[NAGDU] An update on my retired guide, Pascal.

[Charlene Ota]

Hi, Deanna,  Well, not that long after I got my guide Irish, I had gotten to
work one day without any mishap, but I noticed that as the morning went on
he was getting gimpier and gimpier till it seemed like he could hardly even
walk.  At noon, I called the vet in a panic and she told me to calm down,
the office was very busy that day and she wouldn't be able to fit him in but
she told me to give him an appropriate dose of baby asprin and take him home
and let him rest. If he wasn't better the next day she would see him. I was
in such a panic, so called a cab and the driver had to help me get him in
the car. When we got home, I had to get help getting him up the stgeps to
the back door, too. When he got in the house he managed to get to his bed,
which, he never wanted to lay on any other time. I had to feed him before
giving him the asprin, so I got his food ready, and being the good lab that
he is, he drug himself over to that bowl to eat. I got the asprin in him,
and my husband and I got him outside so he could relieve, and then we jusr
let him rest on his bed. A few hours later, I was so shocked because he was
up running around like nothing had happened to him.  I called the vet and
she told me he may have pulled a muscle or something but she wanted to x-ray
him and see to make sure he was all right.  About a week later, I took him
in and she sedated him and x-rayed his hips and such and then manipulated
his joints as well.  Turns out his left knee pops out very easily and most
of the time, he can pop it back in but that particular day for some reason
he couldn't but given a chance to rest and with the help of the asprin, I
guess you could say it took care of itself. At that time, sshe told me that
if he did end up having knee troubles at some point, that he could have
surgery to repair his knee.  I had never heard of dogs having trouble with
their knees before. I just thought I would share that situation as it kind
of relates. Fortunately, it's probably 8 years later and Irish has never had
that happen to him again. He'll be 12 years old in January. He's really
slowing down now and his joints are really starting to give him trouble. We
use the lift on the paratransit vans now for him and that gives him the
opportunity to still go to work with me which he still wants to do. I'm
sorry your guide had to retire early, but keep us posted on how he's doing.

Best, Charlene
 

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Deanna Lewis via
NAGDU
Sent: Tuesday, November 29, 2016 12:11 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
(nagdu at nfbnet.org) <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Deanna Lewis <DLewis at clovernook.org>
Subject: [NAGDU] An update on my retired guide, Pascal.

Hi all,
I hope all of you are doing well.
I just wanted to send in a quick update about my retired guide dog, Pascal.
Pascal retired early, so he is only 9 years old. Pascal injured his leg
while playing a few weeks ago. My vet worried that he may have torn his ACL,
but wasn't able to tell for sure. So, he referred us to an orthopedic
surgeon. It turns out that not only did Pascal tear his ACL, but he also
dislocated his patella. He will be needing surgery to repair the damage.
Apparently, this is a pretty common injury for dogs. Have any of you all
faced this issue? Did your dog need surgery? And how did the surgery go?
Pascal is going in tomorrow morning for his surgery. He will not be able to
eat or drink after midnight, so I know he won't be a happy camper! LOL. I
will keep you all updated on how things go.
Deanna with Mambo and retired Pascal



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