Hollys Rangie wrote:Hi everyone - I usually don't post much, but do a lot of reading around here.
I have a quick question for any of you out there that might have a suggestion for me.
I have a 2 year old pit bull rescue. He has got a lot of problems due to apparent inbreeding. He had mange as a pup, is somewhat mentally challenged (vet says he will be mentally a puppy), and his back half has always lived a separate existence from his front half. Despite all of this, or maybe because of it, he has been nothing but a blessing to my husband and I.
He has been experiencing a little bit of tenderness in one of his back legs recently, but then began to have some issues with his back legs after taking a spill while chasing a squirrel. We took him to the vet today and found out that he has got grade three luxated patellas on both of his back legs. According to the vet this is rather unusual in a dog his size, but is also very rare to have both of the back legs in this condition.
We have gone ahead and set up the consultation with the orthopedic surgeon for Tuesday morning, and are contacting the local (about an hour and forty-five minutes away) Veterinary Teaching Hospital. All in all, we are looking at about $5000+ to fix both of his legs. I am not exactly sure how we are going to find the money, but we will somehow.
Anyway, my question is,
Do any of you have any suggestions for how to try to cut down the cost a bit?
AND
How can I help to make him the most comfortable that I can in the meantime?
All suggestions appreciated. Thanks.
I know it would be a bit of a hike, but if you can get an appt with VOSM in Maryland for a consult, I would highly recommend it...I have a few friends in NC coming up here with their dogs (and they get referrals from all over the world now) because they are considered one of the top in the country (they even have relationships with hotels because of all the out-of-town referrals that they get)...and even being that good, their prices are really reasonable (People have told me how much they have paid for a TPLO, and I paid considerably less for Nemo's)...
They are also big on cutting edge treatments, and between Drs Canapp and Lotsikas they have a ton of publications on new research in the area of veterinary orthopedics (including stem cell research, minimally invasive therapy, and therapies that have previously only been used on horses because of the high cost of owning the equipment)...
Also, someone suggested swimming for him...believe it or not, swimming isn't always recommended for sports injuries in dogs....it's been found that in some injuries it can do more harm than good (i.e., partially torn CCL or other knee injuries)...because of the motion that dogs use it can cause more harm to the joints...I didn't know that...but was very glad to find out before I started swimming Nemo...
Oh, and as far as the teaching school near you...well, I'm pretty sure I know which one you're talking about..and it has a very good reputation, but a friend of mine (has a certified police dog) took her dog there with a wrist injury that a year later they've been unable to do anything for...so she brought her dog to VOSM, and is VERY happy with what she's been learning, and their plans for his treatment...and was surprised that what they came up with wasn't even a suggestion made at this teaching hospital (and was very happy that they not only considered the pre-surgery and surgery outlooks, but also the post-surgical outlook - which I was also very pleased with regarding Nemo)...