Doggone it - Day 17

The dog elbow in question.


For the past couple of months we have noticed once or twice that Shiloh limps a little with her front leg after a day of especially hard play. I always figured she had pulled something, or some such problem. Since we have been here she plays hard nearly everyday, and many evenings she is limping. We also noticed one foot looks a little different from the other...so I though perhaps an old break that healed badly. Today I took her to the vet to see if I could get her some painkillers for when she limps. Well, it's not an old break, turns out she probably has elbow dysplasia. Apparently this is not uncommon in Goldens.

What comes next, you ask? Well, what comes next is a visit to a specialty vet who will do x-rays and will most likely recommend arthroscopic surgery. Luckily there is one such vet (apparently they are rare) nearby. So tomorrow we will call for that appointment. How much will this little adventure cost, you ask? A lot. But not as much as Sabot's cancer treatment (hopefully!). The big problems is that after the surgery we will have most likely have to severely restrict Shiloh's activity for a couple of MONTHS. Yikes!

She is probably in pain all of the time and limps only when pain in one elbow becomes worse than the other. This could explain why she doesn't like to climb stairs. Now that we know it, I can watch her walk and see that she walks carefully with her front legs. The reason one looks different from the other is from a lifetime of overcompensating. Poor puppy dog. I will keep faithful blog readers informed of the latest Adler Dog Drama.

In other news Elizabeth got to hang out with her Nanny for awhile today, she likes that. Also at one point while I was changing her diaper she sat up and kissed me and said "Kiss mommy!" Then she sniffed loudly and said "Smell Mommy!" Then she gave me a big old lick and said "Lick Mommy!" Kids are weird.

P.S. I had to jump back on her to add that I just checked out the vet hospital on line and the surgeon's picture on their website shows him posing with a Golden Retriever. And examining its elbow.