CRUCIATE LIGAMENT TEAR - SO WHAT? THERE'S TPLO!

"That's probably what Pennie, my little black one, is thinking now. In retrospect, mind you!

In today's blog post, we'll tell you how it went for us from the diagnosis to today and give you a lot of information and tips. Um, yes, and for a better understanding, a few really disgusting photos ;)

Pennie turned 7 in April 2017 and has always been pretty quick on her feet and a master at dodging. I can't always look... As Pennie is my second dog and Mabel is my third furry friend, I'm no longer as panicked and don't go straight to the vet for the slightest thing like I did with Benson, my first dog. That's why I was still really relaxed when she started to limp a little. We then treated her with Traumeel and everything was fine again. Until one morning... It wasn't even a wild run across the soft grass, it just happened. Suddenly she pulled up her right hind leg and when I looked her in the eyes I knew it was different. Worse. Really bad! Oh shit! After tests and x-rays the concrete and certain diagnosis was a torn cruciate ligament! Heaven no! I'd heard so many terrible things about it, I just cried and my favorite vet, Dr. Navarra had to pull out the Tatüs and hug me. Poor guy...

Alright… take a deep breath… unwrap the fortune cookies… chakka… pray… make offerings… the full program!

I actually managed not to surf the internet, read more horror stories or even look at pictures. And that was the best thing I could have done! Don't get any more information, don't ask for countless unprofessional Dr. Google opinions, don't go crazy! I would have just gone through the day like a crazy chicken without a head and Pennie, who always recognizes my state of mind immediately and takes over, would have had even less of it. Now there was no way to change it, there was only this one method and we are convinced that we have a top vet and surgeon! Period. So exclamation mark!

Until the surgery date 5 days later, there were lots of extra treats and I had a few phone calls with my animal health practitioner Astrid. I know my vet, as great as he is, doesn't think much of it, but I do! I have treated all of my dogs with globules for various things, whether exclusively or as a supplement, it has helped! I would definitely be a candidate for the placebo effect, but you can't say that about dogs.

I then spoke to Astrid Koppenhagen on the phone a few times, told her about Pennie, gave her information about her weight and age, sent her a picture of my little one and told her what to expect. After that I had a really well-thought-out medication plan! For a moment I thought I would have to go back to university, but I managed it anyway :D There were globules to help the anesthesia to work off better and faster, some to help the wound heal properly, some to help the bone grow back together properly, some to support the other leg as it would be subjected to more strain, etc.

At the same time, I remodeled the apartment to make more room for my little one, as it would be a bit awkward with the ruff around her head, ordered cooling pads in the perfect size, bought leg covers for protection, googled myself sore for a baby carrier... I can tell you, it did me good. I was able to 'do something about it'.

Then the time had come. On September 12th I took Pennie to the vet at 10am (on an empty stomach, of course). If I hadn't had to drive there, I would have had a few shots of liquor in the morning! The next few hours were a nightmare. Nothing could distract me or calm me down and minutes turned into hours. Finally the liberating call came: everything went well, I can pick up the little one at 4pm!

Still pretty dejected, but overjoyed to have seen each other again, we drove home. She had a thick plaster over the scar, half of her ass was shaved, but she walked well on three legs. I gave her the first globules straight away (especially those to help her get rid of the anesthesia). If you've ever had your dog anesthetized, you know what's coming next! The post-sleep phase in which your beloved four-legged friend howls bloodcurdlingly for hours and doesn't know what to do with himself; let's be honest, at some point you get really annoyed! It was me! But my darling couldn't help it - it's completely normal and has nothing to do with pain. You just have to get through it. She and I. By 7:30 p.m. it was much better and I'm absolutely sure it was the globules. I know it differently. I've experienced 6 hours of howling and 'still having a brain breakdown' with Benson before!

To my great surprise, Pippi and the big business went absolutely smoothly. I thought I was seeing things! Wow! Er, wow!

Pennie's biggest problem was that she still wasn't allowed to eat anything. And that was a really extremely greedy, greedy Lab! The ultimate punishment! And she only got to drink in tiny portions and at intervals. At 10:30 p.m. she was sleeping peacefully - even on the couch, which she had climbed up onto all by herself using three legs.

Now there were 10 days of antibiotics, of course the full dose of globules, the annoying lady with the cooling pad dozens of times a day and: the personal little nurse Mabel!

I am so happy to have found such a wonderful and competent animal health practitioner in Astrid, who also knows how to explain everything warmly and lovingly, even over the phone, and who doesn't criticize conventional medicine, but also believes that it often doesn't work without conventional medicine! In my opinion, a good interaction between both sides is the best solution!

Even though our first night was a little short, we got through it well. Pennie slept through the night (I didn't) and she was in a really good mood again. Maybe because she finally had something to eat again J

One day later, she was already slightly lifting the operated leg when standing and just 2 days after the operation she was walking on all four legs! Cool, right? If she needed to go half a km/h faster, she was switched to three legs, but generally speaking she walked on four legs from then on. And it got noticeably better every day! VIDEO

Just the thing with the collar... No matter how much space I gave her, she was always stumbling around, almost fell on her face a few times because she got caught in the frame of the patio door when she jumped in, or got stuck with her cone somewhere. I really love this dog with all my heart - but now I know: she was just being really stupid! Mabel has had a collar too and she got on with it really easily.

I never had the feeling that she was in pain. I was even able to stroke her leg the day after the operation, and there was no reaction that she thought it was stupid - quite the opposite.

Just 9 days after the operation the staples came out. Pennie thought the procedure was extremely stupid, but what must be done, must be done? J

Unfortunately, two days later the scar opened up a little in two places and Astrid again gave us advice via WhatsApp. We dabbed diligently with calendula! And hey, after a few days that was over too, the scar was dry and looked great!

Immediately after 'not eating for 24 hours', Pennie has to stay on a leash. And that for 4 months! The first few days we were outside for 3 x 5 minutes a day, after two weeks it was 3 x 15 minutes and after a month 3 x 20 minutes. We stuck strictly to the times and to always being on a leash, even though it was a really crappy time for Pennie. She was really annoyed and even though you should laugh now, I think she was suffering from some kind of depression. I saw it when the leash came off and she was allowed to run free again. The look, the shining eyes, the lively gait: priceless!

We had also considered physiotherapy and an underwater treadmill, but we decided against it given the healing process because I knew that Pennie wouldn't really like a box with water and a treadmill and would be more likely to be stressed.

From December 23rd to December 30th we went to Texel and please see for yourself how Pennie was there! VIDEO - I always believed that everything would be fine, but I didn't expect it to go so quickly and so wonderfully. I'm sure that we have our vet's surgical skills to thank for this, but that such a great healing would not have been possible without the support of our animal healer. And I said yes, our vet doesn't think much of homeopathy etc.; but he also had to admit that he's never had a dog for whom everything went so quickly.

Until the beginning of April 2017, we only had our little beauty problem - yes, we are girls - because that's how long it took for the fur to grow back completely. But that didn't stop the dog friends from making advances. Well, thank goodness - the inner values...

The last step was to remove the plate on June 8th, 2017. We did it!

Now we'll wait until the hair has grown back ;)

PS: Here is the contact information for my wonderful animal healer: http://www.mobile-tierheilpraxis-astrid-koppenhagen.de/