My Westie is the love of my life. His name is Sir Tubb~Alot. He was given to me because his other family could not keep him. When we brought him home, he was my shadow -- which I loved, but he would not play with the family. One day, my two boys and I took him out to play ball and that's when I noticed him holding his right hind leg up and he would not walk on it at all! I got very upset thinking I had done something to him -- making him play too hard or the boys had hurt him. I called the vet up next day, it was worse, and he seemed very lame.
The doctor thought he pulled something so we just had to let him rest. About a week later, he was not getting better, so we went back they took an x-ray of his hips. My nightmare began: my 9 month old dog went to surgery for treament of Legg-Perthes Disease. He was away from me for 2 days. He had lost a lot of muscle mass in hind end, and they could not wait. They cut off the femoral head during the surgery to help fix the problem.
Tubby did great during everything. We had therapy for him three times a week. All of our hard work has paid off -- he lives an almost pain free life. (He has a bad day now and then, but it only been 6 months since surgery.) I'm glad that I have him in my life. He glad he here too!
From your Guide:
Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease
Brief overview from BarkBytes
Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease FAQ
From the Prince Edward Island University web site.
Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease - What you should know
An owner's account of this disease in her dog.
Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease (technical article)
From the International Veterinary Information Service (IVIS)
