My four legged beautiful Mi Nam is now grown up.
On that note, a friend of Snickers just so happens to have a french bulldog and wants Mi Nam to breed with it. Ya ok... NO! He just learned how to walk like a big boy and now you want to throw him into the horizontal mambo... no way. Snickers thinks its a great idea and is thrilled at the thought of a baby in the house even if it'd mean the baby comes with four legs. As for me, I am so not for it. Mi Nam is the only little buddy I need and I remember when he was a puppy... all he did was sleep, eat and poop... and a creative combination of two of them too.
Anyways... lately Mi Nam has put on the much required weight the vet suggested. He now weighs-in at just over 11lbs. Mind ya, despite him getting back to a healthy weight he's been acting strange. He acted really strange today when we were out for a walk. Going for a walk is usually like Christmas to him. He gets overly excited and his stump-of-a-tail looks as if it will spin right off. Today however, he didn't want to go.
Actually, his strange behaviour started last night when I let him jump up on the couch. Snickers doesn't let him up on the couch so when I let him he's all too excited and jumps out like a jack-in-the-box. However, when he went to jump up he started whinning so much and so loudly. I'm sure the neighbors thought I was killing him or something. I scooped him up but he continued. When I put him down, I noticed that his legs looked lifeless.
It was the strangest sight and it spooked me. When it happened again I was quick to turn on my phone camera to tape the ordeal. I cringed later on when I showed Snickers but thought it'd be important to show the vet.
For the rest of the evening I was still spooked over the whole scene but when it happened again this morning I started to cry. I hate seeing him in pain, obviously, and I felt so mad at the previous vets for telling me that his shaking was because he was just cold from being underweight. Today we rushed him to the vet, a vet I'm convinced was heaven sent.
The vet took numerous x-rays of Mi Nam and came to the conclusion that he may have to have surgery. He prescribed meds for Mi Nam and told me I'll have to bring him back in a week to see which of the two courses we'll have to continue on. Just the other day my little Mi Nam was running around and playing ball hockey with me in Ggum Guum and now he's shaking all over and walking like he's 101 years old. He's got hip dysplasia but the vet isn't sure on just how advanced it is. Here's some info I found on the Internet regarding it.
Consequently, in a week time, Mi Nam is scheduled for another vet appointment where upon the vet will be telling us if he needs hip reconstruction or a full hip replacement.Hip Dysplasia -- Chronic hip dysplasia (CHD) is the most common heritable orthopedic disease in bulldogs. For unknown reasons, a malformation of the hip joint occurs in which the head of the femur fails to fit properly into the acetabulum (socket of the pelvis that connects with the head of the femur to form the hip joint). As a result, the hip joint is loose, and partial to complete dislocation of the head of the femur can occur.
Additionally, because the joint doesn’t fit together properly, abnormal weight distribution and rubbing of the joint surfaces can occur, resulting in inflammation, pain and cartilage damage. This, in turn leads to osteoarthritis, or degenerative joint disease. Once this process is started, it’s irreversible.
Many factors contribute to CHD. First, it is believed to be polygenic diseases, meaning that several defective genes contribute to the disease and severity of its expression. In addition, CHD is also affected by environmental factors, such as a rapid growth rate promoted by overfeeding and over-or under-supplementation of carbohydrates, calcium and phosphorus.
Treatment options include surgery (hip reconstruction or replacement) and medical management (pain control, exercise, weight management and drugs or supplements to modify cartilage and bone metabolism).
Price for a hip reconstruction = $600.
Price for a hip replacement = $2000.
Price of having one amazingly beautiful baby Mi Nam in my life = PRICELESS.
Snickers knows not to ask me if I'll shill out mad cash for Mi Nam's medical bills because it's an obvious "OF COURSE", my only worry is having to wait a full week, to see if these meds help him out or not.
It breaks my heart to see him in so much pain so Snickers and I are trying so hard to make his already uncomfortable current situation more comfortable by making sure he's never home alone, carrying him outside for poop-duty, cooking him eggs and chicken to add to his food, and so on. I emailed my parents, asking them to pray for Mi Nam. I've had pets in the past before but none of them could compare to the relationship that I have with Mi Nam... he's seen me through a lot.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
How far would you go for someone you love?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
A dog owns nothing, yet is seldom dissatisfied.
-- Irish Proverb
3 comments:
What are the meds for? Hip dysplasia cannot be cured with medication. Are the pills just for pain? I have a big dog (35kg) with hip dysplasia. Surgery for hip dysplasia on big dog is very, very difficult, so I've been told to wait it out as long as possible. My boy is taking glucosamine and it has helped a lot. We tried giving him Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs)to help with the pain but the drugs are horrible, with lots of bad side effects (which can include liver failure). It just wasn't worth the risk.
It makes me suspicious that he's been sick, with bloody diarrhea, and now this. Are you sure the pain is not related to something else? Something in his intestines, stomach, etc? Did the vet check for that?
You should NEVER allow a dog with hip dysplasia to reproduce. Hip dysplasia is genetic --He will pass it on to his children.
Hi Anonymous #1,
The meds are more or less pain killers. And ya, we've been told to wait it out too because not only is it a difficult surgery to do but it will also lead to other effects and more pain for Mi Nam -- pain that can be avoided if he takes well to the medication he's on right now.
Ya, the vet did a very intense check up though I must add because of the fact that his vet lingo isn't exactly every day lingo that I can so easily pick-up, some things were lost in translation. Snickers tried to translate but his English isn't the best and well, he's the only one really out of my close group of Korean friends in Cheonan that speaks any English.
Hello Anonymous #2,
I know.
We weren't sure on what exactly it was that Mi Nam had but when the vet said it was hip dysplasia I looked into on the Internet and read all about it. Don't worry... no mass producing of hip dysplasia babies will be going on here in Korea.
Post a Comment