Bad News from the Vet

I took Dylan in today for a vet exam and for his first Physical Therapy Visit.  The Vet we saw was absolutely wonderful.  Unfortunately, she didn’t have great news for us. 

After a very thorough exam, she found a partial tear in his Gracilis Muscle in the left rear side.     There is an associated strain of the Iliopsoas Muscle and the Quadriceps as well.   I knew that left rear leg had something going on and suspected he may have hyper extended it when he hit Paul and the fence post on Easter.  Guess I should have trusted my instinct and gotten him in a bit sooner but there hadn’t been any inflammation on the thermal imaging done by our Holistic Veterinarian shortly after the accident. 

The vet ordered some laser therapy and then they put him on the underwater treadmill.  He was so cute trying to swim and figure things out.  They ended up taking some water out so he would stop trying to swim and start walking on the treadmill.  The Physical Therapist said she felt some grinding in his left shoulder so the veterinarian got up where she could reach in and feel him.  

 She explained that he probably has some arthritis in his left shoulder.  An X ray will show us how bad it is.    She isn’t sure if its from the trauma or from the untreated injury or just from aging.  I suspect its not from aging because he’s not even 6 years old yet and that seems young to get arthritis.  Of course I have Marley who had arthritis at the ripe old age of two so I guess it can happen to any dog at any time.

We continued with the underwater treadmill and it was very interesting to watch him walk.  Up until this point, I had only really watched his gait from above.  I never got down on his level and had someone walk him around me.    When he was in the treadmill the vet showed me the extension issues in his back left left.  He’s not extending it like he should and I could definitely see a difference between his right and left.  She said the underwater treadmill helps correct that problem and just a few minutes later we were able to watch and see him extending it more thoroughly while walking.  It really was impressive to see how much he changed in such a short amount of time. 

When we finished the underwater treadmill they put him in a tub of water that had electrical current running through it.   He did great and sat with his life jacket on and floated in the water for about 15-20 minutes.  Of course we were right there with him and holding onto him and giving him treats for being such a good boy!!  I got soaked during the process!

We’ll be doing some ice on the left shoulder and heat in the rear over the next few days.    I’ll chat with the vet Monday and then we will go from there.  She says the muscle injuries should heal completely within about a month.  If they don’t they can put him under anesthetic and treat him with shock wave therapy to knock out the injury.  I hope it doesn’t come to that but we’ll do whatever we have to so that he heals up okay. 

I feel horrible about the arthritis.  I hope to get an x ray next week when we are in to see how bad it is.  Severe arthritis would mean the end of his flyball career.  I am not sure what the vet may recommend if it is just minor.  I trust my holistic vet’s assessment though and will do what she suggests.  It’s tough to think though that it may come down to determining which is more important- quality of life with flyball or duration of life without.   This boy is a maniac about his flyball game and I can’t imagine life for him without it.  Plus, what would I do without a flyball dog?  Maybe I’ll have to find one to borrow for a while until I can get a puppy of my own.