Disappointment, decisions and...dirtyness :-)

Crystal here.

What a whirlwind. Friday: we arrived at the vet's office for Jaida's pre-op consultation, only to discover that a booking error had scheduled us in to see the WRONG VET!!! As much as we like Dr. Currie (she actually saw Jaida during her first two days and was great), she knew nothing of Jaida's amputation, the prosthesis option, or anything. She was able to show us an old orthotic support made for another client's dog, but didn't know much about it. It was really disappointing, and extremely hard to go home without answers to our questions and "the decision" still unresolved.

Our strong desire to get this monkey off our backs (plus a couple of cold beers) kept us talking for most of that evening, and we've made a decision:

Jaida will have a partial amputation, and we will have a prosthesis made for her after she heals. There. It's done.

We figure this way we will have provided Jaida with every opportunity, we will have explored and pursued all options, and the worst possible outcome would be another surgery and/or some money down the toilet if Jaida refuses to wear the device. If, however, it all works out, Jaida will have a new crutch that will slow or prevent wear on the joints of her good legs. The decision is made, so now we just have to deal with the pre-surgical nerves, of which there are plenty - eek.

So, with this out of the way, we threw ourselves into enjoying a beautiful, sunny, warm weekend with Jaida and Graice. Kim actually treated the girls to a "day out" before our vet appointment. They got a big, long car ride (Gracie's favourite, and Jaida even likes them now too), went to visit Kim's co-workers, then stopped at a pet store where Gracie spotted a bald guinea-pig she really wanted to *ahem* meet (maybe just have a little taste?). Then off to ANOTHER pet store where miss Jaida promptly selected a pig's ear from the shelf and headed for the door. This act of thievery was cute enough to score her some extra cookies from the cashier. On the way home from the vet, Gracie made friends with a construction worker who stopped us to allow some vehicles to pass. The woman leaned over to speak through the open car window, and was surprised by a very enthusiastic and very wet kiss from Gracie! The look on her face was priceless, but she was a good sport about Gracie's forwardness.

Saturday was glorious, so we started it off with a long walk in the woods....

...and, of course, MUD (what would a fun weekend be without mud?)... (there are hazards associated with closeup photography of boo-boo leg mudpuppies:) ...and we followed up the muddy fun with a nice dip in the creek... Hopefully we'll be able to enjoy a few more fun-filled days before the surgery this Thursday. Here is a portait of Jaida with all four legs, possibly one of the last we'll take:

It may sound strange, but we're so used to her little leg the way it is, and her with it...we're going to miss her little boo-boo foot.

Fun and games.

Crystal here.

It's been a quiet week consisting of rain, rain, clouds, rain, and more rain. The girls have more or less been stuck inside, with the odd romp in the woods thrown in between showers. Gracie's pretty cool about having some low-key days (she, like her mums, appreciates a good nap and a little down time). Jaida, however, has a tendency to get beansy but knows how to keep herself entertained.

She has the most utterly ridiculous and hilarious moments of puppy craziness...dashing around the hardwood floors (which really do lend themselves to a certain degree of comedy when it comes to animals), legs flying everywhere, eyes rolling, crashing into tables and couches, ears back, big wide toothy grin and floppy tongue, squealing and panting and groaning and chasing anything that moves...when it's Gracie she's chasing there are usually some great stop-drop-and-barrel-rolls thrown into the mix when Gracie chases back.

Kim and I usually sit back and watch these episodes half-collapsed with the giggles...they're so frikin' cute and funny. We'll have to try to capture it on film some day...

As for Jaida's Journey, we're kind of in limbo right now...it's a waiting game. Waiting for her pre-op appointment this Friday. Waiting until the final decision is made in terms of how we will proceed with her surgery and prosthesis (this aspect continues to be a bit of a roller-coaster ride). Waiting for the surgery itself. For the recovery period and everything that entails. For the time that she's feeling better and we can settle into a comfortable routine once again. It's a weird, quiet place to be...yet somehow whirling and frantic at the same time.

I think Kim and I are both determined to make "THE" decision this Friday during Jaida's pre-op . Personally, it's one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to be involved with. Just when I think it's a no-brainer (one way or the other), I start second guessing everything again. Hopefully, with the guidance of Jaida's trusted veterinarian, Dr. Sparling, we'll be able conclude this particular chapter to everybody's satisfaction. We'll let you all know how things turn out.

And what do the cats think?

Jaida here.

My cats have been not around in my stories. But that is probably because they spend a lot of time hiding or running away from me. I think there is a LOT of fun-ness in chasing them around the house, and I especially like to jump on Solomon and trap him under my boo-boo leg (he always yells at me when I do that, the big baby).

