sadly, my camera has officially kicked the bucket. So I'm going to ask you to mentally photoshop the previous post's picture of Clover in his life jacket with this one from last March:

I will be honest, the actual result of taking Clover swimming was hysterical.

First, I imagined at 9:30 on a Saturday morning after it had down poured, I would be alone on the beach. Yeah, not so much, actually. There were several families there, along with a tent that was clearly set up for a wedding later in the day. Well, fine. Dogs are ok on the beach, and mine had a legit reason to be sporting a bright yellow PFD.

So I carried him out over the sand, got in just over knee deep, and put Clover down. Clover has gone swimming before, but I'm sure it's been at least two years.

He didn't quite remember.

First, he sort of splayed all four legs like a falling cat and sort of bobbed in the tide. I took the handle on the back of the PFD and started backing up, at which point he started frantically paddling with his front legs, leaving his hind legs sticking straight out behind him. I glanced behind me to make sure I wasn't walking into anything, then looked back and he was still swimming oddly. It wasn't until I picked him up I noticed I hadn't tightened the front chest strap enough, and he'd managed to thread on of his legs into it. As I went to fix it, he actually then put his other front leg into it, and sat pretty contentedly, just floating, his front feet resting on the chest strap of the life jacket. He was very proud of himself. That is, until the next ripple of a wave passed through and he nearly capsized. So I took him back to shore, tightened up his life jacket, and headed back into the water.

This time, I lead him gently by the handle and by his chin, and he got it down. If they flail, it's bad, but a nice, even, determined swim is a very good thing, as it's a full range of motion with absolutely no press/stress on the joint. So I sort of based up and down the shore (remember, I'm only in a bit over my knees) where Clover would either swim or just barely touch bottom and walk. Walking like this is also good for the same reasons, there is a lot less stress on the joint; many rehab facilities use swimming and water treadmills.

Anyway, I was at the beach for perhaps half an hour and Clover swam perhaps 10 or 15 minutes all together.

He slept so hard when we got home he was dreaming and whining on the sofa. I had to wake him up to take him outside, and he came back in and passed out. I had to wake him up to feed him dinner! Amazing. And even today, he's still pretty tired. I love it. This is exactly what we both needed.

I am currently thinking he can swim once a week for a few more weeks, until our six week follow up with the surgeon, and go from there. Really, by mid-September it will likely be too cold anymore, but we should have a pretty good start by then.

Day 13

Clover had his stitches removed yesterday. It went something like this:

Lindsey, my charming local vet, wanders in with the Vet Tech, who is pretty much there for show, since a vet could have done a knee surgery without a sedative and Clover would have remained stoic. Lindsey is the daughter of a nearby IG breeder I've known for some time from dog shows. She is young, pretty, wavy hair, but rumor has it that her love life has been somewhat affected by her honest answer to favorite part of being a vet: Neutering.

Lindsey: "Oh, look at that haircut. He looks like a Portuguese Water Dog instead of a Lowchen this time."

He does. The front leg is less shaved, and they've shaved from ribs, up his tail a bit, and down to his foot. She looks again at Clover standing on the table, head pressed into my hands, hoping if he doesn't move, she won't see him.

Lindsey: "Wow, he's weight on that all ready. How long has it been?"
Me: "Two weeks on Thursday."
Lindsey: "Really? Most dogs are just toe touching around now, that's great."

Lindsey finds her small, angled scissors from a drawer and starts snipping.

Lindsey: "Oh, that incision is really nicely healed. When did he have surgery again?"
Me: "July 8th."
Lindsey: "I'm impressed, Clover."

Lindsey brushes the black remains of sutures into the trash, puts down the scissors, and picks up Clover's knee, and tests the stability, then the range of motion, and furrows her brown.

Lindsey: "I'm sorry, when was the surgery?"

I should take a moment to mention Lindsey is not, in any way, dense. In fact, we have very intelligent discussions about things, and I have great faith in her.

