Jasper Vet Update

Tuesday came, and it was off to see Rafa. Jasper took the opportunity to chew up another quilt on the way over, and again we arrived in a fluffy of feathers - *note to self - do not give Jasper a feather filled duvet!* Rafa was really pleased with how the operation has gone, the fixator is sturdy and the scar is healing brilliantly. It is up to Jasper now, mentally and physically (physio) to start using his leg again. We are staying on top of the fissures and keeping them clean. Rafa took swabs to test the discharge to make sure Jasper's present antibiotics where enough for fighting the infection. He is back again in 3 weeks for new x-rays to see how things are going, unless I am worried about anything. I'm going to keep Rafa posted in the meantime with how he gets on. WOW! We have received the amazing offer of the loan of a proper hydrotherapy pool, with all the proper filters, heaters etc, to use with Jasper for as long as he needs it! The folks from K9 Surf heard about Jasper's story and called to make us this very generous gesture. Thank you so much. We are just overwhelmed with everyones support for Jasper - it has really touched us.

Jasper Update

Our brave soldier battles onwards. Eleanor spent a lot of time working with Jasper's physio on Saturday and he was as good as gold throughout. Very brave little man. Thank you Eleanor for that - Jasper says can he book you again. Another Blow: Typically, Jasper has been dealt another cruel blow to battle against. Just as we were going up to bed on Sat we noticed blood in Jasper's bed. We checked to make sure it wasn't from his op, and it wasn't. However just below that there was a little 'tear' in the skin. It was leaking. We suspected Jasper may have nibbled there, as it was above his knee and that is quite painful and swollen still. We bandaged him up, gave him some pain relief and settled him for the night. Sunday. The next morning, Jasper had the bandage off and the wound was still weepy. I cleaned it up and covered it again. Jasper moved the bandage so he could check it. Unfortunately, Jasper can't wear a buster collar because we can't risk him catching it on the fixator. I kept cleaning the wound yesterday and kept and eye on it. It didn't seem to bother Jasper, and on close inspection it didn't look as if he had been nibbling at it. Last night before bed, I double checked him, and it looked like the wound was bigger. Jasper wasn't due to go to the vets until Wednesday, but I decided I would have him down first thing in the morning. Monday. This morning when we came down to him, the wound was definately bigger, and another wound had opened up next too it. None are near his operation though, they are below it. It was quickly off to our usual vets in Thrapston for a check up. 2 fissures (?) have opened up in Jasper's leg as he has pus/infection just under where the operation has been done - his body could be trying to reject the fixator. It's a bit like when a volcano erupts and magma comes up and out of the ground, his body is doing the same to expell the pus. He also has a temperature. He was given strong antibiotics and an injection of stronger pain killer. We helped expell the build up of pus by moving it down his thigh and out of the fissures. We have to do that several times a day, and keep a close eye on him. We are back to the vets in Peterborough to see Rafa first thing tomorrow morning as he wasn't there today. I feel so bad for the poor boy. He is being such a little trooper through all this, and not complaining at all.

Jasper's Home!!

Here's the update you've all been waiting for. Jasper is home, and as you can see from his pictures, he's not only carrying his own hardware, but he wouldn't get through the metal detector at an airport..! He had to have a bone graft, which is why there is a wound on his front bless him. He may look happy in some of these pictures - the wonder of Morphine is still kicking around in his system...
Here's the report from Rafa, the vet who operated on Jasper. The Vets Report: On Thursday, 08/05/08 Jasper was brought to Broadway Veterinary Hospital because he had a lameness 10/10 on his hind limb. The range of motion was very limited and the patient did not bear any weight on this limb. Jasper underwent orthopaedic surgery months ago to fix a comminute fracture on the left femur. After taking X Rays under sedation, the femur presented a non union, with a bone loose, probably because of the instability of the implant. The range of motion in the knee was very small and presented a contracture of caudal musculature of the thigh. We released the muscles to try and elongate it and recover some movement, removal of the plate, realign the bone and placed an intrameddular nail with a tie-in external fixator. A bone graft from greater tubercle of the right humerous was taken. The suture is absorbable and subcuteaneous, so doesn't need to be removed. Jasper is on Cephalosporine and NSAIDs. Important. It is very important to encourage Jasper to use the leg, starting with massage on all the joints as soon as possible, and movements of flexion extension in toes, hock, stifle, and hip - before startinng these excercises it is advisable to warm the muscles first with, for example, a hot towel. When the wound is healed, swimming would be a very good exercise. X rays should be retaken 3 weeks post-op. Although the prognosis is guarded, rehabilitation and physiotherapy could provide acceptable use of the limb. In the 'Going Home' pack...We've tried to take good pictures of the X-rays, seen here. The first is a new x-ray of the original 'fix':
Here's the repair Rafa has made:
Shocking! They also provided in a small bag, the 'repair' materials from Jaspers original operation. Having seen the pictures of Rafa's work, you can see that the Irish vet was playing around with Meccano by comparison. There's the metal strip with holes, five screws, and the end of a drill bit. That's right. THE END OF A DRILL BIT!
Now we know what it was, it's glaringly obvious that you can see the drill bit on the original Irish post-op X-rays. You can see it 'floating' next to the top of the metal strip after the original operation:
Jasper Himself. Jasper was very pleased to see us, and especially Sarah. He didn't want to let her out of his sight, bless him. He's settled back in, and we're preparing a huge crate for him to sleep in because he requires a lot of restricted rest. We also have to make sure he doesn't catch his external brace on anything. It's obvious that he's still in pain, and his leg is very very swollen. Hopefully as the swelling goes down, he's much more likely to use it.
Future care. It's going to be a long hard road for Jasper, but we'll be here for him every step of the way. We have a hydrotherapy type pool ready (ex birthing pool), now we need a heavy duty pool heater/filter - it's important the water is warmed to keep those muscles relaxed. So we have a shopping list for:* A float jacket * Chemicals that will be kind to doggies to keep the pool clean and free of bacteria * Heavy Duty Pool heater * Heavy Duty Pool filter / Pump.
Does anyone have any suggestions for these items? Recommendations welcome. Thank you once again to everyone who is rooting for Jasper. We really appreciate all your good thoughts and support.

