…a glimse of our big and little adventures.
Hi. I know I have been MIA for the past 2 months. I hope I haven’t upset you too much. I have a really good reason for not being present for that length of time. But for you to get the answer…you’ll have to follow me over at my new blog site. 
See you over there!
Friday will be 3 weeks since Miley has had her hip replaced. Next wednesday, she will return to Mississippi State University to have a 4 week post surgical evaluation. I am hoping they tell me “she is doing extraordinarily well and can be walked longer”.
This would be a dream come true!
You know when your pet gets overly excited when you first come home, jumping around so happy that you have finally arrived, and you’re annoyed? Well, you never know how much you enjoy that sudden release of energy until your pet has been made to keep still and not allowed to jump. This of course causes them to “store” their energy until they are about to burst. Miley is at that point now. It is unbelievably frustrating and annoying.
I’ve started taking Miley on very short walks to try to release a little of her energy. It usually goes well…except for the fact she tries to pull you everywhere now. She’ll need leash trained….again!
On tuesday, during our lunch time outing, we were almost home and then this black and white dog came running over to Miley. The dog had teeth showing and hackles up and was growling. Miley, of course, reacts in the same manner as the dog lunges at us. Soon she’s trying to lunge at the dog, while I’m hanging onto the leash, trying to place myself between them. (I know I know…silly me could have gotten bitten!) I wasn’t worried about getting bit….I was worried about a $3500.00 hip popping out! The owner of the dog
finally came WALKING over to us to get her dog. I don’t think I was ever so mad at a stranger!
Fortunately, Miley’s hip is fine and no animals were harmed.
We’ll be keeping our fingers and paws crossed that Miley will be released from her playing restriction.
Maybe then she’ll stop looking at me when the other dogs are outside playing and jumping with the sad eyes that say:
Today is Aaron’s birthday. He is turning 19 years old and is the baby of 8 kids…(yes…8!).
Here are some photos I’ve taken of Aaron over the years….from Senior photos to weddings to candids. (He hasn’t changed much at all!)
With a cool breeze rushing through her fur and gums flapping in the wind, Miley took a joy ride home from MSU on Monday, March 15th at about 9:30AM.
1. Have you ever tried to keep a puppy from playing?
2. Have you ever tried to support a 70+ pound puppy with a sling and a leash without tripping yourself?
3. Have you ever carried a 70+ pound dog upstairs at 4:35AM on a Tuesday morning because she was barking in her crate?
4. Have you ever tried to keep your puppy from beating you down the steps WHILE carrying her?
(Yeah…I laughed too!)
5. Have you ever danced with the devil by the pale moonlight?
1 through 4…yes…
5…not so much…but a very good line by the Joker played by Jack Nicholson :)
You may be asking…”how do you keep a puppy from playing?” It is very hard to do…almost impossible. I am having much difficulty with it. Miley does not quite understand that she just had a MAJOR surgery. She is not allowed to jump, run, pounce, bounce, wrestle, dance, rough house, fall, climb, leap, or slip for at least 4 weeks. I’ve realized that you can not get excited when she’s about to step onto the lanolium floor in the kitchen or the ceramic tiles at the door. She gets too excited and thinks you are playing…and then she tries to run from you. This is scary. I imagine her slipping, going sprawl legged, and having that shiny new $2000 hip pop out of place or the cement loosening! EEEK! GASP!
Miley has a 4-inch incision over her right hip and underneath lies a new shiny hip worth more than my car! Miley’s hip is currently being held in place by her super weak quadraceps and hamstrings and by the mere shape of the hip socket. Until scar tissue forms over the hip to keep it from popping out of socket, Miley will be relying on aided support from her sling. She is only allowed to be walked with leash and sling around her hips. There is very little free roaming on her own. Miley is able to walk within a small, carpeted area on her own but we prevent her from entering the kitchen area so she does not lose her footing.
Again, slipping = EEEK! GASP!
Miley’s pain is managed with Tramadol and Previcox. The Tramadol offers very little drowsiness…in other words…it doesn’t phase her by much. She is also on Cephalexin, an antimicrobial, to prevent infection of her new hip. Any infection would cause removal of her new hip.
Fortunately, it doesn’t take Miley long until she needs to stop to rest her hip. Yet, unfortunately, it doesn’t take long to recovery either!
Miley’s schedule of events during the day:
6AM – Up to eat, pee, meds, and maybe sniff the lawn a bit
7AM – Out before Molly heads to work for one last sniff
7:02AM – 12PM – Crate time
12:05 – 12:45PM – Out for lunch, pee, meds, and visiting Badger and Bailey next door for an exchange of barking, sniffing, and tail wagging
12:45 – 5:30PM – Crate time
5:40 – 9:00PM - Out to pee, meds, dinner, sniffing the lawn, watching Molly make dinner from the carpeted area, and getting restrained several times for being too “puppy-like”
9:00PM – Bedtime
12:00AM – Up to bark at…nothing
2:00AM – Up to bark at…more nothing, out to pee, then sniff the air for 5 minutes
4:00AM – Up to “play” with bone, maybe bark at nothing, whine to go out, get yelled at by Molly because its 4AM!
Repeat…
(Currently, we are working on the above schedule…to eliminate 12AM through 4AM. Please, “throw me a bone”!)
Stay tuned for updates throughout Miley’s healing process!
