I was taking the trash can down to the end of the driveway and Ellie was in the front yard doing her business. A little number one action and then her usual creation of lawn art. I was walking back up the driveway and Ellie came down to walk up with me. She went past me by about 5 feet and was on the side of the street making her turn to follow me when she was hit by a car.

The car slowed down but did not come to a complete stop after hitting Ellie. It was a Prius and we could not even hear it coming. The car hit Ellie on the right rump. She did not get knocked down. She just kept on going up the driveway and into the house where I followed and caught up with her. She sat on her bed and was shaking and I thought she was going into shock. I checked her over and there was no blood or broken skin evident. Ellie kept licking my face and settled down within about 15 minutes. She then rolled on her side and did a little dance and got up and drank some water.

I immediately called the Vet and told them what happened. It was in the evening after they had closed but was able to talk to a tech. I gave them the whole story and they said I could bring her in immediately or keep an eye on her and see what transpired. She continued to act like nothing had even happened so I kept her at home.

The following day I called my Vet and made an appointment to take her in for an xray to make certain everything was okay. Dr. Ahmsbury looked Ellie over and gave her a thorough exam and proclaimed Ellie to be just fine! Unbelievable.

I estimated the car was going between 20-25 mph and as I said, it was a Prius. I looked at one the other day and noticed they do not really have a bumper on them and they seem to be built out of flexible plastic. In hindsight it seems to have hit Ellie in the only spot that would not have done any damage to her. She and I just got our Christmas present early this year.

Several weeks ago Ellie showed signs of discomfort after longer walks or even mild hikes. We would give her half of a Deramaxx tablet and she would seem to nap and work the kinks out. One week ago the kinks were no longer able to be “worked out.” There were no popping sounds like two years ago in her opposite leg that was eventually repaired via the TPLO procedure so the hope is that the meniscus is not damaged.

When I took Ellie to West Hills last week to see the Veterinarian I knew what the diagnosis would be. I knew they would perform the “drawer” test on her leg. It showed that there was some movement in the joint but nowhere near what it was in the opposite leg two years ago. Knowing/feeling what the diagnosis would be going in to the appointment was not comforting however, we had decided that once/if confirmed, we would not have another TPLO procedure performed.

Everything seemed to be improving until two days ago. A simple jaunt to the front yard turned into Ellie twisting the leg and yelping in pain. She was able to get inside the house and sat and trembled and panted for fifteen minutes straight. I immediately applied ice to the leg and fortunately she started to calm down. This was the scenario that I feared most knowing that dogs are so fragile while trying to recover from a tendon injury. This was what had happened two years ago on that fateful day at the park while playing with a tennis ball.

Ellie is almost ten years old and we feel that putting her through the long post operative recovery along with everything else would be difficult. The first time, two years ago, we followed the recovery parameters to the “T” and had tremendous success these past two years. We will follow the previous medication, recommended exercises, and non-surgical treatment options this time around and see how it goes. If after a couple of weeks there is no improvement we will have to reevaluate what direction to go in.

It is tough to watch her once again go through the pain and confusion of this type of injury. It breaks my heart to see her not want to go outside to perform her bodily functions knowing that it will hurt when she places pressure on the injured leg. She is not as accepting of the sling under her belly as she was two years ago and she looks at me almost as if she is being punished or has done something wrong. Ellie has never done anything wrong. I have never spoken in a harsh tone nor even used harsh words with her. “Bad” is not a word in Ellie Vocabulary simply because there has never been a need to use it towards her.

For now Ellie will continue to get a combination of Tramadol and Deramaxx to ease the pain and will also continue to get ice treatments on the joint at regular intervals. She will continue to get two Phycox supplements each day as well as continue on the WD Canine Dry diet. Keeping her weight in check, making certain she hydrates and eats, takes care of her functions regularly, and rests are going to be key ingredients. Hopefully my girl will come through this once again.

It is tough to realize that even though Ellie has been a poster child for TPLO recovery she has become a statistic. That statistic being that nearly 80% of dogs that experience tendon damage in turn injure the opposite leg within two years.

I miss Ellie. I miss her company at work. I miss our walks and our hikes. I miss her greeting me when I come in the front door. I miss her rolling in the backyard and plucking strawberries from the garden when she thinks I cannot see her. I miss her going on our coffee walk at 5:00 am. I miss her trying to steal a nap on the couch or a bed. I miss loading up and heading for the hills on a beautiful summer weekend and just exploring. I miss watching her spend more time stopping and smelling the flowers than the actual amount of time she spends walking. I miss seeing her trot around with her tail corkscrewing back and forth simply because she is so happy. Ellie has the purest spirit of any person or creature I have ever encountered.

Ellie is right back to going on hikes and even runs with us although we limit the length of a run to about 4 miles and the length of a hike to 6 or 7 miles. We are still cautious with her on slippery surfaces but she also seems to self-regulate on these types of surfaces. She gets a tad stiff after a good hike but seems to work out the kinks in no time at all. Hell, not much different than the rest of us as we get older. Ellie makes 1-3 sojourns each week with me to my office and tends to chew up a couple of water bottles and then hop up on her couch. At that point she pretty much just sacks out

She continues to be a poster child for TPLO recovery and what is possible if you follow the Slocum Rehab guidelines and keep your dog in good health. With their cooperation and your hard work and diligence your best buddy can keep right on truckin’ along with you. If you are facing a CCL or other tendon injury and considering whether or not you should go the TPLO route, just do your research, read through Ellie’s Blog, and feel free to contact me with any questions.

All the best from myself and Ellie and happy trails to you and your dog.