Me: "Twelve days ago."
Lindsey: "I would be happy to see this level of healing, pain control, and range of motion on a four year old dog who was five weeks out of surgery. He's 13 isn't he? Twelve days? I guess bionic suits him."

I guess so. Hopefully the weather clears this week and we can start swimming soon. There's a nice dog friendly (if you don't bother anyone) beach up the road and the dog needs to burn some energy.


PS, I actually attribute his good health and fast healing in large part to his magic green powder. I started taking their spirulina and man, it really is a super food.

Day 10

Clover is doing pretty well. He's less out of his mind today for no apparent reason, but I'll take it.

While he was napping in the pack'n'play, I was going through my closets. I am moving next month to a smaller apartment (partly due to me $2500 dog), so I'm trying to get rid of some stuff. And since when I open my wallet bugs fly out, I'm trying to sell at least some of it.

Such as this awesome Agility Trial Day/Weekend Warrior bag set I put together (Clover Not Included).
This set includes a positively adorable, blue, padded, messenger-style bag. It has mesh pockets on the outside (outside is perfect for leashes and pick up bags). Inside has more mesh pockets (treats), and a waterproof zipper spot for two foldable soft water bowls (included). I'm also including a hand-made martingale style lead. This is a one piece lead/collar that slips over the head and then you can slide down a buckle for a tight, slip-proof fit (my friend who makes these has Italian Greyhounds and they are IG proof!). It's nice and wide for little throats, brown seude outside and a sassy leopard print inside. Leopard print goes against the throat, and the black webbing goes over the ears. It might not fit REALLY big Havs but it's a pretty good size, ask for a measurement if you're worried. Dogs won't really be too small for it because of how it adjusts. Also included is a cool-down mat that has thirsty crystals in it. Soak in cold water for 15-30 minutes and it stays damp and cool for 24+ hours. I'd roll it in a cooler with some ice packs, and Clover loved flopping down on it after a run. It's not big like a bed, just a little patch of coldness in the grass. And finally, two one-use pouches of Meyers oatmeal dog shampoo, perfect for when putting a dog that dirty in your car isn't an option.

I am asking $40 + shipping for this set but accepting bids.

I also have a larger, bed-sized cool down mat available. Asking $15 + shipping.All items are gently used but seem to be in good order. The smaller cool down mat seems to have one half of one 'tube' that doesn't fill up, but I couldn't find any evidence of a hole or leaking gel. I soaked both of them today and they seemed fine.

I have some other stuff on Craigslist... if you're interested in a corduroy messenger bag, cute Route 66 luggage, Red Sox '07 victory signs, let me know.

If you're interested in any of the stuff here, please leave a comment or email me Narwyn at Gmail dot Com

Day 9

Still waiting for those tranquilizers. I am debating a trip to the nearby amazing organic store for some melatonin, which I've used in the past as a reasonably effective chill pill for dogs. My only hesitation is that he's on so many other things right now. But to be fair, I both of his painkillers are "10 days then as needed." So I might start a slow taper tomorrow. I certainly don't want him to be in pain, but he seems to be a little bit too comfortable for how fragile his knee is right now. Hey, maybe if I don't give him the melatonin, I'll just take it.

In an effort to induce sanity, I put Clover in his bag and headed for a couple of pet stores today. Now, I feel that I should note that I'm generally not a proponent of the dog bag. Aside from the fact pets are not fashion accessories, even tiny dogs have legs and should use them. And like to use them. Also, taking your dog everywhere sets them up for some major separation anxiety when you cannot. However, there are some times having a slightly incognito and portable bag comes in handy. Perhaps the best example is visiting my brother in Boston. On a nice spring or fall day, Clover can walk around outside, and hop in the bag if we wander into a store or coffee shop. Most places that don't sell food don't mind a small dog who can't do any damage to their products. Also, many restaurants around town are happy to have a well-behaved dog at their patio seating, which makes for a nice lunch.