Jasper Update - Still Hope!

HOPE!!! Jasper still has 4 legs and is very dozy, but recovering well from the op. It was a 3hr procedure. It was difficult to understand what he was saying in the message about the op in depth, and I haven't been able to speak to Rafa himself again yet. Spoke to the orthopedic vet nurse and she said Jasper is comfortable. He has an external support on his leg. Fingers crossed he will be able to come home tomorrow. I need to call Rafa at 10am tomorrow, if he hasn't called me before, to see how things have gone and how Jasper is. Thank you for all the good thoughts, please keep them coming for him. And thank you to AlisonT for coming with me today to take him. I think this was the first time I've ever been a nervous wreck at a vets, getting teary-eyed at the slightest thing, telling Jasper we loved him and what a brave boy he was hardly able to breath while we waited with Jasper while he was sedated, examined throughly, had more x-rays, examined again and finally bursting into tears and throwing my arms round Rafa when he said he thought he could save Jasper's leg. He was disgusted with the way Jasper has been left to suffer by the Irish vet. Will let you know more as soon as we do. Oh yes.... Cheeky Jasper on the way to the vets.... I put a lovely feather duvet in the middle of the van so Jasper could travel in complete comfort. We heard some noises on the way home. When we got to the vets and opened the side door - we were greeted by a fluffy of feathers and a very pleased looking Jasper! He'd been having great fun in there! Pics to follow. The vets car park, reception area and examination room ended up looking like there had been a chicken and fox incident! Thankfully everyone found it funny and it just endeared Jasper to everyone even more! Little Scamp!

Good Luck Jasper

Jasper says thank you to everyone for their good thoughts and good luck wishes. He's been taking it easy tonight and preparing himself for his big day and operation tomorrow. I will update the blog as soon as we have any news. Fingers crossed.

Jasper Update

Sadly it isn't good news for Jasper and his poorly leg. We had him x-rayed again last week and it looks like the vet in Ireland tried to put him together with meccano! It has all fallen apart inside, and it was actually showing that on the last dodgy x-ray taken in Ireland - so the vet knew it hadn't worked! He should have either taken Jasper's leg off at that time. Instead he left him with a useless leg that was never going to do anything other than hang there like a lump of dead wood! Jasper is on pain relief to help him. Poor little soul. He is booked in on Thursday to have the leg amputated. We are meeting with the Orthopedic vet first thing just to make sure we have exhausted every possibility for him to keep his leg, but I can't see that happening at all. I am sooooo angry with the Irish vet for leaving him like this. There was absolutely no need for it. Jasper would like to send big thanks to all the folks that are rooting for him, and we all appreciate the supportive emails and phone calls people have made for him. Please keep him in your thoughts on Thursday.

Katie is home!!!

Fantastic news!!! Yvonne found Katie on Sunday morning. She went back to the car park where she had lost her early Sunday morning at the time they would normally go for a walk, and there was Katie! There is much relief all around!! Thank you to everyone who helped search for Katie. Your help was VERY much appreciated by ourselves and by Yvonne.

URGENT HELP NEEDED - SANDRINGHAM, NORFOLK - MISSING DOG.

Katie went missing last night at 8pm from the Sandringham Visitors Centre Car Park. We have only just been notified. Yvonne was using one of those stupid retractable leads for the first time - Katie pulled and it came straight of Yvonne's hand and she took off. Katie was adopted 6 weeks ago, so it's still early days. No sightings since last night. If anyone is in the area who can help with the search we would all be extremely grateful. Doglost has been notified. Radio appeal gone out. Posters being given out. Local rescues notified.
Yvonne is on site, her number is: 0797 189 6653. Wiccs number is: 07905 203254. Sandringham Visitors Centre, Sandringham, Norfolk, PE35 6EN. Link to map of Sandringham DogLost: Link to Doglost Updates Poster: Downloadable Poster Here