Humphrey's Broken His Leg...

[Guest grapecat]

Thank you all so much. I talked to the vet hospital where he is tonight and he is doing OK. Hopefully we'll be able to bring him home tomorrow.

 

This is Humphrey:

 

[Guest sassichari]

[Guest WarmheartedPups]

So glad you got good news...poor Humphrey!! Yes...relax and drink!! Things will be looking up soon!

[Guest Brandy_b]

Sending good thoughts!!! Poor little guy will miss walks I bet but at least he should heal alright!

 

<3 Brandy & Caliloka

[Guest gr84me]

Sending good thoughts and prayers for a quick and pain-free recovery!

 

I personally don't have any experience with external hardware, but my group has a dog now that just had his hardware removed and he's doing fine. From what I understand, there is a daily routine and it takes some attention, but it's well worth it.

 

Welcome to GT! And hugs to both you and Humphrey ... maybe have another drink and get some rest ...

[Guest Oh_Greyt]

I worked at an ortho vet for a while... We did these types of surgeries almost daily. If you took him in right away, and he was started on antibiotics, he probably won't develop an infection. The pins will require cleaning and perhaps an antibiotic ointment. Some vets wrap the fixtures so the dogs won't get them caught on anything (also because the ends of the pins are sharp where they were cut down) - if so, you'll probably need to be seen regularly to have these wraps changed and the wounds cleaned (where the pins go into the skin) unless the vet shows you how to do this at home. At his age, I'm sure he'll recover just fine. The important thing is to keep him rested - one of the biggest problems we see is the dog over-using the leg. The fixtures support it so well that they don't really rest it anymore, and of course they can re-injure everything. One dog we had needed a second surgery to replace the pins because he had messed it up so bad (but that was due to lack of owner compliance). Just follow your vet's instructions. He'll probably need to be anesthetized again to have the pins removed when the time comes. Often, they'll have plates on the bones that are permanent, and with a greyhound you'll most likely see the plate/screws through the skin (we found a stray greyhound once that had this).

 

Best of luck with everything! It sounds like you're doing everything just like you should be!! Hope this has helped a little.

 

Stefanie

[RobinM]

OH NO. I really feel and hear your pain.

 

He'll be just fine and after the surgery, it will take time, but he will be OK.

Beau is 6 weeks post op after doing a number on his leg that the vet said in 32 years he had never seen anything like it.

 

This will give you time to bond even more with your pup and he will adjust to the cast. Its amazing how they compensate.

 

Sending prayers for a successful surgery and a speedy, pain free recovery. Hugs and strength sent to you

[Guest Tenderhearts]

What a precious face he has! :wub:

 

Lots of prayers and white light going out from Kansas for Humphrey!

[kjw]

First, Welcome to GT, and Humphrey is a real doll!

 

I'm sorry you're going through this, it must be pretty scarey. We've had no broken bones here, but my Lou dislocated his hip last October, had ortho surgery, and has had a very long recovery, he's not done yet! - a break would have been healed a lot more quickly, I'm told. The hardest part is keeping them amused, so I hope your boy likes interesting treats! We found that things like recreational bones, or peanut butter mixed with dog biscuits, stuffed into a kong and frozen kept him busy. But I don't know if you guys have kongs over on that side of the puddle.

 

In any case, I'm sending prayers for a rapid and uncomplicated recovery for your boy.

[Guest UGAKarlandBrook]

Hi!

 

Humphrey is an absolute doll

 

Our Tex (who looks just like Humphrey) broke his leg 2yrs ago - compound fracture - bone sticking out ... blood everywhere .... he has a titanium plate in his leg. Doing excellent - you would never know anything was wrong with his leg - looks a little odd from the plate but that's it. We gave him glucosamine and chondritin for a while in the winter to help with a slight limp he had with it in the winter.

 

Brook

[rycezmom]

Welcome from Miami.... Humphrey is such a handsome hound. Just gotta love that face. Hurray for external fixators. I wish I had invented them...hope your boy has an uneventful recovery. Please keep us updated

 

For those who dont know what an external fixator looks like...example

 

[Guest wmlcml6]

That is a scary looking device!!!! But thank goodness they were able to fix his leg. He's a sweet looking boy. Good luck with his recovery.

[Guest darlene]

It's amazing how well the young heal. Sending healing thoughts.

[MarcR]

Humphrey... get well soon

[Guest greystoked]

Sweetiesmum and I are both sorry to hear of Humphry's misfortune, we hope he has a speedy recovery... and you, as well.

[Guest vahoundlover]

Glad surgery went OK! Sending lots of healing thoughts.

[tydyelady]

So glad to hear the surgery went well. Prayers and hugs to you and Humphrey for a speedy healing process. What a sweet looking hound.

[Guest McGreyt]

Hello grapecat, so glad to hear your Humphrey is doing well. Could you tell us how you moved him to the vet after his leg broke? I mean physically, how did you move him from the location where he got hurt, into your car. Could he still walk? Did you have to muzzle him? I wonder how I would move one of my own dogs if one was ever badly injured or immobile. Thank you very much.

[Guest ss556]

Hoping for a speedy recovery.

[Guest TBSFlame]

Thank you all so much. I talked to the vet hospital where he is tonight and he is doing OK. Hopefully we'll be able to bring him home tomorrow.

 

This is Humphrey:

 

What a cutie. He is young and will heal. Good luck.

[Guest LolasMom]

OMG I just saw Humphrey's picture - what a sweet face!!

[Guest grapecat]

Humphrey Update

 

Humph is home now - we brought him home this morning. He was pretty confused at first but he seems to be less stressed now. He is, however, not pleased that we keep making him lie in his bed. When he tries to get up it must hurt him as he does the greyhound howl of death which completely shatters whatever nerves my partner and I have left. His external fixation scaffolding is wrapped up, and we have painkillers for him from the vet hospital. It's awful to see him like this but we know he will be better soon so we will try to be brave and not let his hound dog eyes rip us apart too much.

 

To answer your question about getting him into the car - Humphrey weighs about 30 kilos and it was hard. I think it was just adrenaline that took over - my partner carried him about 50 metres or so to the car, and then from the car into the vet. He ran out of steam just as he got to the vet door and did an incredibly dramatic slide to the floor, Humph in arms. The vets had a stretcher so that made it easier. Now Humphrey can hobble (surprisingly quickly) so that helped getting him home from the hospital. It was really a no choice situation - Humph had to get to the vet fast and that was the only way to do it. It never occurred to us to muzzle him.

 

Humphrey has eaten supper and even gone outside for a pee so he seems to be on the road to recovery. However, if this is how keeping him lying down is going to be, we may have problems ahead!

 

Thanks again for all your warm wishes and greetings - it really helps knowing others have gone through similar and both dogs and humans come through just fine.

[Guest trevdog]

It's hard to keep them calm when they need to heal. Can you babygate him in the area you are in? That might help restrict his mobility.

[Guest luvmygreys]

So glad to hear that surgery was a success. We'll be praying for a complete recovery.

[Hawthorn]

Hope all continues to go well with Humphrey's recovery. He looks very sweet. Oh, and welcome from Hertfordshire