Anyway, today Clover got to ride around in Petco and Pet Supplies Plus. I admit, I felt the need to tell everyone he had knee surgery, and that the bag wasn't just for kicks. He likes being in the bag (I imagine it's like being carried) so he'll just sit or lie down and look around. I bought him a bone he's not that interested in eating (surprise, surprise) and a shampoo on sale. He got to sniff everything I picked up, got pet by several people, and generally got some much needed mental stimulation.

I have an appointment for his stitches to come out Tuesday evening, but I really think they could probably have come out yesterday with no ill effects. This photo's pretty bad because, well, so is my camera at this stage of its life. I should have taken a picture of day 1 for comparison, but as you can see, it looks like a pink scar with stitches through it more than a wound that needs to be stitched together. And he's got a tiny layer of fuzzy growing back, although as I learned, the hair will be six months in the making. It really does look like a chicken leg, doesn't it?

Day 6

.... and one of us needs a tranquilizer.

I don't know what it is, but he seems like he's weeks ahead of the last recovery. Maybe the absence of the cast? The extra fluids post-op? The lack of this being a novel experience?

Every day he is putting more and more weight on the leg, which is good. But every day he is more and more INSANE.

Yesterday, he came inside and grabbed a toy and started bouncing around, so I picked him up. He tried to push off my leg and yelped because, shockingly, trying to shove me into the next township so he can get the squeaky duck back in his mouth kind of hurt considering he's less than a week out from knee surgery. He would happily run around on however many legs he currently likes. This evening he was in is pen and when I brought his dinner over, and the dog had the audacity to try to raise himself onto two legs!

To give you a baseline, most vets are very please if a dog has started toe touching - and that is NOT limping along the leg, that is literally just starting to put its toes down for a few seconds at a time - two weeks post-op. Clover started toe touching the next day, and his now limping on that leg about 60-75% of the time. Limping, as they are comfortable with it, is a good thing, as it increases strength and circulation. But beyond a slow, light limp - bad.

Before you think this is great, Clover is doing so well, why is she so worried - let me explain.

Basically, Clover has a very slow-dissolving suture that I often refer to it as fishing wire strung around the outside of his knee to hold the upper leg and lower leg bones together to form an actual joint. This is what the CCL did before its vanishing act, except it strung under/through the joint (a technique that just doesn't work as well artificially and is rarely used anymore).The problem with too much activity to soon is that this suture can actually rupture or stretch. Obviously another rupture is bad news, but even a stretched out can lead to more knee instability that can, ultimately, make the surgery fail.

Clover, being not much of a chewer, is hard to entertain. Plus, even if he did, there's only so many more calories I can get in him without him gaining wait, which will only put more strain on the knee, also not a good thing.

I'm not anti-medication, per say, but I'm a big fan of keeping it pretty minimal, and using alternatives as possible and practical (my dog eats garlic instead of pouring a topical flea/tick pesticide down his back every month). But I am seriously thinking I might need some mild tranquilizer to get us through another week or two. Granted, the dog is on three medications that should be making him sleepy, so what else can you do? But having him wreck his knee won't do anyone any good.

Poor guy. I don't know who is more frustrated right now, my dog who whines all night because he doesn't want to be confined to a pen yet again, or me, who would really just like to get some sleep.

My camera seems to be broken again (it had a near death experience with Victoria Falls last April) so there are no recent pictures. So I present you with Vintage Clover, from his very first obedience trial EVER in 2001 (age 4). Clearly we had a good result - first place with a score of 196.4 out of 200. Fritz Clark of The Standard Image took the photo, if you're ever at dog shows in New England, he's a good guy and a very talented photographer.

Day 4

Clover has a long way to go, for sure. But his incision is all ready healing up, yesterday's toe touching is today's slight weight bearing, and last time's happy medicinal buzz is today's "NO YOU CAN NOT RUN I DONT CARE HOW WELL YOU CAN MOVE ON 3.25 LEGS."

