SmolAliens

Another happy update: Giant's been off the carprofen for 4 days now. Yesterday my partner took him on his first 10-minute walk around the complex and he loved it--and he passed right out for much longer than usual after they got home No limping after so far, which is awesome. I'm siding with the radiologist at AVS who thinks there may not even be a fracture and that the limp may have been a sprain or ligament issue. We'll have to see as time goes on and we work him up to longer walks/possibly even running around in a fenced area after several weeks. Definitely want to take it slow to avoid re-injury, but I'm super hopeful after seeing him improve this much!

Good news yesterday! Ortho had a look at Giant's leg and said everything looks great. Their radiologist isn't even certain if the bone is fractured, and says it is just slightly arthritic. It's possible there could be an old injury which has long since fused already, and the limp was caused by a ligament issue or sprain. We're weaning off of the carprofen to see how he responds before we move forward--if the limp returns we will go back to AVS for x-rays and further examination, otherwise if he seems good we will be able to slowly work him up to short walks

Printing myself a copy of this now! We may end up needing it, apparently GPAG's last batch of hounds all got those super-hooks...

That's so good to hear! Looks like we will be going on Wednesday. I'm hopeful for a good prognosis

Decent news this weekend--the rescue is going to cover part of the cost for imaging. We are going to bring Giant to Affiliated Veterinary Specialists in Maitland as they are a bit less expensive but have great ortho docs there. The doc who reviewed his first 2 x-rays says that the fracture looks 'quiet' so it could just be an older break that healed wrong and just needs pain management instead of surgery. Will keep y'all posted as to what they say.

Well, no real way to be sure I've got the worms yet, but it's more likely I'm reacting to a new medication so at least there's that. As for our gentle Giant, BluePearl got back to us with estimates for further imaging and surgery. Just a little sticker-shocked, but we still have Frankie's Friends to help out and the rescue is looking into it as well. In the meantime, he's doing pretty well on the NSAID, not limping, just a little weak when trying to sit down. We'll have to see if the vets out in Tampa think he can keep using NSAIDs or if he needs the surgery.

I'm sure he will be, considering he's an RN...

Haha, for sure. Yeah, I'm okay...just praying if it is hooks they're not resistant to the *human* meds...

Okay, and now for something completely different... I've been the one doing most of Giant's potty breaks as my partner is squeamish about ...he wears gloves to do, it, I do not. I thought I washed up well enough after coming back in, but apparently not as I developed a rash on my back where I scratched it the other day and it could be hookworm larvae! In *my* body!! Going to the doc today to see what's going on while we wait for more news from Tampa on possible surgery. This is turning into *quite* the saga...

Hey y'all, we just got the radiologist's report. His third tarsal had a slab fracture but the issue is that it's healing incorrectly and fusing to the second tarsal. Recommended for surgery to fuse the joint. Anyone else have their grey go through this type of surgery? Would fusion limit Giant's ability to walk or run long-term?

Oh, Cletus! You make my day with these chikken posts <3

We have this issue with Giant, our new FL hound. Apparently the kennels here are using a horse dewormer called Quest, which doesn't seem to be very effective anymore (and is not recommended due to the danger of overdosing dogs). We have the moxidectin from our new vet but I'm going to keep an eye on things as I have my doubts it'll improve the situation if they're this resistant.

Our vet gave us a sample of Nexgard to try once Giant's due again since he got his flea/tick/worm stuff a day before we got him. Also Heartgard for heartworm. Anyone have success with these or should we look into switching to Bravecto?

Thank you. Depending on how things go with BluePearl and whether or not we can get funding from their charitable program we will likely keep pushing with the rescue. We may never know where the fault really lies here but the reality is that Giant is our dog and we will do whatever it takes to get him healthy, even if it means paying OOP. We've been down this road with a couple of guinea pigs and specialty care for them can quickly run into the thousands...for a pet who will live up to 3 times longer I think we are more than prepared to try just as hard

Thank you for the recommendation. Luckily it is a pretty straightforward fracture so we are hoping BluePearl can review the radiographs and go from there. If it were a more complex case I'd be calling up specialists in a heartbeat but we've had great experiences having other pets with specific care needs/differences treated at BP. According to my partner's research it would likely only need one screw, maybe not even that. He *is* putting weight on the leg again now that his pain is controlled but I worry about the joint setting improperly again. We could be having deja vu in a few weeks or months if he tweaks it out again without further treatment. That seems to be the mistake everyone else has made with him...and I find it pretty unfair to doom him to a life of only walking 50 feet from our front door and back for bathroom breaks since that seems to be a possibility.