Boo is too important to be bothered with a boo-boo footed gal like me (even if I AM fabulous).

Riley thinks my nose is a punching bag (she's an even bigger grumpster than Tasha). But she has TWO boo-boo legs with wonky knees and only half a tail, so I guess she's allowed to be a grumpster.

And for some reason (even with all of my cleverness I cannot figure out why) Solomon is always jumping up to high places where my boo-boo leg and I can't reach. No fair.

I think Solly might be happy when my boo-boo leg is a bye-bye leg. Yep, I know about the bye-bye part. Moms have told me what a SUR-GER-EE is and have been telling me a bit about what's going to happen when I go see nice Dr. Sparling soon. It sounds a little weird, but they tell me that I am going to be JUST FINE and that they won't let it hurt too much.

They also tell me that maybe they will do something about my bye-bye boo-boo. My moms love me (well, duh, who wouldn't love a gorgeous gal like me?) and I know they will do what's best.

What does Gracie think?

Jaida here.

I think the fabulous miss Gracie is bored with all the talk of boo-boo legs and SUR-GER-EES going on in our house.

Unlike moms, SHE'S not worried about any of that stuff at all. As you can see...

she's pretty relaxed about the whole thing.

"A" Day!

Crystal here.

It's official. Jaida's amputation is booked for Thursday, June 14th.

We remain undecided about the prosthesis, but obviously will have to make that decision prior to the surgery.

New Leg or Not, that is the question.

Crystal here.

Lately, Jaida's mums are talking a lot about things like surgeries and prosthetics.

We're ready for Jaida's surgery (as ready as we'll ever be) and are anxious to get our family over this hurdle and help Jaida carry on with her newfound "official" three-legged-ness.

We sent a bunch of pictures and videos to K-9 Orthotics, who has been consulting with our vet, Dr. Sparling, throughout this process. Jeff (the fellow at K9P) needed to get a feel for Jaida's range of motion: how much she was able to move her joints. Here are the video clips we sent:

Her shoulder

(careful-she starts to bark at a car horn right at the end...so turn the volume down!)

Her elbow

You can see how flexible her shoulder is, and how little the elbow is able to bend. Jeff has recommended amputation at the elbow if we decide to proceed with the prosthesis. Dr. Sparling has recommended the same. So, it sounds like a prosthesis is definitely an option for Jaida. The thing is, we still haven't decided whether or not a prosthetic device is the BEST option for Jaida.

We still have a lot of questions about how Jaida's life will/could be improved if she gets a prosthesis. Things like: will it reduce the wear on her good leg? Can she muck around in mud puddles and creeks and snow while wearing it? What is it made of? Can she chew it up? Will it be easy to take on and off? Will she be able to be more active for longer periods of time with it on? Aesthetics have never been a factor for us. She's gorgeous now with her scrunchy little dangly club foot, and she'll be gorgeous with three legs or three-and-a-half legs. We just want her to be healthy and happy.

We have an on-line friend, Sandra, who has a pup named Angel. Angel had a stump for a front leg when Sandra adopted her. Recently, we found out that Sandra had Angel fitted for a prosthetic, through OrthoPets, and that it will be arriving any day now. Our family is anxiously awaiting pictures and stories of Angel and her new leg...it might help us make our decision about Jaida.

We're going to book the surgery for mid-June, if all goes according to plan, and Jaida will have either a full (entire arm, including shoulder) or partial (from the elbow down) amputation, depending on what we decide to do with the prosthesis. It's definitely not easy to make decisions like this, but I know that Kim and I will make the right one.

Little updates.

Crystal here.

Just wanted to leave two quick notes:

1. We've been in touch with a few more orthopedic specialists, and the consensus seems to be that Jaida's deformity is definitely not RH (see last week's post). It was most likely due to either an injury or impeded development in-utero (possibly due to the environment/diet of Jaida's mother), and probably doesn't have a genetic component. So, Jaida's just Jaida, with her own unique version of bendy-twisty-bonky-boo-boo-leg.

2. We're still waiting for to hear whether or not a prosthesis is going to be a possibility for Jaida. The type of surgery she will have is totally dependent on this information...we're really anxious to hear what K9 Orthotics says. It's hard to wait!

High-tech gear for the boo-boo leg?

Crystal here.

Jaida went for a checkup last weekend (clean bill of health, thank you very much!!) Along with the routine exam and vaccinations, we also decided to do some xrays of her little leg. The reason we did this is because we are exploring some options for her little chicken wing, namely, a prosthetic.

