New foster kid ....

[Myrina]

.... he was found stray at the end of June ... Goddess knows how long he was on his own, he's skin & bones.

He was at a high-kill shelter that I foster for prior and while I had no intent to foster again for the time being, having just adopted Coco-Nut a few months ago, when I saw that they were trying to farm him out to a rescue up in Minnesota, I asked to meet him. The shelter had taken him to a 4th of July Festival and he won 'Best Smile' and 'Bobbing for Hot Dogs' ... that was really all I needed to know about what level of goofball he'd be.

https://www.facebook.com/.../Hammy-Hamilton-Dog/17356516281952 (I am Hammy's facebook voice, btw.)

Since I lost Max the Catahoula in February, I honestly have to say not having a 'big, mean looking dog' around the house has left me a little uneasy (even though I have an alarm system) and this guy makes me feel safer although there isn't a mean bone in his body.

Anyway, Hossa - as he is probably going to be known - has Luxating Patellas in both back knees. Anyone here have any big-dog experience with that? The vets we've contacted are all quoting +/- $4k for surgeries, so the shelter and I would need to do some serious fundraising. I guess my question is: is he more likely to have later-life issues (arthritis etc) with or without surgery? He seems to get around fine now, chases squirrels, walks a couple miles/dy with me, likes to swim and play ... so is the surgery "mandatory" or more for "comfort/convenience"?

Thanks for the input!

[hamsterjill]

1. No input to give, but wanted to send you a hug for taking him in!

Best of luck to you in helping his medical situation. I am glad he is safe!

[Walk away]

2. I have had several dogs who have had the surgery. It is becoming more common every year.

These have all been small to medium dogs but I can tell you that the advise I received from the head of Orthopedic Surgery at AMC and my personal experience with four different dogs and six surgeries. You really don't need to have the surgery done until it affects the dog. Often, one leg goes before the other and sometimes you end up only needing surgery on one leg. You will be able to tell when you dog needs the surgery. It takes a month to recover from the operation but you dog will be able to walk home the next day. The big problem is keeping them from running and jumping for a month. After this surgery your dog will be like the $6,000,000 man. It fixes the problem forever.

$2,000 per is about right but you might not need to deal with it for a year or two so you can start saving now.

[Curmudgeoness]

3. So glad you took him in....

and I bet he is too. We always say that we are not doing it anymore, or that we are not ready for it yet, but shit happens. And it is usually good for us that it does.