Traildog down

“Traildog Angie will not be with me on trips for a while. Being the lazy bum that I am I let her out the other morning and she got wacked by a car. Both hips were broke along with other injuries. It will be months before she will be able to hoist pack.

last edited: 3/24/07 10:46:50 AM”

“ouch. As bad as it is, she is fortunate to be alive.”

“Ohhhh, poor Angie! I am so sorry to hear that, Sticks. I know you'll nurse her back to health.”

“"It will be months before she will be able to hoist pack."
~sticks

Nay. Never again, imo.
Belle hasn't worn one since knee surgery. If Ange is ever forced to don another pack, we'll report you to PETA, SPCA, NAACP, and possibly NASA. We'll be watching...
:)”

“Get Well Angie!!

She looks very much like a Chow my brother had 30 years ago -- Tien Loong Yang Ming Shan ("Heaven's Dragon from the Green Mountain").... Also known as "Chuffa"... She was a Labrador Retriever in a Chow's body.”

“I remember her from BSF last May- she is a sweetie- sorry that this happened. My co worker lost her cat last week to a similar event. Drivers never take responsibility to watch out and avoid these mishaps.”

“Sorry to hear that sticks :(

Get well angie! i wanna see you on trail again!”

“get well Angie.”

“Angie, Angie your kisses still taste sweet ,I hate that sadness in your eyes.”

“Ouch. Sounds painful for both of you. I'm hoping for a full recovery.
last edited: 3/24/07 6:22:18 PM”

“Awe! Poor Angie!

Sorry to hear it, Sticks. Hope she recovers quickly.”

“So sorry to hear this. I'll miss her on the trail. Hope she recovers and can join us again.”

“Hey sticks, my previous post sounds pretty harsh. Not because I don't feel for you, but because my dog had to be put down when she was hit because of massive internal injuries. Give her a treat for me.”

“No harm...I did not see it that way.

Hindsight being 20/20 I should have done the same because of $$$. But there were two other traildogs I would have spent the cash on, one of which I did, so I felt I should give her a chance too.

I just want to know when we are going to hit the trail together again.”

“Poor pup! I am sorry to hear Angie will down and out for a while. She is by far the sweetest and best trail dog I have ever met.

Give her doggie kisses from me.”

“sorry to hear that sticks...i told sammie that and she said "i'm sorry to hear that, i still hate her, but i'm sorry to hear she got hurt" ;)”

“My condolences Sticks.

But looking at this issue from another angle, I was the unfortunate driver last week when a pair of lab's ran in front of my Explorer. They came out of a walled side street, going full bore. Yes, I hit one and it died right there an the street. Car's stopped, several people came to comfort the dog, the owner showed up in full hysteria, etc. You get the scene. I felt like hammered horse apples, but seriously, there was no way to avoid it. The neighbors and the owner admitted the dogs were penned back yard dogs, seldom got out to run, and when they did there was no controlling them.

So today I stop and get an estimate for the body damage -- $1,200!

Dilema-do I go look up the dog owner and ask for reimbursment?”

“yes. dogs should always be on a lead when not secured. the owner was irresponsible and is responsible for the damage their uncontrolled dog caused.”

“Dogs are consider personal property in some states. So you may have a legal right to hold owners liable for any damages to your property.”

“not sure what your deductible is but you might want to talk to your insurance company...they might go after it for you...it's kind of a small amount but it never hurts to ask...the good insurance companies will pay the claim themselves and then go after the person for reimbursement”

“Sorry to hear about that Sticks, I really enjoyed hiking with her and Fridge's dog at North Fork. She's a well trained trail dog.”

“Angie - get better!

Shawn - you should!

And now for my news...Molly (my 14-month-old yellow lab) was running in a grassy field on Sunday morning and came up lame. Must have stepped in a hole. Back right leg, she won't put it on the ground at all. Hops around on three legs. I had to carry her up the steps several times (although she gets down them ok.)

So last night, I took her to the vet. She has apparently torn her ACL. Will probably have surgery (approaching $1000, altogether) and several months recovery after that.