There are several talented and wonderful people out there who create custom orthotics, prosthetics and wheelchairs for dogs and other animals who need a little extra help getting around. We have spoken to such a person in Nova Scotia (Canada) who does just this and is interested in seeing if he could fabricate something for Jaida. This man is an amputee himself, and uses human-grade materials to create his masterpieces.

There is absolutely no reason why Jaida couldn't enjoy a great quality of life after a complete amputation of her little leg. Many, many three-leggers do just that (click here for lots of examples). However, since Jaida is still a baby, and thus will be relying on that ONE GOOD LEG for her entire life, it would be nice if we could give her a way to reduce the wear-and-tear on that good leg. Also, it would mean a less invasive surgery with only a partial amputation. So, we're checking things out. If it turns out that she's not a good candidate for a prosthetic, then we will go back to the original plan.

Here are the xrays from the weekend...kinda cool, eh? To quote our beloved and much esteemed veterinarian: "that wrist is all screwed up!"

Two views of the entire arm

Closeup of screwey wrist

Jaida gets the "all-clear" (and the story of Jaida's first month)

So, Jaida had her one-month checkup this past Saturday. They were x-raying her lungs to see how she was recovering from the pneumonia. Good news: her lungs look much healthier.

So healthy, in fact, that she will be able to undergo the surgery sometime in the next four weeks. It's now simply a matter of getting the estimate from the vet and booking the day. This, quite frankly, is mind-blowing, despite all the time we've had to process this whole amputation thing.

Let me go back a bit...

Jaida came to us as a 12 week old puppy. She's a lovely little german shepherd. We found her rather by accident, after answering an ad for puppies in a nearby village. We went to check out the pups, and were beyond horrified by what we saw. The pups and their "owner" were living in a shack with no heat or running water (this was in February in Canada - in other words, very cold). The 12 littermates had never been outside in their whole lives. Guess where they did their "business". You got it - in the house. The floors were covered in what can only be described as s*&t soup. The little ones and all of their bedding were matted with filth. In the middle of all this, we found our little girl: Jaida. We knew she was special. Her eyes told us she needed to come home with us. We loved her immediately and unconditionally.

Then there was her leg. She was born with a deformed and underdeveloped right front leg. It is shorter than the other front leg, and does not bend at the wrist or elbow. Her paw curls up almost parallel to the lower leg. She has toes, but no nails. We knew immediately that the leg was not long for this world.

We got her to the vet right away. They cleaned her up and did an exam, which revealed malnourishment, fleas, burnt paw pads from walking on urine, and to top it all off, pneumonia. The vet also confirmed our feelings about her little leg: it would be prone to damage and injury and would add unnecessary weight (and therefore strain) to her alreay maxed out three good legs: it would need to be amputated when she was stronger and able to handle the surgical anesthetic.

She came home to us after three days of recovery in the hospital.

Since then, with only a brief scare about the health of her kidneys (which, thankfully, turned out to be just fine) plus lots of love, good food, and daily antibiotic injections, she has put on weight, has a lovely shiny coat, and the pneumonia has almost been licked. She is playful, funny, active, and fearless. In fact, right now, she is downright wicked (that wonderful terrible twos phase pups go through). She knows no limitations and does it all on three legs.

Her little leg has proved to be an issue already...it doesn't touch the ground when she walks normally, but bonks on everything and gets in the way when she tries to do something as simple as lying down or go up stairs. Her wrist, which is the part that "bonks" the most, has already become bruised and raw. She now is being subjected to wearing a bootie on her paw for protection (oh, the indignity!!)

Which brings us to where we are now ... she has recovered enough to start planning seriously for her surgery.

In the past month, we have discovered some amazing resources for people whose lives are touched (or ruled) by dogs who have undergone limb amputations (see Jaida's Fave Links on the right). Most pups have lost their legs due to injury or illness, and their stories, sometimes posted on blogs, have given us hope and great encouragement. We know now that she will be ok, and will live a normal life. Jaida decided that she wanted her story told too, so her own unique spin on things could be shared with others.

This will also be a sanity-saving exercise for one of her moms (Crystal). She tends to be a tad too much on the left-brain side for her own good. Documenting everything will placate her humongous inner science geek who needs to collect and analyse stuff all the time.

So, anyways, that's all we have for now, until the surgery date is set. Jaida's journey begins....

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"Editor's note": we have received many enquiries about the fate of the other littermates and related issues. To clarify, no money was exchanged with the individual from whom Jaida was removed. Also, the appropriate authorities were alerted about the situation. To our knowledge, most of the pups went to other homes.