Tobey Update!

Tobey had his surgery last week. After a month of deliberation Hugh and I decided to go with the FHO procedure. This is where the surgeon removes a small portion of the bone from the top of the femur. Essentially, this removes the bone-on-bone problem and allows him relief from the pain. Tobey went in last Tuesday and he was able to come home late Wednesday. I have to say that I drove 30mph the entire way home from the vet with him. I was scared to death that I was going to cause him unnecessary pain. He’s got a 6 inch scar and a shaved hind-quarter. We go back in two weeks to get the stitches removed.

He’s doing very well. He moves quickly on three legs and is starting to slowly but surely use his “bad” leg. We were told to expect this for several weeks, but it still has me worried. He seems to forget that he’s recovering and attempts to do things like jump on our bed. (He managed to get up, got upset and then I had to pick him up and put him back on the floor)Hugh’s mom brought him and Cassie each a new doggie blanket and Tobey loves his. He’s been sleeping on it every night since she brought it over.

He’s getting better every day, and I’m looking forward to the day that he’s using his back legs at 100%.

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.

Dog Models Part 2

On Christmas Day Hugh and I decided once again to try and get the dogs to take a picture. We tried to take them with just the dogs and then with both of us. This time, we had a photographer so we figured we’d get some better pictures.

Not so much.

See below.

We love our doggies!