Rocky Mountain Great Dane Rescue, Inc.

Capri was turned into rescue because her previous family could not afford to get her the medical attention she needs. She was diagnosed with a torn cruciate ligament in her back right knee and her owners had to make the difficult decision to give her up so she would not have to suffer and could live the life she deserves.

January 15, 2008

We took Capri to see Dr. Stubbs, an orthopedic surgeon at the Animal Hospital Center, and he performed an orthopedic exam and took some films of her knee. She was very lame and painful on that leg and his findings were consistent with the original doctor's diagnosis, chronic ACL disease. Her muscle is fairly atrophied in the right rear, indicating this is something that could have been occurring gradually over time and she just eventually tore the ligament completely. He also reported that her leg turns out slightly which may mean she is slightly deformed in that leg. His recommendation for treatment was to perform TPLO surgery to repair the ligament, so we have scheduled surgery for Thursday, January 17th.

January 17, 2008

AM Update

Capri's surgery went very well today according to Dr. Stubbs! Her ACL was completely torn as he suspected. Otherwise, her joint looks good and there is only slight arthritis. We decided to use a Titanium plate which is a new material surgeons are now using in dogs. They have been working really well and seem to help cut down recovery time by quite a bit, so we are hopeful it will make her post-op recovery faster. He also found that Capri had excessive external rotation of her tibia, which essentially means that between her knee and ankle she was slightly deformed and cow-hocked as a result. He was able to adjust her leg while he was in there working on the leg and expects that her leg will straighten out significantly once she heals.

Normal recovery time for this procedure is typically 6-8 weeks and the first 2-3 weeks are the most critical. Dr. Stubbs just recently saw a dog with the titanium plate 4 weeks post-op who was almost completely healed, so hopefully this will be the case with Capri as well! She will have to have completely restricted activity and remain as calm and quiet as possible. She can only have leashed walks outside to go potty and no further exercise. Capri's foster mom will be confining her to a bedroom and will give her lots of love and TLC over the upcoming weeks!

PM Update

I visited Capri in ICU after she had fully woken up from surgery. She was very alert and happy to see me and quite disappointed that I wasn't there to spring her quite yet! They are keeping her very comfortable on pain meds and her leg will be wrapped to protect the incision until tomorrow. She has a heater right by her kennel and was wrapped in a blanket, so she is nice and warm, and the staff is giving her lots of special attention. She should be ready to be released from the hospital on Saturday if all goes well!

January 30, 2008

Capri was officially released from the hospital on Saturday following her surgery and has been successfully recovering at home with her foster family. The first night was difficult due to her lack of mobility, but everything has fallen into place day by day. She is gaining strength and has gotten used to the routine. Her foster mom and her son are showering her with lots of love and attention and luckily someone is home most of the time to keep a watchful eye on her. Capri spends most of her days relaxing on the couch as you can see in the photos!

Capri went to have her staples removed by Dr. Stubbs yesterday and he said her incision looks wonderful and is healing phenomenally well. She will need another check up in a few weeks, but we are very encouraged with her progress so far!

February 14, 2007

Yesterday was Capri's one month checkup. Dr. Stubbs said she was healing faster than expected and bone growth looks wonderful. He is allowing short walks twice a day, increasing time 5 min every week. She has also lost a substantial amount of weight which he is very happy about. She is much more active and excited about life this past week. He wants to see her in another month and has encouraged us to do some Physical Therapy to help her to continue to build up strength and endurance in that leg. Capri jumped right in the car to head to her vet appointment and enjoyed the ride, so she is obviously feeling much better physically and emotionally and is making tremendous progress!