Rocky Mountain Great Dane Rescue, Inc.

Kaya is a beautiful, 8 month old, Dane puppy who came into rescue on September 21, 2006. Her previous owner loved her very much, but he could not afford to get her the care she needs and deserves and wanted to do what was best for her.

After arriving into our care, we immediately made an appointment with Dr. Landry at TLC Animal Hospital in Lafayette on Friday, September 22nd. He took x-rays and was very dismayed at his discoveries. Kaya has a genetic malformation of her tibias that doesn’t allow her to stand up straight and virtually leaves her with no range of motion in one of her knees. She walks in a squatting position at all times and her knee is stuck at a 90 degree angle. The good news is that she isn't in any pain currently. However, Dr. Rob believes that, as she gets older, the undue stress on her hips and legs will take its toll and she will need to be on long-term pain management when she gets done growing. Initially, he was worried that there was nothing we could do to "fix" Kaya, but he wasn't ready to give up yet.

October 16, 2006

Kaya went in for surgery this morning with Dr. Landry and the orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Kerrihard. They performed a wedge osteotomy to correct the malalignment of the knee. They decided not to perform the TPLO surgery at this time and she will require multiple surgeries more than likely. The doctors removed a piece of her tibia and put two pins in her growth plate to try and stop further growth because the more she grows, the more problems will arise with her knee.

They were able to give her a 30 degree angle instead of the 90 degree angle she had before which will give her much greater range of motion. She will need to do some physical therapy while the knee is healing and stretch the muscle so that it can adjust to the new angle of the knee. Her foster family will be doing daily exercises to extend the hawk and the ankle and help her to adjust as she heals.

Kaya will have a 4-6 week recovery before her next procedure. She will be staying the night tonight at the hospital so that Dr. Landry can keep her as comfortable as possible post-op. She is currently on a Fentanyl drip and patch and she is resting comfortably. The surgery went as well as they could have hoped at this point in time and both doctors are pleased with the results so far!

October 18th, 2006

Kaya is now home at her foster home and was a perfect patient according the both docs and Onya. She has a pretty purple soft cast on that will come off on Thursday. Her foster mom has to take her back to TLC on Thursday to have that taken off and learn what stretches they need to do with her. Her patch will come off tomorrow morning and she will be on oral pain medication after that. She already stands up straighter and uses her left leg some. She had a rough night and seemed to be in some pain, but mainly just uncomfortable. Her foster mom, Lori, ended up sleeping on the dog bed with her starting at about midnight to comfort her. She seemed a lot better and more settled this morning. Kaya is such a little trooper!

November 3rd, 2006

Kaya went in for a check-up this week and Dr. Rob said she looks incredible! He can't believe how well she is using her leg and how much extension and mobility she already has as a result of the surgery. He took her staples out and decided not to even mess with her leg because she is recovering so nicely. Dr. Kerrihard, the orthopedic surgeon, is going to be at TLC on Monday so Dr. Landry has requested that Kaya come back for a quick visit just so he can see her personally. Her next actual re-check is scheduled in 3 weeks. At that point, they will do another set of x-rays to see if they even need to do the TPLO surgery. Kaya's foster family will continue to do her stretches 4 times a day and the doc said we could take her off her pain meds if she seems comfortable. So, all in all, we could not be happier for Miss Kaya and she is making incredible progress thanks to the dedication and support of her foster family!

November 7th, 2006

Dr. Don Kerrihard took a look at Kaya yesterday afternoon and also took an x-ray. He was pleasantly surprised at how much she is using it (she is using it more now than she was on Thursday when Dr. Rob saw her) and her x-ray looks awesome. She is definitely on the road to recovery and standing up almost straight!

December 8, 2006

Kaya had her 6 week checkup with Dr. Landry and Dr. Kerrihard yesterday. They both just stare at her in disbelief and can't believe how well she is using her leg. She puts about 90% of her weight on it now and uses it about 90% of the time. Kaya has almost full extension and seems to have no pain.

Dr. Kerrihard examined her leg thoroughly and manipulated it quite a bit. He feels that she is doing so well that he wants to wait 2 more weeks, giving her a full 8 week recovery, to take a follow-up x-ray to determine what to do next. Apparently, they left a pretty large gap between the bone in hopes it would grow together. From what they saw and felt yesterday, Dr. Kerrihard believes that is exactly what is happening.

She is still to be crated most of the time, but she is very comfortable and content in her crate now. She is doing better than either doctor thought she would do, so we are thrilled with this latest update!

December 28, 2006

Kaya went back to the vet this week for another checkup and is doing wonderfully. Dr. Landry took an x-ray which revealed that 3 of the 4 gaps are totally filled in with bone and 2 of the 3 breaks are completely fused. Her growing plate is no longer growing, which is good news. She has one more break to finish fusing and he wants a bit more bone to fill in the gaps, but she is definitely on the right track. He wants to see her back in 4 weeks. Kaya is still supposed to be crated at all times, which is hard since she is a puppy, but her foster family is giving her lots of love to make it as easy as possible on her!

January 19, 2007

Kaya went to her forever home with Susan in Denver. She has a lab brother named Cooper to play with. Her new mom is not only a board member, but fosters for us also, so she is in wonderful hands! Susan looks forward to taking her new addition for lots of trips to the dog park and can't wait to show her off at future events. She is also committed to providing Kaya whatever medical care she may require down the road in regards to her knees. She will be very spoiled and loved, just like she deserves!

July 6, 2007

Hello,

I've been meaning to send an update for months!!! It has been about 7 months since I adopted Kaya and she is doing great. About 6 weeks after I adopted her, I adopted another Dane from RMGDRI, Megan. Thankfully, Megan has the patience of a saint and was very tolerant of Kaya's puppy enthusiasm- jumping on her, sitting on her, stepping on her, taking her toys, treats and her dog bed. In the past several months, Kaya has gotten better with personal space boundaries and she and Megs have become best friends. They absolutely love each other and have a really nice relationship. Megan definitely taught Kaya manners and Megan is very serious and thoughtful and Kaya taught her how to play and have fun.

Kaya is literally the silliest dog that I have ever met- and definitely one of the sweetest. Her favorite way to sleep is next to you on the bed, with her forehead pressed against yours so she can be close. She has not met another creature- two or four legged- that she does not love. She is particularly enamored of small dogs and will spend hours play bowing to them, rolling around on the ground and doing anything possible to get them to play with her.

Her knee/leg is holding up fairly well- she has her good days and her bad days. On the bad days, she gets a Rimadyl and seems to be fine. She is such a happy dog, so the only indication that it is bothering her is that her limp gets a little more pronounced. Overall, she is doing really well.

I have attached a few pictures. The first one perfectly sums up their personalities and relationship- Megan happily playing with a toy and Kaya getting ready to pounce on her and take it away!!! These two are definitely a joy and I feel so lucky to have them in my life.

Thanks so much,

Susan