2-27-022-27-02He was relatively new to being a tripod when we received him. In the past few months Koby has become much improved in his mobility and balance. It was a suprise to find him napping on the bed one afternoon as previously he had not been able to get on or off the bed on his own. He can now conquer the bed, steps, doggie door, and just about anything except deep snow. Koby has played with other dogs in the park for a long time without their owners noticing his missing leg.
While he will fetch the paper each morning, tennis balls are another story... He is doing well on the leash and will carry the leash in his mouth when allowed. A regular in Sunriver, he has also hiked in the Gorge and tromped along the beach. It is difficult to get in the car without him.
His list of doggie and people friends is growing every day. We are currently resisting his crowbar nose and less than subtle hints that he needs another house buddy. Don't know if there is room on the bed for another pup.
True to his breed, he is one handsome,
charming, snuggling love!
9-29-01
We are introducing a new dog to you who has been with Golden Bond since August 15 of this year.
Koby was hit by a car whereupon his left, back leg was broken. The person who hit him took him to an emergency vet to be stabilized and then another vet for surgery to fix the broken leg. Koby was turned over to Golden Bond at that point.
When we took Koby in, his leg had totally stiffened up and could not be bent. The foster home worked with it but there was no improvement. He was taken to a specialist to see if corrective surgery was in line but it had actually not healed correctly. There was only a 50/50 chance that corrective surgery would be successful. Because of the poor odds along with the cost, it was felt by Dr. Laird Goodman, of Murryhill Clinic, that amputation was the best option. Since we have every confidence in Dr. Goodman we decided to go with his suggestion. As it turns out, he was absolutely correct. Please see below:
Laird Goodman called me last night, Thursday Sept. 27, to let me know that the surgery for Koby took 2 and a half hours rather than the hour it usually takes. He did not amputate at the joint as he wanted to leave some of the leg bone for better balance as dogs do better that way.
When he got into the "mess" and that is the best word for it, he found that the bone had grown over the plate so he had to cut through bone before being able to remove the plate and then the muscles had really hardened (I don't remember the proper term for it) so that was difficult to deal with also. I guess at one point he even broke a chisel!
They had put 2 pain patches on Koby the night before, given him an injection before the operation and gave him numbing shots around the area plus more meds when the surgery was done. So he was and is feeling no pain!
I went over today, Friday, to see him and get pictures. Laird showed me the x-rays, wow you could really see where the leg had never healed, then said he would have someone get Koby out of his kennel for me. Of course I was saying, "no,no" as I figured he was down and out. Well, next thing I know Koby is out at the front desk waiting to go outside to have his picture taken!
The vet tech. walks him out the door, down the sidewalk and onto the grass so I can get some good pictures! I honestly could not believe it. You think, if we had a leg removed we'd be giving it our all just trying to balance, well 3 legs work pretty well, in fact, very well. He walked as well or better than he did before the amputation. I got a bunch of pictures, they are now at Freddie's for development.
So after the surgery we know that there was absolutely no other possibility beside amputation. There is no way the leg could have been saved so I think that should help any of us who were not sure whether we were doing the right thing.
Koby is happy and smiling and wagging his tail. He goes to his foster Mom and Dad, Mary and Jim, Saturday morning and should do very well.
I will let Mary and Jim take over from
here with stories and pictures of our dear Koby boy. What a love!
:o)
9-30-01
Hello Everyone!
I just wanted to take a moment and let you all know that we picked up our boy yesterday, and he is doing GREAT!! We had actually thought (and kind of hoped!) that he would be drugged up and slowed down for a few days. Well, no such luck. Keeping this boy quiet for 2 weeks, and having my hands to myself, will be a difficult task. He is very happy, very active, and seems quite content. He doesn't seem to notice that he doesn't have that silly leg anymore, and we don't intend to tell him. :) I've already decided that when we start venturing out, if and when people see him and say "oh the poor thing!" I will ask them, immediately but kindly, to not say or think that. (Of course, this means that I also can't think or say that!) But Jim and I both feel that Koby doesn't feel AT ALL sorry for himself, and we don't want anyone to treat him differently. He is much happier w/o the other leg slowing him down - or at least he will be once he heals, gets rid of his E-collar, and can start acting like a normal dog, and beat up on his foster sister!!
Koby's only current complaint seems to be when he is not getting enough attention, then he will cry. We'll have to figure out how to handle this issue, as we want to comfort him while he is healing, but not baby him and make him a spoiled pooch, who can't spend 2 seconds alone. As Alejandra said after babysitting him "sometimes you need to use your hands for something else (other than petting Koby)", and he can make that very difficult!
For anyone who had any doubts about this whole procedure, rest assured that it really was the best thing to do, and he will be much happier in the long-run. I truly believe that his accident was probably the best thing that could ever happen to Koby, as it has started him on the road to a happy life with people who love him, something he doubtless wasn't getting in his original home. While he is in our home, we will shower him with love, and show him what a blessing he is to us.