Miley’s surgery was a SUCCESS….for now.
Mr. Randall King, the vet student, said she had a smooth induction and there were no complications or unexpected findings during the procedure. Her surgical team consisted of the chief surgeon and 2 resident surgeons. Miley came out of anesthesia smoothly as well. The night after her surgery, her pain was monitored and maintained using morphine. She rested very well Friday night.
This morning, Miley was up and moving around very well! Randall said even the surgeons were impressed with how well she was doing so soon after surgery!
When we first arrived, we saw Randall walking Miley outside with her sling and leash. She was doing GREAT! It was so great to see her wagging her tail and sniffing around like her usual self.
Miley was so excited to see us!
We were so happy to see her! 
(I think she missed hugs from Brian! )
When you first look at Miley, you can see her entire right hip is shaved. Randall said they had a surgical technician shave her leg because they’re more “experienced” in shaving. Any razor burn or nicks would have caused Miley’s surgery to be cancelled. The technician was super nervous and very careful when shaving. Clean lines and no nicks!
Mr. King also informed us that Miley’s right leg is now about 1 inch longer than her left leg.
He said this is normal with this type of surgery.
Miley will be able to walk on a leash and with her support sling. The sling is mostly to prevent her from falling and going sprawl legged. This would cause her NEW hip to pop out and cause further injury. Miley has a lot of muscle atrophy in her hind legs because of her genetic “defect”. Until her muscles are built back up, she will have to take it easy.
When home alone Miley will be confined to a crate so that she will not be able to walk around or add stress to her hip. When we are home, she can only be on carpeted areas so she can’t slip. Her pain will be maintained using Tramadol and Cephalexin will help ward off infections. Any infection will cause major problems and Miley’s new “hardware” will need to be removed. Miley will not be allowed to run, jump, or play with other dogs for about 4 weeks. After 4 and 8 weeks, we’ll take a trip to MSU for a set of xrays and a checkup to make sure Miley’s hip continues to be a success.
It will be approximately 6 months before Miley will be back to “perfect” hip health! 
If things continue to go well for Miley, the veterinarians may release her on Monday to come home!
We’ll keep our fingers crossed that our $75-turned-$4000 pound puppy can come home after this weekend!
Today, at 10AM exactly, I dropped Miley off at Mississippi State University Veterinary Hospital where she will have her right hip replaced. Her surgery will occur on either Thursday March 11th or Friday March 12th.
Miley has Bilateral Hip Dysplasia. If you remember the post I did at her first MSU evalutation, I explained what they had found in February.
(If you can’t remember, go here!)
When we arrived at MSU, Miley was fine walking to the door..then they opened and she squabbled with all her might to escape the building! I know she associates being at MSU with pain from her first visit.
I finally got Miley in the building with my hands full with food and all of her medications. We were greeted by a very friendly receptionist who hands me a ticket to place on my dash board so I wouldn’t get a parking ticket.
…As I blankly stared at her, I start thinking to myself…
“I JUST struggled in the door with a 70+ pound dog, scared out of her wits and pulling me in the opposite direction we needed to go, with an arm full of dog food and medications and now…I have to go back out?! ARE YOU NUTS?!”
No worries, mom…I smiled politely and turned to go back out to the car. (Miley loved this part! Its the direction she wanted to go!)
After I struggled to get Miley through the door of the hospital…again, we were taken to an exam/consult room by Mr. Randall King. Mr. King is the veterinary student on Miley’s case. He went over Miley’s history and status to see if there had been any changes from before.
No real changes.
She still has bad hips.
I will mention that the entire time Mr. King was talking with me, Miley tried to crawl behind me on the couch and when that failed, she attempted to crawl under the couch. Silly dog.
I said “goodbye” to Miley-fish and gave her a hug and she was taken to the back. I had to wait for one of the surgeons to speak with me about the procedure and precautions. Dr. Katie Mullins went over the risks, procedure, restrictions, and the care Miley will need at home. Dr. Mullins was surprised I was so prepared with parting with my pet for a week. I informed her I was a veterinary technician and understood Miley was in good hands. Dr. Mullins was also surprised that my eyes did not pop out of my head when she told me the estimated price (roughly $3500 to $4000 per hip). Brian and I prepared for this before allowing Miley to have the surgery.
Before leaving the hospital, I informed Mr. King that Brian gives Miley a hug every night before he crawls into bed. I told him that Miley would be expecting a hug before going to bed at night.
Mr. King laughed.
I was serious.
Miley will stay at MSU over the weekend after her surgery. She will have to stay until her pain can be managed on oral medications. They will also make sure she is using her NEW hip without major problems. The veterinary staff will be keeping me updated on Miley’s status and how she is doing everyday at least twice daily. This set my mind at ease.
STAY TUNED…Part II will come after Miley has surgery.
The first week of March is busy for me. Hunter’s birthday is the 1st….Emily’s birthday is the 5th…and mine is the 7th.
Today is Emily’s 6th birthday! She is a middle child who knows how to “handle” boys…
meaning her two brothers.
They torture her sometimes…but she gets even…
Emily is one of my favorite kids.
She’s tough, funny, and extremely cute!
Emily is Miley’s favorite kid. I think they share the same energy level. Miley loves running and Emily ran her tired!
I know Miley sure does miss Emily and can’t wait to see her soon!
June 2, 2010
Molly