I am supposed to restrict her activity level. Ha! Like that's gonna happen! This is a lab puppy, for goodness sake!

So I am bummed pretty bad. My favorite solo activity these days, by far, has been taking her in the woods and letting her run. She is so full of joy and of life out there.

I will keep her on a leash, for her own good...not sure if this will be harder for her, or for me.
last edited: 3/28/07 8:31:21 AM”

“I had a dachsund that got run over and had her pelvis crushed. The remedy was for her to be confined for 8 weeks. I got a 4 foot square pen where she sat for six weeks. It was tough on both of us. At six weeks she escaped and ran from me knowing she would be stuck in the pen again. The vet said if she was good enough to do that she was OK to be free again.
Dogs, especially puppies heal fast. Keep the dog from reinjuring itself and everybody will be glad in a couple months.”

“

OK, he is not a "trail dog" but he is down! The poor beast. It started when he pulled something in his foot running down the stairs to greet me at the door (imagine 90 lbs of rottie pounding down the stairs... talk about look out below!) So the vet told us what to do and that it wasn't serious. Then, yesterday, he started to cry and whine and this morning he wouldn't get out of bed and when he DID get up he was crying. I was really scared but I had to leave town so my spousal unit took him to the vet... pinced nerve in the neck. I mean that's bad, but it's also a relief. I guess we will have to be careful with him for a while until it heals up. Poor dog... what a hard few weeks.”

“That is too bad Jim. Elvis rocks!

Shelby went through a funk a year ago with a back knee. Would have kneeded surgery if the durgs didn't work.

Thank god they did.”

“My cat Elmo (now passed) had an incident with a nieghbor that shattered his femur in 3 places on the rear right leg. We chose to amputate the leg ($500.00) instead of other options ($1400 +). Elmo was 3 at the time and recovered fully, living another 10 years fully abulatory. The neighbor was an animal hater. Thank goodness, Elmo made it to TN with us for his later years.”

“he got a steroid shot and instructions for us to switch to a harness for a while (he wears his red collar in the pic above during the day). when i walk him i use the gentle leader collar but these days he really doesn't need it, he just wants it (has gotten it so associated with walking it's part of the routine). he is such a sweetie... my wife said that every time he gets hurt she assumes something bad is happening to him... cancer... and the funny thing is that i think the same thing. he is very healthy but this recent scare had my wife asking the vet about mortality... 10-15 years, sometimes less. Well he is 7 so we will enjoy him for a long time still. he really is my 4th kid in many ways. i have never had a dog that loved the water as much as elvis. the one sad thing is that he h-a-t-e-s hates running which is a bummer for me. he would probably dig backpacking (and could carry a LOT) but i am not into the whole "trail doggie" thing.”

“The vet I go to is a regular vet but is also trained to do acupuncture and chiropractic. She's done wonders for my dogs over the years.”

“my wife told me they put a muzzle on elvis and went about trying to find the painful spot... i feel so bad. he did NOT need a muzzle. you could abuse that dog something awful and he would never bite... such a loving animal. he would look at you with confused eyes. i can't even tolerate raising my voice to him. he is just a good dog.

we adopted him a few years ago and once he did something (i forget what) and i said, "ohhh, elvis, what did you do?" he cringed and scooted out of the room tail hung low. i wasn't yelling or anything so it was strange. so later that evening i just looked at him, petting him gently, and said, "what did you do?" in a singsong voice. yep! he cringed and left the room scared. whomever had him before us... can you guess what they would say when they went to prove they were a big man that could correct the rottie?

haha, i need to start a "braggin' on my pet" thread.”

“Molly is in for xrays today. She was very agitated this morning about not being fed--they asked me not to feed her after 6pm last night because they might have to sedate her for the xrays and the exam. With her relaxed they will be able to feel the joint movement better, to determine the extent of the tear.

But I think the surgery is a foregone conclusion.”

“Fritz,

Where is the tear? Rosey has had TPLO surgery in both legs. It's pretty amazing stuff.”

