Tobey, Tobey, Tobey...

For the past 6-8 months Hugh and I have noticed that our male dog, Tobey, has been moving a bit slower than usual. When he runs he’s been keeping his back legs together. When he lies down on the ground; he does it in a sideways manner. Tobey turns 6 this coming March, so we decided to take him to the vet to see if there might be a problem with his hips.

Tobey- using my pregnancy pillow as a bed.

The vet kept Tobey for a day and did x-rays. Let me give you the gist of the conversation I had with our veterinarian.

Vet: “We did the x-rays and Tobey’s hips are both completely dysplastic.”

Jenn: “When you say dysplastic, is that the same thing as Hip Dysplasia?”

Vet: “Yes. Typically the hip joint is supposed to be round a smooth but Tobey’s are both octagonal shaped.”

The conversation went on from there, but I was shocked. Shocked beyond belief. The vet went on to say that this is a surgical case, not medical meaning that Tobey will need to have surgery to “fix” the situation. If a dog just has arthritis or is only slightly dysplastic then there are medications that can help them feel better. I picked Tobey up that day and left with a prescription for 14 days worth of arthritis medication. A fourteen day supply cost $34! He takes one a day, and it’s supposed to help with the pain and inflammation.

Our local veterinarian does a surgery called an FHO which is a procedure where they go in and actually remove the top of the femur. The dog’s muscles are supposed to scar and grow around the remaining bone and provide them with enough support for their legs to function. The other option would be to have a total hip replacement.

Hugh and I are going to meet with our regular vet to get his thoughts on the different surgeries and then we’re planning to take Tobey to the Texas A&M Veterinary Clinic to get a second opinion. I called the vet clinic today and they gave me a generalized estimate for the hip replacement surgery: $3,700…for one hip. They typically do one hip and after the healing process they replace the other one. HOLY CRAP MONKEYS!!! That’s some serious money. We’ve got a baby on the way and I can’t say that we were planning on spending that kind of money on the dog. Bye-bye babymoon!

In all seriousness, I can say that Hugh and I will do whatever we think it best for Tobey. We love our dogs and consider them to be members of the family. I’ll post updates on how the visits go and what we ultimately decide is the best decision.