Hello everyone! WOOF WOOF!!! Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Simon, and I’m an 8 year old mixed breed. I’m a big guy and a little rambunctious, but I love life and everyone in it! I’m here to talk a bit about my adventures with my veterinarian friends at Edmonton West Animal Hospital. They’re great people there, and I wanted to share some of my experiences with my readers in case they want to come and visit this clinic too!
2 weeks ago, I learned a lot about a surgery called TPLO. One weekend I went out to the lake with my mom. She brought my ball with her; she knows how much I love to play fetch! One time I ran and jumped in the air to catch it, and when I landed, I felt pain in one of my back legs. I wasn’t sure what happened, but I didn’t want to play fetch anymore, so we went home. My mom was worried because I was limping; I couldn’t put much weight on that leg, so she brought me to see my friend Dr. Gosal at Edmonton West Animal Hospital. He’s a really nice guy; he’s very gentle, and he feeds me treats when I come and visit (please don’t tell anyone – I LOVE treats, maybe too much!) He checked my knee and told my mom that I ruptured my cranial cruciate ligament or CCL. That sounded scary to me, but he said that he can fix it, and that I don’t need to worry. He took a special picture of my knee called an x-ray, and I could see the bones in my leg! It was really cool! Dr. Gosal said that I would need a surgery called TPLO. This stands for tibial plateau leveling osteotomy. Sounds complicated? I thought so too, but Dr. Gosal is very experienced and knowledgeable. He explained it all to my mom and answered all her questions. I worried that my mom couldn’t afford the surgery since it sounded so intricate, but luckily my vet is very reasonable, and she said that it wouldn’t be a problem. Before we left that day, the lovely receptionist had already booked me in for surgery later that week! I don’t remember her name because she was feeding me more treats; I told her I was starving and I think she believed me!
When the day of surgery came, we went to the clinic early in the morning. My mom said I wasn’t allowed to have breakfast that morning, but I think she just forgot to feed me. The nice ladies at reception put us in a room when we got there, and a nurse came in to explain all the papers to my mom. Then the nurse took me into the back. I got a nice kennel with a really comfy blanket, and since I had gotten up so early that morning, I promptly had a nap. When my turn for surgery came, the nurses took me out and put a weird plastic thing in my arm. There was a little poke, but I’m a brave boy and I didn’t really feel it. After that, I don’t remember anything at all because a nurse put something into the line and I fell asleep. I didn’t have a choice! I tried to stay awake, but my eyelids were just so heavy…..
When I woke up, I felt a little weird. My leg had a bandage on it so I couldn’t really move it very well, and I had a funny plastic hat on that looked like a lampshade. I guess they were worried I wouldn’t like the colour of the bandage and might try to take it off. Luckily I can’t see colours very well. I felt a little fuzzy, but there was a nurse with me and she told me what a good boy I was. I noticed I had a funny haircut, but I didn’t remember going to the groomer that day. I didn’t feel any pain at all; the nurse would adjust my medications when she thought I might be uncomfortable. She also told me that she talked to my mom on the phone and told her that I was doing well so that I didn’t need to worry about her. I don’t remember much else after that, because I fell asleep again. I only woke up when they brought me supper.
In the morning my nurse checked me all over; she checked my leg, listened to my heart, and took my temperature. The assistants took me out to pee, and they were very helpful. They supported my hind end nicely with a sling so that I didn’t have to put much weight on my newly fixed leg. After that, I got breakfast in bed! What a great way to start the day! I was excited because I knew my mom was coming to pick me up that day, so I went back to my kennel to wait. When she came, the doctor and nurse explained everything to her, and showed her the medications that I would be taking. I don’t mind taking pills because my mom hides them in my favourite treats. Cheese slices are the best! Well, she thinks she’s hiding them, but I watch her very closely and I know they’re in there. She also got some instructions about exercises that we’re going to do together to help my knee recover. She got it all printed out so that she can put it on the fridge at home and I can read it. I know I’m supposed to stay nice and quiet at home for the first little while so that my knee can heal properly. This might be hard for me because I sure love running and jumping around. I heard Dr. Gosal mention something called “sedatives”, but I’m not sure what that means.
Two weeks later I got to go back to Edmonton West to see my friends again. They took out the stitches in my leg and gave me lots of belly rubs. I love those girls! Dr. Gosal said everything was looking really good; I can already put some weight on that leg and walk slowly around the house. No jumping or running yet though! In a few more weeks I go back again to have some more of those cool pictures taken of my leg. Dr. Gosal wants to make sure that the bones are healing properly.
If any of my doggy friends need TPLO surgery, I would definitely recommend coming to see my friends at Edmonton West Animal Hospital. My mom says they are caring and I felt well taken care of while I was there, and I know that my mom wasn’t worried about me. I was never in any pain, and my recovery has been great so far! I can’t wait to get back to fetching my ball! Thank you Edmonton West team, you guys are the best vets ever, WOOF WOOF!!