Russ Milstein

Corvallis, Oregon

Ellie hard at work in the office

Ellie is just a few months shy of it being two years since her TPLO surgery! She just turned nine years old in December and she is doing just fantastic. She gets a little stiff after a good long hike or after sleeping for several hours but hey? Don’t we all? Her weight continues to stay around 80 lbs and this has been a key component in her almost two years of recovery. She still enjoys a little rub down when she is sore but in all actuality it is the other three legs that give her problems. Her bionic leg is doing just great. She continues to get two Phycox supplements each day and also continues to eat the WD Canine Dry food. Great stuff and she never turns away from her food bowl.

It is a tough decision to go through with TPLO however, if you have a good surgeon, and if you have faith in your dog and yourself, the whole process can be very successful. I believe that Ellie would agree

Ellie playing tug of war with Sarah the Golden.

Ellie continues to do very well and it has now been 18 months since the surgery. Hard to believe it has been that long as it seems like just yesterday that she had that goofy shave job that made her look like Britney Spears had eaten too much sugar and went after her with a pair of clippers. No ill effects of that whack job haircut and it did not seem to change the natural part in her hair. The key is still getting Ellie plenty of walks and not necessarily plenty of mileage. As a matter of fact it seems to make her a bit more stoved up when she does more than about 3-4 miles and especially if there are lots of hills involved.

Ellie will be nine years old next month and seems to just naturally be a bit stiff after sleeping for long periods of time or if she does too much strenuous mileage. Hell, I have the same problems so it must be related to both of us advancing in age. The folks at West Hills Veterinary gave us a prescription for Deramaxx and we give Ellie half of a tablet prior to a long outing and then the other half when we return from the adventure. It certainly seems to help with the stiffness. Interestingly enough the stiffness is in the opposite rear leg (the one that was not operated on) so we definitely keep an eye on that. We still do not allow her to do big jumps and avoid slippery surfaces as much as possible. She moves just great and seems to have filled in most of the muscle lost on the repaired side.

We continue to keep an eye on her weight and she still fluctuates between 79-81 pounds. She is still on the RD dry food and still gets one Phycox supplement with each meal. Ellie is a happy dog and we have absolutely no regrets in having the procedure done. Without having done the procedure we are certainly convinced that she would not be enjoying life as much as she currently does. We are still so thankful to everyone at West Hills Animal Hospital. Ellie had a blood test done about six weeks ago and the results showed perfection even for a dog half her age. We all must be doing something right.

Feel free to email me with any questions you may have and to all of you considering the procedure, best of luck to you and your canine pal. You can do it.

The muscles on the repaired leg are almost the same development as her other leg and this regaining of balance is very evident in all of her movements. The hardest thing is still not aggressively playing fetch with the tennis ball or stick since those have always been some of her favorite activities. Just don’t want to push it and have a relapse or worse yet, injure the other leg. We are still always cautious with slippery surfaces even though by all accounts the leg should be 100% healed. She has become the Poster Child for positive recovery after TPLO and we are very proud of her ability to recover. This summer will be much different than last since she will be able to romp around and enjoy all of her/our favorite activities in the hills. She is a happy dog.

While she was at Inavale Farms she was able to play with other dogs her age in a controlled environment so we really did not worry about her injuring the bionic leg. Inavale is very aware of her surgery recovery and it was evident that they kept that in mind during her stay. When I picked her up yesterday she came out of the building like she had a hot poker stuck on her. Running, mule kicking, barking, prancing all over the place. I took it as a good sign.

During Ellie’s wellness exam last week she remained at her goal weight (actually slightly lower) and we are going to start converting her to the WD Science Diet. She has been on the RD blend for 9 months and Dr. Ahmsberry at Westhills says she can now have the slightly higher caloric WD since her exercise level has once again increased. Ellie is easily able to do a nine mile hike with no ill effects present. She continues to get two Phycox supplements each day and I am a firm believer in the benefits that Phycox provides. A bonus is that Ellie loves the taste of them.

Ellie at the top of McCulloch Peak after five miles of uphill hiking on good trails. This is nine months after TPLO surgery on her rear left leg!

Ellie and her very happy owner on the top of McCulloch Peak. Hiking together once again, nine months after TPLO surgery.

Christmas Day offered up 6 1/2 miles of beautiful trails and Ellie was in full swing motoring around and enjoying a fully functioning leg. On New Year’s Day Ellie made her second big trip out of town since having the TPLO surgery. Had to go to Portland for a wedding and stayed at the famous Hotel Monaco which caters to canines. Ellie was treated like the Queen of Everything and she milked it for all it was worth as evidenced in the photo below. Note:  The beer on the table did not belong to Ellie.

At the wedding reception we were lucky enough to meet a celebrity look-a-like. I believe she must be a stunt double for Dakota Fanning and I promised her that I would put her on Ellie’s Blog so here she is…

What a nice young girl and she was nice enough to seem rapt with attention while I explained Ellie’s Web Diva status. She did a good job of nodding her head and being polite while I went on and on about Ellie the Bionic Dog. I guess even little kids can humor an old doting dog owner.

Ellie just had her 7 month anniversary post TPLO and she is doing fantastic. On that same day Ellie turned 8 years old! This past weekend Ellie was able to easily complete a 6 1/2 mile trail run and showed no ill effects of the workout. No limping, no gimping, no hoppy-skipping, no nothing at all except wanting to sleep the rest of the day. Her weight is staying below 80 pounds and her reborn muscles are rippling and sexy.

Ellie sends a big thank you and warm wishes to all of you and your four legged friends and hopes that you have a safe, healthy, and Happy Holiday Season. Many thanks to all of you that followed her recovery this past summer and fall.