Awww, Trini, so sorry you all are going through this. Best wishes for a speedy recovery to Sketchie from me and Echo. Echo also says "Cookies are in order"
She wanted me make sure you understand that she means cookie with an "s" on the end.
Sketchie and I so appreciate all the good wishes...everyone's post is special to us...thank-you!
We hit a bump in the recovery road on Sunday when Sketch's suddenly had trouble getting up. His remaining hip didn't seem to be able to handle the load and I got really scared. But today our vet saw Sketchie and said there is some fluid build-up (inflammation) around the ACL (no actual injury) and also inflammation around the hip on his remaining rear leg from it suddenly being thrown into the job of supporting all his rear weight, but manipulation of the hip seemed good.
He has scheduled Sketch to come in on Friday for a steroid shot in that remaining hip and will do X-rays of that hip while Sketch is under sedation so we have visual knowledge of that hip's condition. The steroid injection should knock out the inflammation and give Sketchie at least a couple of weeks of pain free movement so we can work on very gradually building up those muscles to cope with their new job.
I'm so glad that they were able to give you more time with Sketch. I remember when my sheltie had FHO surgery. It was many weeks before he would put the leg down even a bit. He finally chased squirrels on 3 legs long enough to forget & put the 4th leg down. But until then he was rocking & rolling on 3 legs.
Watch the other hip because for a bit he might overuse it to compensate. Could have been doing that for a while already. I hope the steroids help & maybe see if Adequan injections would help if it continues.
Good luck & give him a pet from all the Louisiana shelties! He's a beauty.
What a horrible situation but Sketch sounds like he is handling everything
well. May Sketch keep up the great progress.I think Shelties adapts better
then we do, and a big pat on your back for you, good job.
Again, Sketch and I thank you all so much for the continued good wishes. He got the steroid shot in his remaining hip early Friday morning which left him with some discomfort until mid-day yesterday, but it has all been upbeat since then.
This morning his cold nose poked me awake...all eager to get up and start the day. He will remain on limited exercise for several weeks...gradually doing more each day as his solo hip and the rest of his body gets used to moving minus one leg and the necessary muscles strengthen to take on their new load. His eyes have regained their sparkle and it is so good to see his spirit return to the happy, love life boy we had before the cancer struck.
The X-rays on his remaining hip also brought good news. It is not a perfect hip, as we already knew from X-rays done on his hips 2+ years ago, but there has been no deterioration in it's condition over that time span...which is a big plus. It is a bit loose, but our vet is confident that if we never push Sketchie beyond just normal everyday exercise, the hip will serve Sketchie well for the remainder of his life...which hopefully will be another 6+ years.
The past 3 weeks have been a roller coaster of emotions from getting the devastating dx of bone cancer through now seeing our big blue boy on the road to full recovery. We are exhausted, but super happy.
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Sketch says your Echo is his kind of gal! 
