Raw Food Diet, Day 345- The Therapist is Pooped, Part I

***
Big Pupi loves his J-O-B:

On Tuesday my mom took me to have my interview with Volunteer Services at Advocate Hospital. I don't know why people make such a big deal out of interviews. They're pretty awesome! I wish I could be interviewed ALL the time, EVERY day. For those of you pups that have never been formally interviewed, it goes like this:

You exit the SuperAwesome Car and get into this wacky moving box thing called an "elevator" in the parking garage. As the box lowers, you get to place your paws and smoosh your face against the glass window that lets you watch the world as you sink down to ground level. People in the elevator coo over you and make your bum wiggle, and then people on the sidewalk speak in high voices and make you even more excited. You walk to the main entrance of the hospital where you feel about 100 pairs of human eyes staring and can hear folks saying "look at the puppy!!". More serious tail wiggles. As your person and you walk down the hallway to get to Volunteer Services, nurses and doctors appear out of thin air and give you pets and belly rubs, chin scritches and kisses on the head. When you FINALLY arrive for the interview, you are 20 minutes late thanks to all of the hoopla and excitement that happened on the way, but the interviewer couldn't care less because she is almost as excited to see you as you are the be there. Then there's a walk around the office, introductions to folks that speak in really high baby voices that make your tail wag at supersonic speeds, a couple of questions aimed at your human (your job is to lick a stuffed toy during this time), and then another 20 minute trip through hallway just to get back to the car.

At first I was a little suspicious about this interview stuff, but I have come to the conclusion that they are AMAZING. The next morning bright and early, I found myself back in the SuperAwesome Car, back in that sweet moving box with the window, and back to prancing proudly through the hospital halls. I wound up in the Security Office with my person requesting that I be Have and Sit Like Good Boy so that I could get my picture taken for this:
Coolness! I'm official! My mom wore a matching one with her photo on it and this one was clipped to my collar. Shortly after my mug shot mom and I were back outside where I saw three of my canine buddies that belong to my therapy class instructors. It was a festival of bum sniffing! We swirled and smelled around each other for a few minutes, then it was time to be Have and Heel Like Good Boy back through the hospital. I tried SO HARD to be good but any time I had to Sit Like Good Boy my uncontrollable wagging tail made me vibrate across the floor until I hit a wall, or better yet... a nurse from whom I could finagle a belly scratch.

We were all lead into a play room and before we knew it 5 human pups were brought in and we got to play with them! Now... the material from our 90 minute visit (it went 30 minutes long because we were having so much fun) is more than enough for a post of its own, so I'm going to save it for next time. My typist doesn't have the digit-power to write it all out right now and I'm late for my afternoon snoozels, so we'll have to keep you in suspense for next time. All I'll say for now is... I was SO GOOD at this therapy stuff. I'm a natural!

*Quick Paisley Update*

Paisley is healing well but is still quite uncomfortable. Her parents are keeping her crated to limit her activity and she's not taking to it well. Here you can see her nakee leg and stitches:
We figure that the worst is almost over and by next week the real struggle will begin as my grandhumans will have to figure out how to keep her from overusing the limb. She'll begin physical therapy at home, and it works out perfectly that her folks have a pool and a life preserver for her so she can work on the mobility and strength in that leg with some water therapy. I think I should go visit her... therapy is my thing now! This lucky mohawk can work miracles!

That's all for now, folks. Happy feasting!
Big Pupi

Raw Food Diet, Day 343- Paisley Update

***
Big Pupi and the 'Tale of the Wobbly Knee':

Aloha folks. My cousin Paisley made it through surgery just fine and she gets to go home today!Turns out that she had the most severe level of luxating patella, and it's a wonder that she was able to swim, run and play for so many years before needing surgery. In case you didn't click thru to read about the condition in Stanley's previous post, I'll give you a brief run down~

Luxating patella is a condition in which the knee cap (patella) doesn't like to stay where it belongs. In a proper knee joint there is a deep groove that runs at the base of the femur bone (that really big bone that extends from the hip to the knee). It is this groove that keeps the patella and its ligament gliding smoothly in place at the front of the knee. The whole thing stays pleasantly lubricated with joint fluid, and the proper alignment creates proper movement and balance with the quadriceps muscles (those hefty guys at the front of the thigh).

In dogs with luxation problems, the deep groove that keeps the patella and ligament in place exists in various degrees of "not good enough" to "non-existent." In most cases the outer ridges that give the groove its shape exist only on the outside portion of the bone, leaving the inside too shallow to hold the patella in place. The patella and ligament will then jump out of the groove (luxation) and slide over towards the inside of the leg. This creates great pain for the dog as there is no lubrication, the joint becomes locked in a bent position, and the quadriceps muscle is taken out of alignment. The knee will often eventually find its way back into place, but it's temporary and the condition causes a lot of pain.

My grandhumans spoke to 2 doctors and got 2 opinions on Paisley. Some dogs with very minor luxation problems can avoid surgery all together, and they didn't want her to go under the knife if she didn't have to. One doctor said that Paisley most definitely needed the surgery, and the other said that they should wait and see how she progresses. They decided to keep a close eye on her but in just a short time their original suspicions were confirmed - Paisley cried, limped and well.... Paisley needed the surgery.

It was only during her surgery that the doctor discovered that she didn't have any groove in her knee at all. It was completely smooth and the patella and ligament had absolutely nothing to limit their lateral movement. Ouch! The way that they solve the problem in surgery (this is the G-Rated version) is to carve a groove into the knee and make a little home for the patella, and then pin the ligament in place to ensure that it doesn't try to make any more escapes. I sure hope that patella finds its new home groovy. Ha ha ha... er... okay.

Despite the fact that bones and ligaments are being altered and moved about, recovery isn't supposed to be too bad. In fact, the doctor said that the most painful part of it all is the incision made to get to the knee joint - not the actual knee surgery. Paisley's movements will be limited for quite a while, but she should be better in no time at all. And the best part of this surgery is that if she behaves herself while healing that the problem will most likely be fixed for good - success rates for this procedure are over 90%.

So here's to Paisley with her brand new knee joint. I'm sure she's excited to get home and be spoiled as her mom and dad's little patient. I bet there's lots of treats, chew toys and belly rubs involved and that's kind of awesome!

Play hard, be healthy,
Big Pupi