The Odyssey Begins

This blog is being created in the hopes that maybe Patton's odyssey will help other puppies and their owners through this scary time.

Patton was born April 28, 2006 at the local Humane Society. He joined our family on June 16, 2006, we fell in love with him immediately, all 12.5 lbs of him. He is a Yellow Lab/Golden Retriever mix and is the softest dog I have ever been around. At 3 months our vet suggested that we have him checked out for Hip Dysplasia. We agreed since he is a breed that is known for this disorder. Our Vet took X-rays and using the PennHip test we concluded that Patton was not at risk for Hip Dysplasia. Everything looked normal on his X-rays. Patton grew, and grew quickly. At 6 1/2 months he weighed in at 77 lbs and we began to notice that he was having trouble with his one hip. We thought maybe it was a soft tissue injury and treated it as such. Rest, and anti-inflammatory medication. He was going to be spending Thanksgiving at the Vet's office since we were going to be away. We all agreed that pending how he was doing they would take X-rays if he was still limping. The day before Thanksgiving came the dreaded phone call......my 7 month old puppy had Hip Dysplasia and would need surgery.

When we returned from our vacation, I went and picked Patton up from the Vet and we discussed our options. He firmly believed that he was a candidate for a Triple Pelvic Osteotomy. Definite on the left hip and 50/50 on the right. Our Vet recommended that we make an appointment at The University of Wisconsin-Madison Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. An appointment was made that day for December 6.

So....our odyssey begins.