Never Give Up

Never give up
My husband and I have 4 dogs and 1 cat. 3 dogs are adopted, only the last dog, our Golden Retriever Lucky comes from a breeder. Lucky turned 1 on January 26, 2018.

Shortly after Easter we picked him up, completely healthy, from the breeder. When he was 4 months old, his forelegs suddenly became crooked. They looked like O-legs. We went immediately to the vet and they found a growth disorder with the name "Radius Curvus". The surgeon said he was an extreme hardship and he needed immediate surgery. His both legs were broken to form a new epiphyseal plate. When he was 6 months old, the surgery had to be repeated. We informed the breeder immediately, but she has only returned the money for Lucky. Nothing else.

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At the follow-up, the surgeon told us it would never get any better and that he got ED through the surgeries and growth disorder. There was nothing more he could do for him. We did not want to accept that, because Lucky has his whole life ahead of him. We taught him how to swim, sent X-ray pictures of Lucky to various experts throughout Europe, and finally ended up after weeks of research at the University Clinic in Zurich. The Professor there is a capacity and we really hoped that he could help us.

He examined him, he was x-rayed, a CT scan was done. Since the right paw was set to the right due to the misalignment, he urgently recommended that we have this malalignment operated on. Arthroscopy of the ED was also done in this severe surgery. The bone was broken, reattached and fixed with plates and screws. He was 9 months old.

Until then, Lucky could never play or romp with other dogs. For 4 weeks he had to lie in a kennel day and night. In order to go out with him we bought a support harness. At the same time, we started giving him supplements and we hired a physiotherapist. After 4 weeks, he had the first follow-up examination and the healing was already so good that we could start with physiotherapy and he was allowed to walk for 20 minutes. In doing so, I always went with him over different surfaces, such as snow, road, meadow, country lanes, small slopes, so that the leg stabilizes Lucky learned to walk with the new paw position. At the same time we did small jumps every day or practiced on the trampoline.
It then became so good that the professor was very satisfied after the second follow-up. Then we set up a therapy room for Lucky in our house. There he has a small pool to strengthen the muscles of the legs and to keep them strong. After another 3 weeks we started with training on the treadmill. We trained many, many weeks, his legs are so strong now that he can play like a normal dog. His ED does not hurt him yet. Later this March we will rebuild the garden, have bought a pool so that he can swim every day and as soon as it is warmer, we can also go back to the lake with all the dogs.

Conclusion: These were tough times, but the many sleepless nights, the research, the many discussions with experts have paid off. We will never give up and support him throughout his life so that he can have a long, pain-free life.

Post from @bijou459