Tommy “The Little Man”, is out of commission. On July 18, he had TPLO surgery to repair his ACL in his left leg. He will be under strict crate confinement for up to three months!! Well, he does get to lay on the sofa while we watch TV, but other than that, and when he goes out to do his business, he is in the crate. He was also a funnel head up until his stitches came out.
Tommy was not a happy camper for the first few days of crate confinement. There was a lot of crying and whining, but he eventually calmed down and accepted his sentence behind bars.
The surgery was performed by Dr. Clary at The Brentwood Animal Hospital. Dr. Clary also performed TPLO surgery on Alli about 5 years ago, and he amputated Sasha’s arm when she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in March of 2012. We are very grateful for having such a good surgeon and a wonderful man to take care of our dogs. As long as Dr. Clary continues to practice, he will handle all of our animals’ major surgeries.
Tommy is doing great. In fact, I don’t think he realizes that he is in recovery. We have to be VERY careful with him, because he seems to feel no pain from the surgery. After her surgery, Alli seemed to know that she was in a fragile state, and we never had a problem with her wanting to do something that might cause further injury to her joint. As Dr. Neuenscwander says, Tommy is a bone head, and we need to be extra vigilant over him while he heals.
Next Friday, August 16, 2013, Tommy will have X-rays taken to see how he’s healing. Fingers crossed he is healing well and fast. He may not need to serve the full three month sentence in his cage. Alli was allowed out after two months.
Prayers and positive thoughts going out for Tommy. Ziva had the same surgery in December of 2009. She was very good during her 8 weeks in her kennel and she had her sister Abby right there beside her each day. We did take her to physical therapy after the surgery and she has done well. Tommy will do great, I’m sure. He has a great Mom and Dad looking after him and the whole gang as his cheerleaders!
Thank you Barbara. Tommy has been doing great. He doesn’t always behave the way he should, but I think he will be fine in the long run. We’ll update everyone after Tommy’s next follow up on or around September 13.