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!

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.

One year ago today.....

One year ago today, Ivy had her second TPLO. I am truly amazed by her progress. She runs, jumps, and swims like a young Lab. She will turn 8 in December. She has a trace of scarring if you look closely at her surgical sites and she doesn't really like you to mess with that area too much. I could not be more pleased with the results of both her TPLO's. She did have her surgeries in 2 different cities with two different surgeons, and I must conclude that whoever is training these guys is doing an excellent job. I still get very anxious when she tries any type of Lab acrobatics, especially on the trail or on the beach.....maybe in time I will get over that!

Checking in...Ivy has a new home

Ivy has had an eventful summer. We sold our condo suddenly in May and had to find a new home very quickly, within 30 days!! But, we did and have settled in nicely. The house is in a 55 and over active adult community, and is on the golf course. Ivy absolutely loves having her own backyard again! There are wonderful areas to walk and Ivy loves that. We tapered off our leashed walks during the summer because of the heat, but have just started that routine up again, with some cooler temperatures this week. We took Ivy to the beach the other day, where she was able to swim and run off leash. She had a blast!!! You would never know that she has 2 rebuilt knees! I'll admit that I still am very nervous when she charges into the ocean, but there were no after effects from that outing. It's been 11 months since TPLO number 2.

Ivy is out of sorts

Ivy has been acting a bit out of sorts for about 3 days. Nothing that we could really put our finger on, though. She seemed a bit more fatigued during our long walks. Plus, she was a bit lethargic during the day and not interested in playing with her inside toys. Her appetite was fine and she was not drinking any more water than usual. Pee and poop normal. She was just not right. So, off to see the Vet. Her temp was normal and both knees seemed stable and pain free. Her physical exam was fine but the vet also agreed that she did not seem right. She had some crystals in her urine so he put her on an antibiotic in case of a UTI, which she does have a history of. We have had some strange weather here in VA recently...lots of temperature swings from hot and cold and big rains. So, he thought maybe her joints were bothering her. She was given an injection of Metacam, an NSAID used to treat osteoarthritis. Well, the next day she was a different dog. Back to being the Ivy we love. Raring to go on her walks and playful. A good outcome and a week later she is still normal, so we are back to breathing easier once again.

Ivy is sitting normally

This might not seem like a big deal, but I noticed when Ivy went out into the yard to do her business, she sat down for a couple of minutes, just to sniff the air, I suppose. But, she was sitting like a normal dog! Both back legs tucked in! Not one or the other stretched out towards the front. This was really a first. We are now about 5 months post op from TPLO # 2.

Ivy does Key West

We took Ivy into Key West for an afternoon outing. She did great on the leash in crowds of people! We were careful not to overextend her walking, so we stopped at a few places for her to rest. She visited the Southern Most Point in the continental US, a couple of bars, and Dog Beach. When we returned back to our rental house, she lounged by the pool, had dinner, and turned in early for bed. There were no after effects the next day, no stiffness and no difficulty getting up. We are very excited by her progress at this point. She is having a picture perfect recovery.

On the road....pit stop in South Carolina

We are on our way back to sunny Florida for a couple of months. We stopped this past weekend in Pawleys Island, SC to visit Joe's brother, who owns a beach cottage and Ivy's mom, Lily. Unfortunately, Ivy does not remember that Lily is her mom and seems to think that the beach cottage is hers and hers alone. They DO NOT get along. However, we took Ivy on a well deserved stroll on the beach. It was very cold and the water was rough so she was not interested in swimming. But, she loved strollin'!

A Longer Walk Today

We tried Ivy on a longer walk today. We went again to one of her favorite places, the Dismal Swamp Canal Trail. This is an old section of Route 17 in Chesapeake, Virginia that was closed a few years ago when a new section was opened up, and runs along the historic Dismal Swamp Canal. The city is maintaining it as a multipurpose hiking, jogging, biking, and equestrian trail, that is 8.5 miles long. We walked 3/4 mile down the trail and back in about 45 minutes. Ivy did great. Joe and I were a little cold; it was about 45 degrees. We let Ivy off leash as there were not many folks out in the chilly weather and she loved that.

Life is good for Ivy!

So, I called Dr Stallings office today to schedule Ivy's final followup (14 week) visit. Lisa, his secretary asked me how Ivy was doing and I started a dialog about how great she is progressing. Lisa told me that the final evaluation is "optional." So, I opted out of taking her. I probably would not have done this if this was her first TPLO. So, Ivy is released to ease back into normal activity. She can now do some trotting on leash and some off leash activity is permitted. We will begin to walk her up and down an incline repeatedly (we have a handicapped ramp at our condo) to build up her leg muscles. We are going to gradually lengthen her hikes. Ivy is almost back to doing what Labs do. WhooHoo! Life is good for Ivy!!