“I hope Angie feels better real soon. I'd like to see her again on the trail, but it doesn't sound like her injuries will let that come easy. I love thinking back on our trip to RRG when she was covered in freezing rain and simultaniously smoking next to the fire at the same time.”

“roseymonster, it is an ACL. I posted about it 3/28 on this thread, you probably have to view all to see it. I don't know the acronym TPLO. Basically I think what they are going to do is tie in an artificial ligament (80-lb. test fishing line, essentially) to stabilize the joint. We will discuss the surgery more specifically when the diagnosis is complete, which happening today.”

“angie smokes?

bad dog! no biscuit!”

“Yes. This is what Rosey had surgery for. I would dissuade you from doing the fishline practice, just because I have seen the results.

Read more here.
http://www.vetsurgerycentral.com/tplo.htm”

“I've had a couple dogs that has injuries serious enough that I took them to the university veterinary college in Pullman WA where the very best care is available in this part of the country. I'd recommend finding the same in your area. It costs but it's been worth it and I never regetted spending the money.”

“Xrays and exam confirmed a torn ligament and need for surgery.

I asked the vet about TPLO and he said some people swear by it and others think it is too risky and not as good as the hype. I found this also:
http://home.earthlink.net/~tiggerpoz/id4.html

Truth is, it is a real stretch for me to afford even the conventional procedure, which my vets do two or three times a week so they have a lot of experience with it.

Bottome line -- I appreciate the input but I have scheduled the conventional surgery for the 18th.”

“I respect that. My dog has been running full bore with both legs TPLO for five years. Just speaking from experience.”

“Well, technically, she hasn't been a trail dog since a back injury from several years back, but anyway...

Sadie (my ten year old Shep mix) has to have Total Hip Replacement surgery. Ugh. Just got in touch w/ the ortho surgeon three hours away in Green Bay and have started the process. Gonna be a long and costly one. Poor baby. :-(”

“Yes, poor baby...good luck with it all, kiddo.”

“Get Well Soon, Sadie!”

“How is Angie doing?”

“She is up on three but there is some nerve damage in the left leg. I see some natural movement now and then but it is too soon to know if she will ever use it. Worse case is the foot will have to be amputated.

Thanks for asking.”

“She is a sweet dog (cept for the food snatching)- Even if she has the whole leg amputated, it's likely she'll do well. My now passed Elmo (feline) did very well on three for over 10 years after a nieghbor did the damage.”

“actually if it is amputated, she will be the third tripod I have had.”

“MAN...that is tough (um tara I had a chessie who had the full surgery...came out great)....apologies but I am going to admit I cannot see any story about a pet losing a leg without remembering the story about the salesman who was visiting the farmer and noticed the Pig with a wooden leg.

Upon asking they explained that there had been a fire at the house, the pig had worked his way out of the pen gotten into the house and saved the entire family. Then one time the tractor had rolled on the dad and the pig had raced 2 miles in from the field gotten in the house and managed to knock the phone of the hook and dial 911 to get help.

The salesman asked,"Why the wooden leg?" to which he was told, "Well a pig like that you don't eat all at once."

Back to realty though....I have a friend whose Lab lost a leg and is still the fastest thing you have ever seen.”

“I am so sorry about your dog, mine almost lost her leg as a puppy. The Mom (our dog) stepped on her and shattered the bone. Vet said amputate or put her down. Even though they said a splint wouldn't work my ex splinted the leg and she is the best trail dog ever and she has all her legs.

Anyone ever had a dog with thyroid problems or hair loss issues??? Chocolate (my black lab) has a bald spot on the end of her tail and the hair on her belly is thin. Vet did a blood test and said her thyroid levels are low... any input???”

“I had a cat w/ a hair loss problem, once. She lost the hair on the back half of her body and became known as "the baboon." But, no, I don't have any input.

Xrays are in the mail to the ortho in Green Bay. Just need to hang tight and see what they have to say. There's a secondary problem, called spondylosis, that will determine whether or not she's even a good candidate for hip replacement.”

“hope it all works out,good luck”