Re: Another horrible freak accident!

June 21, 2004

Oh Rhea, I am so sorry to hear this :~( A horrible thing to have happen to a

loved pet. I know the expense is a burden, but I know you all have to try. What

a sight you all must have been in the vets office! If amputation becomes the

only option, most dogs do well managing just fine. Perhaps better than a not

quit perfect repair. How old is your furry little boy? I have been through

similar times with my pets and it is heartbreaking. We just have to pray the

outcome is good. I'm sure you will lose allot of sleep for a few nights, take

care of yourself too, OK?

Cindylouwho

Another horrible freak accident!

I'm so upset,.....On Sunday my toy poodle suddenly jumped from my Dad's

lap, ...off a chair and onto the floor. .... severely fracturing his ulna and

radius. I have

never heard a dog scream so loud or for so long.

June 21, 2004

Hi Rhea

How horrible for Raffi!! Too bad you couldnt find a Dr. Fowler for

dogs. I am sure that everything will work out how it is supposed to

and know that I am always hear to talk to or offer a shoulder to cry

on. Just dont let yourself go downhill because of this please.

Take care of yourself first! You need it and your parents can help

with Raffi. That might sound mean to say but I am sure you

understand where I am coming from and only saying it out of concern

for your well-being.

Stacey

June 22, 2004

Thank you all so much! It really helped last night to share my fears

about this whole situation. Thank you so much for the support,

thoughts, and prayers. All are very, very much appreciated.

I had a talk with Mom and showed her the vet journals I came across.

We'll talk with Dad too, and tonight she is going to call our breeder

and we'll find out where the best place is to take him to but I think

it will likely be the small animal clinic at the Guelph University.

Mom said wasn't happy either when she saw the final x-rays and now

with what we've read about these breaks... Raffi will turn two

August 3rd. He's still very much a puppy and has many, many years

ahead of him. We'll manage to afford it, we'll have to. I've

offered my savings from the last two years to put towards his medical

care and we will work it out.

Raffi is being a real little trooper. He hates having his leg stuck

out because he can't curl up into a ball to sleep. He really misses

fetching his toys and bugging Hannah. Today its raining, and he will

not potty in the house on paper, so I had to make a little 'rain

boot' out of a groccery bag to cover his cast and put on his coat for

potty breaks. I don't know how he manages it, but he's even figured

out how to lift his leg when he pees. Our boy has real flare ;-)

Mom wants to take a photo of me in my braces and Raffi in his leg

cast. I'll post it when she takes them so you can see our little

Raffi yourself. His pain meds are working very nicely, and even slow

him down a little so all this resting isn't as hard on him. He finds

the little bit of hopping around to go pee to be very awkward, but

he's putting up with all this quite well and even wags his tail at me

when I take him out of his crate.

Hannah is very graciously letting me tend to Raffi without much fuss

at all. She seems to know he needs a lot of help now. Every now and

then she'll sniff his cast and then look away and her tail will go

down and she'll hang her head. Dogs do have empathy!

I'll keep you all updated. Thanks so much again for the warm

thoughts and sympathies. It really helps tremendously to share

this. We just all feel so awful about it and are very worried of the

outcome, but in the end it will be OK. And yes, I promise I'll take

care of me too.

(((HUGS))) and Raffi sends a few nose licks

-Rhea

PS. The next time they change the splint Im going to have to ask for

a different color! Hot pink just doesn't suit this boy! Hmmm what

goes nicely with apricot ;-)

June 22, 2004

Oooh dear Rhea,

Oh my God... I feel so for you and Raffi... I know exactly what you

mean about being so scared, and how awful it is hearing them cry and

scream of pain... I really, really hope that you will get a break and

that the best thing that can happen will happen for you and Raffi...

I have seen a lot of programs on Animal Planet and such where they

repair these, in small dogs like e.g. Pomeranians, they have tiiiiny,

tiny bones and it is really difficult. They have also there said that

the best results are with external fixators and such. I have seen

them amputate a fair amount of legs on these small ones also, both

front and back legs, and it is amazing how well these dogs to. They

adapt sooo quickly. I have even seen dogs with both front legs

amputated, doing well on two legs. It is really amazing... So just

know if the very worst should happen, Raffi will still do well. It is

wonderful how the dogs have no prejudice against being different,

they sure handle it much better than we do.

But the very best thing that could happen, is of course if the cast

would work for him. Nothing better than that. Or that if it is

necessary, that you could succeed with an external fixator or

plate/screws. I have seen them having to make external fixators out

of other things instead of using the ordinary ready-made ones too, in

cases where they were just too big for the dog. It is amazing what

creative vets can do. It is so awful that using a vet is so terribly

expensive. Is there any chance that you could contact e.g. something

like the ASPCA (what are they called again, you know the org's

against cruelty to animals), tell them about your _and_ Raffi's

special situation and ask if there is any chance that they could help

you? Many of these organizations have hospitals, and I do know that

some places they do help people out this way if they can't afford to

pay for surgery or vet bills by offering their vet services for free

or at a reduced price. Could be worth a try... Maybe it is an idea to

make some phone calls now, before you know if you will have to do it,

so that you are a bit prepared if it should end out that further

surgery will be necessary...

