Ivy, the last page

On May 31, 2013 we made the painful and difficult decision to end Ivy's life. She had been vomiting and had stopped eating several days before.....very unusual for a Lab. The emergency vet had determined she was in severe liver failure. She was listless and her gums were yellow. We called our regular vet in Chesapeake and he agreed with our decision.
It was such a long drive to his office. They quickly got us in a room and our vet's wife came in and told us how sorry she was. We were all in tears. We were with Ivy when she passed as we wanted her to know how much we loved her. I had my hands on her and felt her last breath. We signed off to have her individually cremated and, with heavy hearts, drove home.
We picked up her cremains several days later. Always the skeptic, I went through the ashes, and came up with the TPLO surgical hardware. I knew it was Ivy and that provided a strange source of comfort.
Her TPLO surgeries gave her an excellent quality of life. She would be considered a "senior" dog by many at the time of her surgeries. I would not change a thing. TPLO was the right choice for our Ivy. It gave her a great quality of life. She never limped again and was able to run and swim until a couple of weeks before her death, at age 11. Fly on your angel wings, sweet Ivy!

Ivy, the day before she died.

Three years since the road to TPLO recovery started

The actual date of Ivy's  TPLO # 1 was February 11, 2008. Thankfully, that memory has faded and I even missed the anniversary this year. But, when a friend's dog was diagnosed with a CCL tear (he undergoes a TPLO next week), the recovery/rehab memories did come flooding back: the ugly area rugs on the wood floors from Walmart, the dreaded "lampshade" (e collar), waiting for that first post-op poop, sleeping in the x-pen, Joe lovingly helping Ivy walk with the sling those first few weeks.  And Ivy's eyes....full of confusion and pain at first but quickly coming back to that soft, dark brown, and loving and trusting once again.
SO, three years hence. Here is where we are: Ivy is nine years old and now has her sister and littermate, Iris living with us. Ivy is respectfully tolerant of Iris, and Iris worships the ground Ivy walks on, but they are not the loving, cuddly sisters I had hoped they would become. Between them, they have 4 good knees (I do pray for Iris's knees everyday) and a zest for life. They love to walk, and run, and swim. They live for car rides and milkbones. They are my and my husbands traveling companions and best friends. To look at the two of them, you would never suspect that Ivy ever had this health issue. The final cost...probably about $10,000 including the two surgeries and all related expenses.  Having Ivy (and Iris) in our lives: PRICELESS!

Ivy the snow zoomie

On the road again

3 years since the first knee blew out

Wow! I cannot believe that three years have passed since Ivy blew out her first knee. We had been on vacation in the Virginia mountains, maybe 5 minutes when we heard the yelp and she came up limping.
But, she has had 2 TPLO surgeries and will turn 9 years old next month! She is doing GREAT!
We just returned from a vacation on the Florida Panhandle where she was transformed into a young dog again. We have her sister living with us now and these 2 senior Labs ran the beach and swam in the Gulf of Mexico for 7 straight days! Yep, they were tired Labs at the end of the day, but not a trace of limping in either dog! WhooHoo!

2nd Anniversary TPLO # 1

It's hard to believe that two years have gone by since Ivy had her first TPLO. 2008 was such a hard year for our yellow girl. But, she has been a champ! Not a complainer, she was always willing to come over for that belly rub or to give us her Kong for a fill up!
Ivy saw snow for the first time in her life just 2 months ago and has seen 2 snow storms since then! She loves the snow. She spent a lot of time outside and was never stiff or limping after being out in the white stuff. A photo of  Ivy running full tilt was featured on the home page of OrthoDogs, of which she is now an alumni. WhooHoo....GO IVY GO!! It was worth it!

Snow Bunny

I never thought I would see Ivy run again like she did today. We have about 10 inches of snow on the ground here in Virginia. This is very unusual for our part of the state. We took her out on the golf course behind us to let her explore and she just ran through the white stuff with pure joy on her face for about 10 minutes. When she came in, she napped for a while, then wanted out again. I guess she likes the white stuff! Neither leg showed any sign of lameness or tenderness. She acts like a puppy, even though she is now a mature 8 year old diva! It has been almost two years since Ivy's first TPLO surgery.