• If you're a past member of the board, but can't recall your password any more, you don't need to set up a new account (unless you wish to). As long as you recall your old login name, you can log in with that user name then select 'forgot password' and the board will email you at your registration email, to let you reset your password.

Daisy Boo's Luxating Patella

joanna

Well-known member
I was hoping to have some good news on this but unfortunately I don't. I brought Daisy Boo to UCD and the vet examined her leg and said that the grade on the luxating Patella was veering towards a three. He wanted to keep her in to do some x-rays so I agreed. Anyway, that was all done yesterday and he called me last night. Basically it is a three but a lot more damage has been done. Forgive the next few lines because I didn't quite catch his full terminology but they are going to have to operate on her leg for the luxating patella as well some tendons that have gone out of place. Also, because of all this she has some bowing in her thigh which he is going to leave for now as fixing everything else will hopefully correct this.
I actually cannot believe there is so much damage! She never jumps up on the couch or anything while she will jump off. She goes up stairs but has never come down them. Maybe this is the reason. She has no problems walking or running and I honestly didn't think she was in any pain but obviously she was and just didn't complain.
Needless to say my heart is broken and I've spent quite a bit of time crying, I never thought I would become so attached to these dogs. My husband is equally upset and Twinkle is lost without her big sis as she has never been alone.
The good thing is that it is being fixed and hopefully I will have her back before the end of the weekend.
Wish my baby luck everyone please.
PC250046.jpg
 
i'm so sorry you got this bad news and daisy boo has to go through all that surgery. i bet they're the best surgeons and it will really help her. what an ordeal to go through--when they don't complain or act like they're hurting, it takes a whole big medical work up to find out what's happening to them. what a brave girl she is. i hope she will be home soon.
 
Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that this was so bad. Don't blame yourself; she wasn't showing any signs of real difficulty so it would have seemed she had a very low grade of luxation to the outward eye. The surgery is very common and has a very good success rate so I am sure she will be fine. Let us know how she is when you collect her. If you need a larger crate to keep her in let me know -- I have a very large Argos wire crate you can use. Usually you need to give a lot of crate rest initially.
 
Joanna, sending you lots of love and best wishes that she is okay - poor little lady.... :flwr:
 
Thanks Karlin, I may ask to borrow that after we go back to work. Between us we are off all next week to look after her. However the following week they will be alone for a few hours so I will need to isolate her from Twinkle while we are out.

Thanks for the good wishes everyone.
 
They will likely want total crate rest for a couple of weeks. Cathy knows all about this and I am sure she will post and advise. But you will really need to have her confined at all times I think except for very careful supervied activity-- that is the usual recovery plan. I don't know if the surgeon went through this yet but it is quite an intensive aftercare programme. The hardest thing is keeping her confined when she will want to play so a large crate or X-pen is really important for keeping her activity levels low. She shouldn't be playing with Twinkle at all.
 
I found the team out in UCD to be fantastic when Zola had her's done. They were very sensitive to our needs as well as the technical aspects of the surgery. Zola is now well on the road to recovery and almost fully back to normal (she had to have the tendons in her right leg re-aligned as well as the patella surgery).
Best of luck and think positvely.
 
Hi Joanna, Poor Daisy Boo. I'll be thinking of her for you.
If there's anything I can do let me know. I could take Twinkle off you for a day or two to play with her sister if that would help. let me know how you get on.
Yvonne
 
I'm sorry to hear this, and please don't blame yourself--how were you to know if she wasn't showing any signs for so long? She's in good hands, she's getting the right care, and I'm sure she'll come out ahead. :flwr:
 
Joanna - sorry to hear your news on Daisy Boo. Don't blame yourself...you couldn't have know. It's just amazing how resilient these little dogs are! That's the reason I had Jake's teeth done yesterday. The dentist said that they may be in pain or discomfort but unless it's really intense you won't know it. They don't "tell you" that something hurts unless it's acute pain.

I'm sure she'll be fine after the surgery and it's good that you are going to go ahead and get it done before she has any further damage to her knee. The hardest part for us was keeping Shelby confined for 8 weeks. But, she was a little trooper. She got very comfortable about going into her x-pen. It was a permanent fixture in our family room for 4 months (2 times surgery). We put a couple of toys and a little bed in there and she was very content. Any time we could we put her up on our lap. We kept a leash on her so we could keep her on the couch without the chance of her jumping down...say, when the door bell rang!

