Week 10

Not much new here to post...thankfully! I guess that means things are going well! Casey is healing great and we are walking as much as we can with him. He loves his time with us and gets so excited when I mention to the kids that we are taking Casey for his walk. I can't even say "stroller" any more as he knows that equals a walk! So funny and smart!

I just finished reading Marley by John Grogan. If you have never read this and are a dog lover, you must get your hands on a copy! What a cute story and man I could relate to so much of it. Especially in Casey's early days when he was a terror! Close to what Marley did, but not for a long in years! Anyway check it out online if you are interested: http://www.marleyandme.com/

The author also has a children's book too called Marley and Me. I need to get a copy for my girls!
I was a wreck at the end of this book. It is easy reading and I read it in two sittings. Just a great story.

Well I will post again next week. Keep checking in!

9 Weeks and 4 days

So Casey is loving his new freedoms. Loves to be out alone without a lead on him and loves being able to be on our bed at night! I was thrilled to remove the gates again! Kids were happy too! He is doing so well. He is a funny character. Such a GREAT dog! So mellow and go with the flow and loves us nearly as much as we all adore and love him. I am not sure whom is luckier...him or us!

Everything is going well now. We are walking him 2-3 times a day. I will try to post updates weekly or bi-weekly. Keep checking back!

9 Week X-Rays -100% bone healed!!!!

Yippee, yeah, we are so excited! Casey's bone is 100% healed from his TPLO! He now can use stairs at his discretion, jump up into the car, go onto the beds, and be off leash. Wow, he will be so thrilled not to have me in tow for his potty breaks! We are so happy. He has done amazingly well throughout this process. He is still coming off his sedation from the xrays and feeling quite hung over! You can see from the photo!

So from here we take the next 3 months to work on building his leg muscle more to rid him of the dreaded limp. It is not fairly noticeable, but at night when he is tired you see it more. So we will keep increasing either his durations of time on his walks, or the number of walks. Both are tough as it is a struggle with the two kids to get all the walks in on a day. Hoping with the summer it will get easier. After the 3 months he should be all clear to do what ever he wants! Including ball again! Still no frisbee though...sorry buddy:(

Thanks to all of you for your support and to those of you who are keeping updated through this blog!

Almost there!

8 weeks and 5 days Post-op

Casey continues to do really well. We have had quite a bit of rain lately so walks have been tough to get in. The kids and I did go a few times in the rain. I have a clear rain shield that covers my jogging stroller to keep the girls dry! They think it is cool! I on the other hand get wet and think it is not as cool! Casey is just happy to be out walking with his big grin!

He has been a bit more rambunctious lately. Really showing us he is feeling better. He still remains to be on no meds other than his supplement. He will show some extra limping at evenings end and I intend to ask his surgeon about this at our next visit. Maybe just him still needing to build his muscle?

On that note though, his leg looks fantastic. His muscle looks good! I think he is doing fantastic. At home he is still always on a leash to go outside, he can use the stairs when we are home, but otherwise has run of the house.

As for his eating we finally seem to have realized what he likes and does not. He likes Innova and Innova Evo canned. He does not like it cold. I got info from the Orthodogs support group I joined that cold food can cause tummy troubles and even vomiting. Great info for us as I think that could be a source of Casey's tummy sensitivity. So now I warm it and he LOVES it. I think he thinks it is a treat! So glad we figured that out. Yes, we have had him for 7 years now and he finally got his point across! Wish he could talk!

I left Casey this past weekend for the first time since his surgery. He was in great hands at home with my husband! I missed them all, but it was nice too! Man was he crazy excited when I got home!

So we go to the surgeon in two days. I have mixed emotions. So glad to go as we have a few questions and we always enjoy the surgeon seeing him and saying how well he is doing, but not so happy as Casey will have to stay for a bit to get sedated for his post-op x-rays. I am excited hoping the x-rays will show 100% healing of the bone, but I hate how the sedation flips Casey out. He sobs all day long and seems so out of it. It kills me to see him like that. So with that said I will post again after Wednesday and report the results of the x-rays! Wish us luck!

7 Weeks and 2 days post-op

Well Casey continues to do excellent! He is up to 24 minute walks 2-3 times a day. As his walks are getting longer it seems it is getting tougher for us to squeeze 3 in a day! Although I am a stay at home Mom, I find I am never home! Two kids with schedules, school, activities, and the kids just plain not wanting to go on ANOTHER walk has me really trying to fit is all in! We are managing!

Casey's hair is growing in nicely and he is loving the turn in the weather to the sunny days!

He was refusing his food. He is such a picky eater! I went out yesterday and bought several different types of canned food. He doesn't seem to care what the grain is, but more importantly what it is mixed with. So we will try these and rotate them. So far he has had Innova in the can and really liked it. Gobbled it right away. I mixed it with his Canidae. I liked the Innova as it was less solid than the Canidae canned. It mixed easier with the grain. So far so good.

He has x-rays in 12 more days...wow this recovery is going smoothly and quick! Both the kids and I are anxious to have him run again! I will add some recent photos later!

6 Weeks Post-Op

We saw Casey's orthopedic surgeon this morning. He was very pleased with Casey's recovery. He said the knee is nice and solid. It felt tight in the joint, and he has full range of motion! He said Casey is recovering faster than the 6 week mark.

Casey got the okay to get back on the couch! He is one happy dog! Finally no more covering it to keep him off and he wasn't sure what to think as I encouraged him on! He must have thought I was crazy after all the "NO's" to keep him off for the last 2 months!

We were told to continue the walks as often as we could and slowly continue to increase the times. We were also told that the stairs were okay to do with us with him controlled for therapy. He currently does them 2 times per day for bed at night and to come down in the morning. The orthopedic again stressed that walking is what will bring the muscle back and what is best. So we will continue to do this and Casey still has the freedom of the bottom floor of our house. Today I finally put his raised feeder with his bowls back in the kitchen instead of on the living room carpet!

We are making strides and we couldn't be more happy! I had a few questions for the surgeon. One being why does it seem that his knee points outward when he walks. He told us that it does that until the muscle returns fully and over time it will dissipate. And for the same reason is why Casey does not fully use the leg without a limp inside, but seemingly does outside. So we are working on regaining that muscle!

So we will return again in 3 more weeks which at that point Casey will stay for sedation for x-rays to confirm bone healing. Then we were told Phase 2 of recovery begins! I suspect that means less restrictions and a bit more freedom! Yippee!