I am glad to hear that he at least have had good enough pain relief

so he got some sleep. Getting rest is the best thing for him right

now... And I hope he can manage eating and drinking even if he is not

feeling well and are on meds and all. He sure needs all the strength

he can get. But maybe you will have to hand feed him to make him eat

for a while... I know that when Peanut doesn't feel well, soaking her

kibble in hot water for a while, makes them much more tasty and yummy

(I can't give her other food than that, she is on special diet food

because of her colitis) and when mommy gives her each (yucky soft

kibble, he-he) it sure helps!!! A bit of olive oil in the warm water

makes it even more tasty. And then he doesn't get any unusual food

either, a tummy ache is sure the last he needs right now...

Poor little guy... When I hear about things like that, I always wish

I could be there to help out... But I can imagine that he gets the

very best care and then some!!!! How does Hannah react to him

being like that?

This just goes to show how little has to happen before the

consequenses are huge for these little ones. Many people doesn't

understand how fragile they really are. Once a woman who used to be

in my Girl's Club pushed Shanti off the coach so that she fell onto

the floor and hit her head. I was so mad, you should have seen me.

Then she got pissed at me because I told her what I meant... But she

is one of those that really does not like animals and doesn't

understand that they can get hurt and have feelings too. She is not

capable to understand. And a friend of mine, without meaning it at

all, held Peanut a bit above the floor and then just let go so she

fell straight down about half a yard. It went well, but she did

scream of pain for a little, little while. She wasn't hurt thought,

it was just a painful landing, I guess. Once I came home and found

Shanti in a really bad state, in so much pain she was just breathing

and shivering. Not one sound. Her one back leg just hung there, she

was not able to stand up. I was sure it was broken, so was the vet.

But the X-rays were OK, but there was soft tissue damage. The vet

meant she had dislocated it, but managed to get it back herself. She

was hypermobile in some joints... Luckily she was OK after a few days

on NSAIDS. She had probably jumped from the top of the coach, from

the back or the arm rest. More than enough, she was really lucky...

I'll be sending Raffi lots of thoughts, hoping that he will do better

soon!!!! You have to keep us updated!!!!

And, I really don't think this is OT for this group... Our pets are

so important to us!!!!

hugs,

Aase Marit

>Hi Everyone,

>

>I'm so upset, I had to cry on my CEDA friends shoulders. I hope this

>off topic is OK.

>

>On Sunday my toy poodle (pet, not my service dog Hannah) Raffi, who

>is 7 inches at the shoulders and 5lbs, suddenly jumped from my Dad's

>lap, off a chair and onto the floor. His leash attatched to him

>caught on the chair and threw him off balance causing Raffi to land

>in a bad way and severely fracturing his ulna and radius. I have

>never heard a dog scream so loud or for so long. I was terrified he

>had broken his back judging by the screaming. His leg was quite

>deformed at the break. We called our vet and got to the clinic

>within 40 minutes of his accident. The vet gave him morphine and

>then did x-rays that showed his awful fracture. The vet worked for

>over an hour trying to set the break and taking two more sets of x-

>rays, but its a bad one and unfortunately he wasn't able to get it

>aligned up that well. Further more, small dogs have a compromised

>blood supply in this area and frequently don't heal well at all with

>immobilization, or even when a surgical pin is put in place.

>Although the vet is trying to be optimistic, I fear we may have to

>head to the clinic in Guelph (if we can get enough money together to

>afford it) to have a plate or external fixator put in. For now he's

>in a rigid splint/soft cast and is only allowed to move to pee and

>then its back onto a lap or his crate. We're all very worried about

>this dear little dog. I hope to goodness he will heal in the splint

>but recent veterinary journal articles on exactly his situation

>(fracture of the radius and ulna in toy breed dog) point to upwards

>of an 80% chance of the break not healing despite immobilization or a

>surgical pin, although the results were better when they used a plate

>or external fixator. Both of which I don't think our town vet knows

>how to do. At the very, very worst amputation would be the final

>deal, but I don't think we'll have to go that far.

>

>Sorry for prattling on. I'm just so sick with fear and worry about

>my little one. He got to come home with us that night (vet thought

>he'd do better with his people!) and has pain medication. The

>anesthetic was really hard on him and it was heartbraeking to hear

>him cry all evening. He did manage a good sleep (with his crate in

>my bed) and has eaten a bit of food, water, and peed. He hates his

>cast, but can't complain about his nursing care ;-) Our family looks

>like we've all been in a gigantic car accident with my back brace,

>cane, knee braces, Dad's gout in his feet, and now this big red cast

>on Raffi's front leg. Oh yes, and to make life yet more fun Dad and

>I both have the flu and my morning nausea has returned with a

>vengance leaving me wretching over the sink and feeling faint for 10-

>15 mins at a time.

>

>Thanks for letting me vent this.

>

>(((HUGS))))

>

>:'-C

>

>-Rhea

>

>To learn more about EDS, visit our website: http://www.ehlersdanlos.ca

>

June 22, 2004