Jake would oftentimes go lay on the floor just outside her pen to keep her company. Sometimes we put him inside the pen with her and he would lay in there and chew on a toy. It was small enough that they couldn't romp.

Shelby goes back to her surgeon on Tuesday to see what, if anything, can be done about her surgery not holding. It was done a year and a half ago. I don't think we have any options other than joint supplements.

Keep us posted and know that she will be fine. It's like anything else...once it's over you forget how much work it was!! But, I can't stress enough, don't let her get active after the surgery until she's cleared by the surgeon. I hear so many times of dogs jumping around within 2 weeks of the surgery and I was told that was the worst possible thing they could do. We were able to take her for short walks and we did that whenever we could to help get rid of pent up energy.
 
Hi everyone,
I wasn't online yesterday so only saw everything just now. Thanks for all the good wishes.
Daisy Boo had her surgery yesterday and they told me it went very well. He is going to change the dressings tomorrow and depending on how it looks I either get her back tomorrow or Sunday.

Karlin, I'll PM you about the crate and if you are available come to pick it up.

Yvonne, thank you so much for your kind offer. I'll PM you during the week and maybe arrange a visit for the following week if it suits you. I'm really curious to see if Holly and Twinkle remember each other :D

We're just looking forward to getting her home now. They tell me she's eating ok and is in good form which is amazing because she never eats for me!

I'll update you all as soon as I get her home.

Thanks everybody for all the support, it really means a lot to us. I'm so glad to have found this community.

Have a great weekend,
Joanna :l*v:
 
That's great news! I am sure she will do really well. Yes, they often eat surprisingly well when they haven't prepared the person for manipulation earlier... :lol: :lol:

You can get the crate any time. If I am heading in your direction I'll also let you know.
 
So pleased to hear that Daisy Boo came through the surgery well. Best of luck for when she comes home. I'm sure she will be fine.
I can remember when our boy had his knee done- I'm talking a long time ago now-(he was one when he had it done and lived till he was 13 and got his wings 31/2 years ago)-I thought that he would never walk properly again when he came home but within weeks you never have known that he had had it done. try not to worry tooooo much (I know that is hard though)
Julie and the girls
 
HI all,
We got Daisy Boo home yesterday and she's doing well. We are crate resting her most of the time and so far it has worked out well. We bring her out for a few minutes on the lead to go to the toilet and besides cuddles on the couch she is back in the crate. She is being so good and quiet and we are just happy to have her home. The weather is a pain in the backside though - she hates the rain at normal times and it was so hard yesterday, I've never been so relieved to see a dog pee. Everytime I brought her out she just wanted back in!

It's hard to see her shaved too - it would break your heart. I hope her coat grows back quickly. The wound is quite small compared to the area they shaved. I'll post some photos tomorrow.

Thanks for all the support,
Joanna
 
i'm so glad you got her back home. i know what you mean about the rain. it's raining here too and zack won't go out. i put wee wee pads everywhere.
good luck with that. icon_welcome welcome home daisy boo!! :dgwlk: :xfngr:
 
I totally know what you mean about her being shaved. This is the link to Rod's website with a picture of Shelby. http://www.cavalierhealth.org/patellas.htm

I cried when they brought her out to me...she looked so pathetic. But that girl is a trooper. She was such a good girl. I guess we were blessed with very little rain for that period :)
 
Cathy T said:
...I cried when they brought her out to me...she looked so pathetic. But that girl is a trooper. She was such a good girl. I guess we were blessed with very little rain for that period :)

Aw. i've seen this photo before, but its impact is just as strong as the first time. How sad, yet she still looks so beautiful somehow. Having her photo made in her little pink cast and her heroic looking cone collar, and her beautiful coat, what's left of it, it's a poignant and sweet photo. How long ago was the surgery?
 
Joanna i am sending the best of wishes to you Daisy Boo and the rest of your family. I have everything crossed and hope for the very best. Please keep us informed.
 
Back
Top