I don't know who has lost more of their mind, my dog who is crazy bored, or me who is going crazy trying to stop him from being bored.

I am happy my dog is recovering so nicely from surgery. I am happy my dog is recovering so nicely from surgery. I am happy my dog is recovering so nicely from surgery. I am happy my dog is recovering so nicely from surgery. I am happy my dog is recovering so nicely from surgery. I am happy my dog is recovering so nicely from surgery. I am happy my dog is recovering so nicely from surgery. I am happy my dog is recovering so nicely from surgery. I am happy my dog is recovering so nicely from surgery. I am happy my dog is recovering so nicely from surgery. I am happy my dog is recovering so nicely from surgery.I am happy my dog is recovering so nicely from surgery.I am happy my dog is recovering so nicely from surgery.

Though that's better than the alternative. It's going to be a LONG 12 weeks.

No, you know what? Let's break this up into small increments. Seven more days and the battle of Kat vs. Clover vs. his stitches is over. Looking forward to that. Meanwhile, any good ideas of how to cover a stifle? He won't pull off anything (vet wrap, socks) but they all slide down because his leg tapers. Sigh.

I am happy my dog is recovering so nicely from surgery.

Day 3

So it was an eventful weekend - but not for Clover. My aunt scurried up from PA to breed her Havanese (the enchanting EllieMae, who I showed to her championship last year) to another handsome champion Havanese who is about an hour north of me. I had offered a long time ago to help her when the time came - and, I will admit, it would have been REALLY nice if they time hadn't come when my own dog was quite so post-op. But alas, such things happen, so I had my aunt and her two female dogs crash with me this weekend (my uncle and the male dogs crashed with my parents about 40 minutes north). This also included shuttling my aunt and her little girl around, assisting in the actual breeding, and providing a supply of Nature's Miracle and clean towels to her to clean up the pee spots from her other little girl dog. Anyway, we'll see in about a month if there are puppies on the way.

Clover has been a lot more with it in this post-op period. A bit odd, as it was the same doctor, same surgery, same medications, probably the same anesthetics... perhaps this time it's just not a novel experience. He was VERY happy to see my aunt and uncle, and the girls. Of course I had to keep them separated, as the knee repair is very fragile and will be for several weeks, but there was some quality tail-wagging through the ex-pen. There was also some growling when he was on the sofa with me and the puppy was trying to poke at him, but, that's reasonable.

He will lick at his stitches when he's bored (nothing a layer of vet wrap isn't fixing, at this point) and definitely sleeps a bit more than usual, but is otherwise happy and comfortable. He is mostly holding up his surgery leg, but even in the past day has start gingerly putting it down with a little bit when he stands. This is very good - many dogs won't bear ANY weight for weeks - they were impressed last time when he was doing so ten days out. Although you don't want to over stress the knee, some weight on it will enhance circulation and prevent excessive muscle loss, so it's good. Later there will be range of motion exercises (our favorite is repeated sit and stand to flex the joint and lightly weight bear), but for now, whatever he is comfortable with works for me.

Home Again

I am happy to report a surprisingly chipper Clover came home today! Last time he was extremely out of it as we left the vet, this time he hopped out and was wiggling and whining and happy to see me. He stared out the window through the crate door on the way home (ok, he's a little spacey) but when I put him in the pen when I got home, he happily hopped over and snatched his ball.

As you can see, no cast this time. The tech sort of shrugged and said there's not any proof they do better or worse without it (which I had also read). I admit, the cast was really cute last time, and I was kind of looking forward to it. The incision looks lovely and he's leaving it alone. He's barely toe-touching right now, but that's pretty expected. Last time he was putting pretty reasonable weight on the leg after about 10 days, which was much to the delight of the vet, so I'm going to try not to worry.

