If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Our Injured Pom
Friday night, our 9 - 10 YO red Pom fell down the stairs and dislocated
her back left hip. We adopted her 2 years ago with an already injured knee in the same leg which she sometime favors by walking on just three legs. We brought her to our vet who X-Rayed, sedated and tried to put her joint back in place but it just wouldn't stay. She gave us several options: 1. Let the inflamation go down and try again in a week. We are reluctant because we don't know how successful this would be. 2. Open reduction - surgery to replace her hip in it's socket which we were told would cost around 3 -4 $ thousand. We can't afford that and aren't sure it would help that much considering the knee on that leg is damaged (a tendon is out of place and her cartelidge is wearing down - we were told this is common in older Poms). 3. Amputation, which we were told would cost around $1,000.00, which we also cannot afford. We were led to beleive it would be successful and that she could adapt, and we'd be willing to accomdate her compromised lifestyle but we have already spent a lot for her care and that's just too much. 4. Do nothing and hope she adapts. The vet said she might deal with this okay, and it seems like it would almost be the same as an amputation, assuming she isn't in pain. She would be living with three good legs. We were told to monitor her and evaluate her ourselves before we make any decision. She seems to be doing okay, and getting around. This AM after falling over the first time, she did the "Pom Poop Thumper Dance" and compensated for her bad leg. We will not know truly how she adapts for some time. Under my vet's advice, yesterday I spoke with a local pom shelter to see what they thought. He told me a number of reassuring things but most importantly, stressed that amputation is NOT an option. Even if she favors the leg, or stops using it, she still needs it for balance. He assured me that even if we did nothing, there's an excellent chance her hip will go back in on it's own. Also, he's confident it can be put back in when the swelling goes down. He also assured me that despite the health of her leg, the breed is much tougher than they look, and she will adapt. I am writing this for three reasons: 1. Are any of you familiar with the breed or small dogs with dislocated hips? Do these options make sense? Should we get a second opinion? 2. Are there any other small dog/Pom specialists around (we are in Wolcott CT) we could consult with? 3. Do you know of anyone in Southern NE who will help us financially? Or at least be willing to do a free/low cost evaluation? We are committed to our loving pet, and might consider some of these expensive procedures if they were not as much and we were convinced they would increase the qulaity of our friend's life. We are led to belive she is near the end of her life expectancy. We love her dearly as we do our Aussie and two cats. It it very difficult to put a price tag on our loved one, but we recently spent over $1,500.00 on a cat who had a bladder blockage due to crystals, and ultimately had to put him down on Thanksgiving morning. My wife is a recent Breast Cancer survivor and is very upset over the prospect of two of our family going through this so quickly. Our Pom's name is "JD". She's a tough old lady, but quiet and stoic so we can't tell how much pain she is in. We don't want to prolong her agony and we want to do what its best for her, but need some guidance as to exactly what that may be. And for the record, we have NOT considered euthanasia. We already have an offer from the shelter to foster/adopt her before it comes to that. Thanks |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Injured Dog Limps Into ER, Lies Down In Waiting Area For Help! | Handsome Jack Morrison | Dog behavior | 0 | October 7th 06 12:42 AM |
My dog injured her foot, questions | Rick | Dog health | 4 | July 24th 05 09:51 PM |
Injured leg question | Kayla | Dog behavior | 8 | May 30th 05 03:30 AM |
problem with getting my dog up the stairs solved, finally ( or. how to get a huge, high strung injured dog up the stairs) | [email protected] | Dog health | 0 | April 17th 05 07:12 AM |
Injured By Dogs???? | traceroute | Dog behavior | 17 | January 5th 05 12:20 AM |