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May 8, 2008
Uncanny
It truly is uncanny how much dogs become like their owners or vice versa. I know I've written about this theory before but it's never been as apparent to me as it has been the past couple days.
So the vet yesterday. Wow - what a fiasco! I don't even know if I have the strength to retell the whole story but let's just say, I don't like our vet, we won't be returning to his practice and that's 2 hours of my life I will never get back!
Basically he thinks there is something wrong with Roxy's ligament or tendon in her left hind "knee". I agree that this is likely the issue. We didn't see her do anything to her back leg but she is an extremely active dog and runs/jumps/does cartwheels/backflips/races/etc... around like no dog I've ever seen (except perhaps my sister and brother in law's crazy dog Luna). It's likely that she could have pulled or strained or slightly torn something while engaging in one of her crazy moves.
But the vet wanted to take an xray to make an appropriate diagnosis. Hmm...okay...sounds fair enough. I inquired if a ligament or tendon tear could be seen on xray (knowing full well that it couldn't be seen with anything but an MRI) to which the vet responded that possibly it could. He then informed me that to take this xray he would have to put Roxy under anesthesia, do blood work and also keep her over night until the anesthesia wore off. To which I responded, "umm...really?"
This was starting to sound a little fishy.
The anesthesia, he claimed, was so that Roxy would lay totally still for the xray. I asked him if it was possible if I could just put on an apron and hold her really still myself with no anesthesia (I was fairly certain I could keep her still for the 5 seconds it would take to do the film). He didn't go for that idea.
At which point I inquired of the cost of all this madness. Whoooooo man - let's just say - I didn't like the answer to that question!
After I decided (in about 3 seconds) that we could not afford the close to $600 bill for a stinking xray I inquired as to option #2. I mean really, $600 for an xray?! I was really surprised that he would even suggest that option given the fact that she is only slightly limping up stairs and while jumping and walks and runs normally. It was pretty apparent to me that her leg wasn't broken (no swelling, no heat, no nothing) so what exactly was this $600 xray going to tell us? And furthermore, where exactly do you think you are practicing your veternarian medicine, The Hamptons? I mean O and I do not live in a very affluent area of Pittsburgh and I find it really hard to believe anybody where we live would pay for this type of thing! It's one thing if I know for sure my dog needs surgery to live and it cost $600 - well than of course we'd find a way to make it work, but for an xray that likely isn't going to tell us much at all? I don't think so.
The charade continued on for a while. At one point I asked if I could just take her home as is and see if it got any better on it's own. That's when the vet laid the BIG guilt trip on me that I had to (AT THE VERY LEAST) let them do the blood work and give her the pain/anti-inflammatory medicine (which was $200) because we couldn't let her suffer like this.
Suffer? Just 2 hours earlier I had watched her dart across our yard faster than a lightening bolt to try to catch a bunny.
He told me that "just because they can't talk doesn't mean they aren't in pain." I wanted to slap him. So I agreed - blood work and pain/anti-inflammatory medicine for 2 weeks with very minimal activity and if the limp still exists or returns, it's back to the vet. Of course it won't be the same vet - it will be a different one - but back to the vet regardless. :)
So last night Roxy got an IV injection of the medicine and now today she started on oral medicine for the next two weeks.
And guess who is feeling better?
I came home today from work to find an absolute WILD dog. Unlike the past two days where she was pretty sedate, didn't jump around much and only occasionaly tried to run, today she was doing her regular mad-dog impression, racing around, jumping up, doing her crazy circles around the dining room table... Oh man. This is part of the reason why I didn't want the pain medication right away because now that she doesn't feel her pain it's going to be nearly impossible to keep her activity level low. Pain isn't always a bad thing if you know what I mean.
Which brings us to the uncanny similarities between Roxy and I. O was remarking this morning how much Roxy is just like I am when I'm injured! She was totally depressed this morning because she didn't get her usual walk and she absolutely HATES when either O or I carry her up and down the steps and up and down off the bed. I told her I know how she feels! I hate being injured too and when people tell me not to do this or that - no running or racing - well I get sad and depressed just like her! And then it starts to feel just a bit better (likely due to the medicine) and we are both all about getting back into things! I lectured her tonight about waiting until it was totally healed before starting back up again, a lecture I've heard myself about 10,000 times. There was sulking and she also scratched up her blanket leaving purple fuzz all over the house. Been there, done that myself (okay, I never scratched up a blanket but I'm sure I've done similar things while injured... :).
Truly uncanny.
So wish us luck in trying to keep her relatively tame (without the help of a cage) over the next couple of weeks while she heals. If she really is like me, there will be much weeping and gnashing of teeth in the days to come.
Posted by beth at May 8, 2008 8:00 PM
Comments
I don't know which is more of a challenge:
1. Keeping Roxy, when under the cover of pain/anti-inflammitory medicine from trying to prematurely run around before being completely healed and keep her spirits up because she can't go for runs.
2. Keeping Beth, when under the cover of pain/anti-inflammitory medicine from trying to prematurely run around before being completely healed and keep her spirits up because she can't go for runs.
Tough call. I'm glad I don't get hurt often (I think it's because I don't train too hard.)
Posted by: O at May 8, 2008 8:49 PM
Ohhh--I am mad at that vet now. Sounds like a real jerk. Hope Roxy is better soon. I think she needs to go water running with Marit to get a little non-impact exercise!
-Danielle
Posted by: Danielle at May 8, 2008 8:56 PM
Oh wow, what a bad experience. You should post the name of that vet.
O's comment is really funny.
And, I think maybe perhaps you have shredded a purple blanked when injured before. Maybe just maybe? Heh.
Roxy, get better soon!
Meghan
Posted by: Meghan at May 8, 2008 10:03 PM
Man, what a rip-off vet! Glad you didn't succumb to the x-ray. Good call. Hope Roxy feels better soon. That's funny about dogs and people being similar. But what does it say about me that my dog took a dump on my bed yesterday???
Posted by: Ness at May 9, 2008 9:40 AM
Beth,
you are a better vet than this knave.
Four years ago (1 year after i started barefoot running in bulk) at one point i developed a significant amount of pain somewhere between my left foot's middle phalanx and distal phalanx of the second toe.
In those early "ignorant" days i was quite worried i might have done some damage (stress fracture or worse.)
So i went to get an ultrasound and an xray from a very good orthopedic doctor who could not really find anything wrong. And said maybe i had some minute form of tendinitis going on. That was it. His job was diagnosis. Nothing major, no cure.
I had another two PTs (good pros and friends no less) check it out and they could not find anything either. But they suggested walking instead of running and some good strengthening exercises once i recovered.
But the healing award was won by another friend of mine who is a young but brilliant vet. And who provided some wisdom to live by.
From his animalistic perpesctive, and looking at me as such, he said "never ever to forget the importance of pain. Pain is self-limiting." Which is the way animals are often able to heal themselves without intervention or therapy. They always factor it in.
Your vet sounds like he has a bad doctor record, lost his human clients, and is now trying to hammer on our animal friends. Making a fast, big buck while he is at it.
Nonetheless, i fully sympathize with O... :-)
Posted by: corrado giambalvo at May 9, 2008 12:49 PM