I moved the pack'n'play to near the sofa so he can hang out in it while I'm here. I admit - when my mother first said she picked up a soft sided baby holder for my dog, I judged a little bit. It proved to be a life saver though, not only for its portability, but because Clover seems to have no issue whatsoever hanging out in it while I'm around. He'll whine and want to come out of a wire expen if I'm around, but this thing is just fine with him. He'll also sleep in it at night. Of course, I don't leave him in it unsupervised - the wire pens are fine for that - but it's been a surprisingly big help.

In other news, Clover's BUN (kidney) levels were elevated. Granted, he's on a higher-protein diet (Wellness Core Oceanfish) because I've been trying to keep him off grain, but, not at the expense of his kidneys. So I'm exploring other food options. I am thinking that I might be able to get aware with a healthful grain food. Most grain-free are also very high-protein; Wellness Core is around 32%, but some hit 40%+, which is way too much for a toy breed. I think my first choice is going to be the Wellness Super5 Fish, which drops down to 22% protein. Also, Taste of the Wild's salmon recipe is similar at 25% protein, and grain free, but I will have to see if I can actually get that anywhere.

Clove is happily asleep now. I'm having some visitors this weekend but hopefully he can stay calm and I can, perhaps, finally take at least one deep breath. Many more to come.

PHEW

I handed over Clover to the capable hands of Dr. Weitzman at Acorn Animal Hospital around 8 this morning. I didn't cry this time (only slightly teared up) and managed to avoid a panic attack most of the day. It's nerve wracking to hand them over, because with surgery you just never really know what can happen, even in very capable hands.

Luckily, Clover made it through with just a few extra fluids. Despite his less intense limping, he apparently did just as much damage to his knee as he did the first time (which was pretty extensive). His CCL had torn so completely that it basically wasn't there anymore. Brave little dog to even try walking on such an unstable knee...

They keep him overnight and expect that he will be fine to come home tomorrow. As memory serves, he'll spend the weekend passed out, only waking to eat and medicate.

Here's a picture from the day I brought him home last time. Shaved, casted, and he was so cold he is wearing a hoodie and passed out in front of my space heater (it was December).

Wonder what color the cast will be this time?

T Minus One

So Clover is all set up and packed for the vet tomorrow.
The big expen is set up in the living room with every imaginable thickness, fabric, and type of bed imaginable (granted, the taller ones will be removed while he's gone tomorrow as a cast and tall bed don't really mix). Might as well keep the dog comfortable since for the next six weeks he'll be in there a good 23 hours a day.
The Pack n Play is set up in my bedroom for night time. If I ever randomly decide that I want children, at least I will bring some mad pack'n'play skills to the table. I can set it up and tear it down in 32 seconds flat.

I packed up tomorrow's dinner and Friday's breakfast (since he will stay overnight at the vet), the benadryl which I hope he can take post-op so he can continue breathing, radiographs, and slightly more detail list than they probably need. I'm not a list person, but the dog deserves a list.

I watched him hop around tonight and wondered, again, if I am doing the right thing. This knee seems so much better - he gets around on it so much better a lot of the time. But then he has a slow, deep limp, too. Since the last knee was pretty much obliterated, the fact this one hurts less doesn't really meal a whole lot.

Part of the list was telling the vet that if he doubted the surgery to call me and talk. I somehow don't think that will be the case. Wish us luck.

T-Minus Two

Welcome back after the holiday weekend. It was good overall. Clover hung out with his grandparents in Massachusetts while I hopped a ferry to Block Island and rode mopeds, drank on the beach, and was as otherwise irresponsible as someone who briefly shed their firstborn generally is.

Before leaving the grandparents' digs, Clover also got is pre-surgery bath & sheering. He can't get bathed until stitches are out and even at that, his knee isn't really stable enough for at least two months for me to feel comfortable thinking about standing him on a quasi-slippery surface. It's also hard to ask him to flip around and get thoroughly brushed out. So, he gets a bath and short hair. He'll keep the short hair for awhile as the bald leg grows out.