The Howlidaze-Holidays

Ivy is enjoying the Howlidaze. She has been doing so well in her rehab that we have started taking her with us again to visit friends and relatives. She does great getting into the SUV with her dog ramp. She loves Christmas with all the lights and smells and all the attention she gets. Her fur is all grown back on her TPLO leg and typical Lab, she is shedding up a storm!! She does about 2 15-20 walks as part of her rehab in addition to her potty walks. We go about twice a week for short treks to her favorite walking spots like Bells Mill Park or the Dismal Swamp Canal Trail. She returns to Dr Stallings around the end of January and we hope she is released for a return to full activity.

Ivy is hiking

We have started taking Ivy for abbreviated hikes as part of her rehab and for a change of scenery. She just loves riding in her "truck." I cannot believe that this is the same dog we brought back from Dr Stallings in October, just over 2 months ago. She is doing great.

6 Weeks Post Op and doing great! (TPLO #2)

Ivy received good news from Dr Stallings today. She has complete bone healing and has the go ahead to begin rehab. She did need to be sedated for the x rays but bounced back from that much better this time. We are letting her snooze away today and then start rehab walks tomorrow. She has been having just 4 potty breaks a day but we are going to move that to 5 with 3 of them to include a 5 minute lap around the condominium perimeter. Then gradually increase the walking time. I am going to continue with passive range of motion, since she actually seems to enjoy that. We hope she will be swimming after tennis balls in Florida by springtime!

A Dubious Anniversary

One year ago today...Halloween...Ivy suffered her first CCL rupture. We were on vacation in the mountains of southwest VA for what was supposed to be a hiking vacation on the New River Trail. About five minutes after we arrived, Ivy came back to us on three legs. This has been a challenging year for her but one thing is certain: Ivy is on the way back!!

Staples Out!

Ivy took a road trip to VA Beach to have her staples removed. It is now 18 days post op. She was so excited to be getting out and going for a ride!! The bottom suture line is a bit inflamed. Dr Stallings thinks maybe she can reach it and licking it a bit with the BiteNot collar, but we are skeptical. In any event, she has about 5 more days of wearing the collar, we hope. He says she is where she should be at this point in the recovery. He wants us to continue using the sling for control when we are walking her outside. She is so exuberant!!Her next visit with him is in 4 more weeks for 6 week x-rays and evaluation. Good girl, Ivy!!!

On the Road to Recovery

Twelve days post op and Ivy is on the road to recovery. She takes 4 potty breaks a day and it usually takes two of us to maneuver as she uses a sling for her back legs. The weather in Virginia has been delightful; cool crisp mornings and evenings and mild afternoons. Ivy loves her time outside, as always, and tolerates the sling well. We still have her wearing the E Collar when she is unsupervised, but she does well with that also. What a good dog!!!

E Collar Alert!

We have had to use the E collar a lot more as we did catch Ivy licking at her staples which is a big NONO!! She does well with it, however. We now have her sleeping with it on in the X pen all night. She wakes us promptly at 7:30am for a walk and breakfast.

One Week Post Op TPLO #2

It's been a week since the second surgery and Ivy is progressing nicely. We are walking her over to her "field" on the condo property where she likes to do her business. The bitenot collar has been on occasionally, just in case we have to leave her unsupervised during the next two weeks. Her vet wanted it on 24/7, but it is just not going to happen. She is not paying much attention to her staples anyway and never touched them after the first TPLO either. She has been enjoying some sunny days on the balcony and getting really good at napping! And so have we!

The strange zombie dog is gone.....hello, Ivy!!!

What a difference a day makes! We woke up about 6:30 am this morning to Ivy standing in her pen, wagging her tail at us! We gave her some food, which she consumed very enthusiastically, then went for a quick potty walk. By 7:00 am we were back in bed, enjoying a Sunday morning snooze. That strange zombie dog we brought home from the hospital on Friday afternoon is gone......hello Ivy!!!
Our neighbors left Ivy a Get Well Soon basket with all kinds of goodies inside. Ivy is enjoying that during NFL Sunday.

Ivy comes home

We brought Ivy home about 1 pm from her TPLO yesterday. It was very stressful getting her into the SUV, with the ramp, BiteNot collar, sling, etc. You would never know she was familiar with all that and I am not sure she even recognized us. Anyway, I removed the BiteNot for the ride home and sat in the back with her. We live in a condo and got her into the elevator and upstairs. She would not settle down, crying and whining, so we thought...maybe she has to pee. So, we got her in the sling and took her outside and she peed for a VERY LONG time! Now, she is sleeping fairly peacefully and we are going to take a nap while we can.