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Terrible news from the vet on Pooh Bear


JackieMaya

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Pooh Bear has horrible hips. He DEFINITELY has hip dysplasia; severe in the left hip and mild in the right hip. I saw the x-rays and it was very obvious.

So I have four options:

1. chronic meds for life with yearly blood tests for liver safety at approx. $50 per month.

2. Surgery (best option): triple pelvic osteotomy to put left hip in socket. $2,000. This would have to be done within the next few weeks or he would be too old for it to heal.

3. Surgery: femoral head arthroplasty - removal of hip socket approx. $2,000. This can be done at a later time.

4. Surgery: Total hip replacement for approx. $4,000.

I'm trying to type through tears because I just don't know what to do. My medical weight loss program that I'm starting this week is going to cost $3,000. I'm hoping insurance will cover some of it but I don't know yet. And THAT is a necessity or I might as well be dead.

I'll post more later. I need a smoke.

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Wow that really sucks JM :-(

Don't you get 3 months of free pet insurance when you adopt a dog usually? I know dogs on Petfinder are supposed to be covered... It might be something to check into. Scott got it when he adopted his cat.

If you did the surgery now, could your vet take payments?

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There is a vet in London ON that has been tracking his own experiences with dogs with HD in his practice. He has made some interesting, unofficial, observations. The dogs with HD he has seen and have not procedures performed but instead have recieved glucosamine and chondroitin ($25/month for a 75 lb dog) have shown marked improvement in their symptoms after or around 18 months. This improvement lasts until the dog is a senior or early senior dog (6 to 9 years depending on breed.) The problem is that not ALL dogs show this improvement.

I know this is a tough decision. I know you will do what you think is best for Pooh. I would discuss all aspects of each option with your vet in detail. Ask what is involved in post op recovery for each operation.

HD sucks but it is manageble. People suffer with similar ailments and live mostly happy, normal lives.

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Well, there is SOME good news. I got a phone message from Pooh Bear's foster mom after she received my email telling her of his results at the vet. She said that she wants to talk to me about what I want to do, and she said that they WILL pay for whatever I decide to do! I'm at work now and don't have the time to devote to a phone call to her, but I'll talk with her tomorrow.

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Bad news and good news kinda. Well I hate to hear about poor Pooh Bear, but things come and we deal with them. Poor baby, I sure feel bad for him. Everything will work out and you will do all you can I am sure. Good Luck and good thoughts to Pooh Bear.

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I'm taking Pooh Bear to the vet that the rescue shelter I adopted him from uses on Friday at 3:30 so that they can look at his x-rays and records and do their hip exam on him. Then I assume we'll be scheduling his TPO surgery for sometime within the next month. And the rescue shelter has a lot of people who have gone through the TPO surgery and aftercare who will give me lots of advice and recommendations for his recuperation. And the vet clinic there has done lots of TPO surgeries for the shelter.

Pooh Bear's former foster mom said that one of the best exercises during his aftercare is swimming, and I live 4 houses from a lake. That'll be good exercise for me too during my diet! So that'll kill two birds with one stone!

So things are looking up for my boy. The next few months will be hard on him I'm sure, both physically and mentally (not being able to romp with the girls), but it'll give him a happy, healthy pain-free life.

I'll let all y'all know (said in my best fake Texas accent) what their vet says on Friday.

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I talked with Pooh Bear's former foster mom today, and she said that she's SOOO glad that I adopted him because if they had to do surgery when he was still in foster care, it would be another couple of months before he would be able to be adopted. And she said she could tell from the pictures that I sent her that the three kids are getting along as if they've grown up together. She said she assumed that I still wanted to keep Pooh Bear, and I told her that returning him was NEVER a consideration. He's my boy for the rest of his life!

I'll probably end up using a ton of vacation time during his recuperation. I'll probably work half-days for a while after his surgery so that I can take care of him.

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