Actually, this hair cut should have been somewhat monumental because it was the first time I would have truly trimmed the hair from the surgery leg - the last hair cut was the monumental evening out thereof. Life's always a little more complicated than we hope I suppose.

Also, the NotFuzzy dog went home on Saturday. I admit, it was sad. Merci was an Italian Greyhound from Chelsea who I was showing and had the added benefit of keeping Clover company. Unfortuantely, she really had to go home. Aside from being spring-loaded therefore a potential healing-knee-hazard, Merci was a very active dog, and keeping one dog exercised and the other rested would be a nightmare for all parties involved. This is a distinct advantage of a borrowed dog versus having another permanent addition. It was going to get hard, so Merci went home.

Also, like most IGs, she had a great desire to sleep on warm, fuzzy things. Of course, the warmest, fuzziest thing in my house was Clover. He didn't really mind being climbed over and slept on (as long she didn't scratch and dig to fluff him up more), but as soon as the knee got hurt, he just wanted no part of it. Can't blame the guy. It was pretty freaking cute though.

So the next day is devoted to cleaning up and setting up. Clover will have a big ex-pen in the living room where he will spend the majority of his time. I will also set up the Pack N Play in my bedroom for night time. Pictures tomorrow. Then Clover will get dropped off at 8 am Thursday for surgery day. The surgeon hasn't seen him or his radiographs yet, and some part of me hopes he calls and says surgery won't be needed, but I can see and my vet can see that that's a pretty unlikely scenario. Oh well.

All Drugged Up & No Where to Go

My friend Chelsea of Raindance IGs (and the real owner of my current non-fuzzy dog) said something very wise: that vets should be able to distribute some human medications.

"OK, here is Clover's Tramadol and Metacam, and here is your Zoloft."

Brilliant, right? I think so.

While I'm not on any anti-anxiety medications, Clover is on an array of pills.

After a bought of allergic bronchitis that made him lose 2.5 pounds (a lot when you only weight 11 or so to begin with) because he couldn't keep down food, Clover spends most of the year on various doses of Temeril-P. The OTC antihistamine was just not cutting it anymore in a very real way.

As twitchy as it makes me that he's on prednisone long term, a few things make me feel better about it. One, it's on as-needed dosing. There were two weeks this spring he was on it daily; in the middle of winter, it's once a week, if that. It's a max of 2mg of prednisone a day for him, which is a fairly low dose. Three, as my vet said, long-term pred use for a 12 year old dog is a different thing than a 2 year old dog. So, I still certainly get twitchy (and remember my experience with high doses of pred during the Swine Flu Incident of 2009), but this is clearly the lesser among evils - better than him starving to death or having his throat close up.

Incidentally, anyone who knows my lovely little dog in person knows he has an endearing pig-like snort. Well, turns out that part of it is his soft palate, but most of it was his inflamed respiratory system from his wicked pollen allergies. So he still sounds a little bit like a pig, but not nearly like he used to.

Of course, with the knee, there are more medications and more considerations.

First is Tramadol. A pain killer that is approved for longer-term control of chronic pain. Clover definitely gets a little drowsy from this (which is fine when he's supposed to be staying off his knee anyway), but doesn't seem to have any of the other side affects. It works well for him.

Clove is trading the Temeril for Metacam. Although both are technically anti-inflammatory medications, the Temeril is steroid, and Metacam is non-steroidal. It's just a matter of which is the best medication for the issue, and in general, Metacam is prescribed for joint problems. He won't start this until he's post-op, but a minimum of 7 days for the Temeril to get out of his system is best, so he's all ready had his last dose of Temeril for awhile.

