Worst case scenario

One week after the surgery, Pocky went in to have his sutures removed. The vet looked at him and said he was doing remarkably well. Everything seemed to be going good, and the physical therapist met with us to show us some exercises to do. My husband left the vet happy and ready to get started on slowing working Pocky back up to using his leg.

As they left the vet to got to the car, my husband unlocked the vehicle and turned to put the much-hated collar into the truck. Just as he did this, a very happy to be out of the vet's office Pocky did what he has done for most of his life. He went to jump in the truck. Apparently, as he jumped he realized he didn't have the strength and winced, landing back on the ground.

Aaron felt really bad, and went home hoping that it was just a minor incident. Unfortunately, Pocky started limping on the OTHER (uninjured leg).

24 hours later, the vet was called again and Pocky had a follow-up consultation with the surgeon. In about three minutes they were able to tell us that he had the same injury on the opposite leg.

This basically means that the whole process needs to be done AGAIN. Another costly surgery, another three months of severely restricted activity AFTER he recovers enough to be able to depend on the leg we just fixed.

This is terrible news, even though we had done the research and knew there was a good chance that at some point the other leg would go. Little did we know it would be so soon. Suddenly, out positive outlook was drastically changed. We are seriously bummed out.

Surgery complete

Pocky had his TPLO surgey on March 22. It went pretty well, and even though I was out of town, I was able to hear reassuring daily reports. He came home the day after the surgery and was pretty tired out. By the time I got home, three days later, he seemed to be in very good spirits. What was amazing about Pocky after the surgery was how good he seemed. There was absolutely no bleeding, he didn't seem in pain, he was moving around as well as before the surgery. He continued to eat fine, and go to the bathroom with no problems.

The worst part for him was wearing the Elizabethan collar that resulted in him bashing into the walls and furniture in frustration as he moved around to his favorite sleeping places. We set him up with a Thermarest covered in an old blanket to serve as a orthobed, but he also slept fine on the floor.
We were very optimistic after the surgery, and both felt we had made the right decision. He goes back for a follow-up in a week, when they will remove the sutures and he will be free of the irritating collar.

Oh, on another note, the surgery came in under the estimated price by about 300 dollars.