My mom and dad went off to Texas last week in search of another emergency veterinarian to join the S.A.V.E.S. team at the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society meetings. I think they should have brought me. Mom said San Antonio was in need of a few dogs. She only saw one or two the whole time she was there. She also mentioned that the temperature never went below 100'F.
She even saw some cowboys! In the mean time I was left back here in Vermont with my brother and sister. I hate when she leaves, it feels like she is never coming back. I can deal with it, I know some dogs can't and they go crazy. Some of my dad's patients when left to their own device will destroy their parent's home!
I just do a lot of sleeping.... and thinking....
Sometimes I dream of Petunia.....or that really cute golden retriever I met yesterday.
Sometimes I think about why my brother and sister talk in letters? I understand lots of things my family says. I love when they say "Want some breakfast" or "I'm taking Oli for a walk". I love the word "wanna", "wanna have dinner?", "wanna go for a ride?", "wanna play ball?".
My sister is always saying "FYI", my other sister constantly says "OMG".
Dad is always talking about ACL's and TPLO's. Even when I am at the hospital I hear our nurses like Carmelita say to my dad, "are we doing the TPLO next?". I almost expect to see her break into dance like when my brother talks about doing the "worm" (a very strange dance indeed, I always get in trouble for jumping on him when he acts like that).
Turns out an ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) is a ligament in our knee that stabilizes it, keeps it from sliding in the wrong direction (ouch). Sometimes this can be "ruptured" (broken) by a sudden leap off the porch or even a fall. Some breeds are more prone to this problem then others. When this happens most of us dogs need to have surgery. There are many ways to fix this problem, my dad fixes many each week with a procedure called a TPLO (Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy). He was one of the first veterinarians in Vermont to be licensed to perform the procedure way back in 2001. He has done so many of these it is crazy!
Check back if you want to learn more about how my dad finds out if the ACL is damaged and then what happens!
Tata for now...