And Clove will also be on his OTC antihistamine as needed. Luckily this doesn't make him too sleepy (impressive, since those little pink pills knock me out for 16+ hours), but combined with the Tramadol, he will probably be quite sleepy. I'm trying to keep the dose minimal, but obviously breathing is important. Luckily, Clover's allergies are worst in the spring, so he's past the worst of it for the year. If had had done this a month ago it would have likely resulted in a delayed surgery until he could really got off the Temeril, because open tracheas are generally more important than stable knees.

Of course, as we get further past surgery, all of the medications will lower the dose. The surgery is extremely fragile for several weeks after the fix. Although it's very important that the surgery and after pain is controlled, after a few weeks, you don't really want them to be 100% pain free. If they are, they will often over-extend themselves and can do damage to the knee. It's good for them to think, gee, that knee is a little sore... maybe I'll settle for an aggressive trot.

We've got a long way to go before that one, though. And despite the wonders of modern medicine, I feel that the biggest impact on Clover's health is his diet and supplements. Look for those in a future post!

Depending on the surgery and the dog, some vets prescribe other medications. The information provided in this blog is informational only, not intended to recommend, diagnose, or treat any condition or disease. You should always discuss your pet's medications with your licensed veterinarian.

Half way there

I would like to thank the contributors to the Bionic Havanese Fund. Big or small, the donations have been marvelous and helpful and I am having fewer panic attacks now than I was earlier this week. I appreciate it, and so do my co-workers.

To that end I am apparently not as paypal literate as I believed (I thought putting the donate button this page was badass, to give you a gauge) and I promise that the pending donations are going to be officially accepted/finalized early next week.

THANK YOU.

Clover finally seems to have enough painkiller in his system to be reasonably comfortable, which is a relief. A future post will discuss medications in more depth. But it's late, I went to a picnic, and I need to go to bed.

So I'll leave you with this charming picture, which was taken right after Clover's first cast was removed. It is his best Lowchen-with-battlescar impression.

Smells Like Desperation

Now, in general, Clover is not a chewer. Aside from one incident with a corner of a baby doll cradle he was sleeping in as a puppy (this was his choice, by the way, not mine), he never really chewed much of anything. Some dogs are delighted to hunker down with a good nylabone, a hunk of slightly bacon flavored plastic, or a sterilized, hollowed-out cow bone. Heck, I know a dog who tore the handle off the fridge once. But not my fuzzy.

As you might have guessed by the knee injuries, he's a runner. Agility trials? Check. Top speed after a squeaky ball? Check. Even better, screaming after a pack of squirrels (seriously, this happened, there were like 14 of them, I swear his eyes went wide and he quivered for a moment before the charge) - check.

Hanging out in an expen, or on my sofa, or anything that does not require constant motion? Major uncheck my friends.

So what does one do to entertain a dog who likes to play the consummate Havanese game, "RUNLIKEHELL", but is physically unable?

Spend a lot of money on junkie rawhidey things in massive efforts of desperate bribery.

Yes, ladies and gentleman, if I were a human parent, my children would spend at least some (though I hope small) part of their childhood planted in front of the TV (though I hope educational programming) because I was at the end of the rope, no longer able to entertain or deflect them AND retain my sanity.

So Clover gets chicken-wrapped raw hides, bones that still have tendons smoked on them (ew), and Kong toys stuffed with peanut butter - or lately, my most recent failure of trying to find a reasonable non-dairy cream cheese. Not too many, of course, because getting fat would put unnecessary stress on his knee joint.

But dear god, I'm glad I can get him to chew on SOMETHING. Because at the end of the day, no one wins if one's caretaker goes certifiable.

Doubt

I scheduled Clover's surgery today. July 8th. My unwavering certainty that I was making the right decision has wavered.

Sure, he recovered well last time, considering what he went through. Should I really be putting him through that again? I take his picture and see how cloudy his eyes are. I call him and see how loud my voice has to get before he hears me. He'll be almost 14 by the time he's got two knees again.

But then, he hurt his knees both times because he was running around like (or with) a much, much younger dog. He doesn't seem to mind the eyes, or the ears, or much of anything else, as long as he's getting fed and has a toy and has me.

I'm afraid something could go wrong, or in six months something will go wrong. But my only other humane option is to put him down. Then I'd just spend forever wonder if he would have lived to be 15 or 18 or how long, happy with his bionic knees and without much vision. I guess at that point, I'd rather we went down swinging. I can't plan for things to go wrong; just hope - a lot - for them to go right.

I guess when it comes down to it, I'd pay another $1300 for another good year. And I guess I wouldn't be able to live with myself if, based on the facts of the past, I gave up while the odds seem in his favor.

That doesn't mean I won't doubt my choice, though.

Jail House Rock

Probably the most stressful part of this ordeal - for me certainly and I imagine for Clover as well - is how much time he has to spend staying still.

Pre-Op, any additional damage to the knee means additional arthritis. Post-Op, too much strain on the knee can make the surgery totally fail. Some movement to build back muscle is good, but it needs to be slow and controlled. So, staying off the knee is a crucial part of the cruciate repair.

I have no idea how people would go through this process without the use of a good exercise pen. They're available at places like Petco or PetEdge in various sizes and heights. They let your dog hang out in a room with you without being on a leash or in your arms. It also gives them some room to stretch out when you're not home.

Frankly, I use them a lot anyway as an alternative to a crate or a free-range dog. In the pic you can see there are two next to each other, one for Clover, and one for my temporary non-fuzzy dog. She sleeps in that orange bucket. It's weird, but, she is a whole other post.

Last time, with all the time I spent carrying around becasted or otherwise immobile Clover, I experienced a sexy boost in upper arm strength and definition. However, I also developed mild tendinitis in my elbows. So I placed the ex-pen where he could see my living room and kitchen and he was reasonably happy there.

Luckily I never really stopped this, and when he hears the cookie container, he'll hop right into his pen and happily settle down when he's there. He's content with it and my life's a little easier as well.

Crap.

To be fair, I knew it the moment he did it. I guess it's that slightly jaded been-there-done-that sort of mentality. It was nearly seven months after Clover had his first Cranial Cruciate Ligament (CCL) repaired, I was in my vet's office, looking at this:

CCL in dogs is essentially the ACL in humans. Think Tom Brady: run, twist, fall to the ground in pain. If you look at the right side of the image, he's got a lovely knee joint that is clearly connected. That knee had a repair in December of 2009. The left side of the image (appropriately entitled "ouch") shows the knee that is lacking one of the ligaments that connects the femur to the tibia, and is significantly swollen, making quite a space between these two bones.

The easiest way to tell if this ligament is damaged is a "drawer sign" - that is, if you place your hand on a healthy knee joint and try to slide the bone around, nothing happens. The knee will flex at the joint, but outside that motion, it's still. When one of the criss-cross cruciate ligaments is gone, you can literally slide the tibia forward like you can pull out a drawer. When it's bad, it's obvious to anyone that a knee just really shouldn't do that.

As I learned last time, for smaller, older, and or less active dogs, an aggressive bought of rest followed by some careful rehabilitation can successfully treat a partially torn CCL. Clover is smaller, and older, and, well - less active than he used to be, I guess. He was top-speed chasing around my aunt's one year old Havanese when it happened the first time. In all fairness - she is pretty cute. The second time, he was running hard into the house after an especially satisfying leg lift on a nearby tree.

Sadly, Clover does not do things by halves. The first CCL was totally ruptured, and his cartilage was twisted all around as well. In the words of the surgeon "pretty good mess." Sadly, with any CCL injury - whether treated by surgery or rest - there is a relatively high chance that the extra weight on the other leg makes the other CCL tear at some point.

So when I looked at round 2 radiographs and saw the drawer sign that is so similar to round 1, I sighed and called the surgeon.

You'd think a dog named Clover would be lucky.

But then, maybe he is, because I'm dishing out for bionic knee #2 in a seven month span.

I hope they take Discover card.