Joy the Puppy has had a challenging past year. She is doing pretty well now.
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Joy the Puppy
In 2013, when Joy the Puppy was four years old, she had her first of two surgeries for a torn cruciate ligament.
Joy and Russ at The Lake the week we adopted her. If your partner is in veterinary medicine, know that when they ask you to help rehome a patient, you have just adopted a pet.
The surgery Joy had is called a TPLO, or tibial plate leveling osteotomy, meant to stabilize the knee after the cruciate ligament, the criss-cross ligament behind the kneecap, is no longer doing so. Joy’s first surgeon was Dr. David Merkley*, one of my favorite teachers and vets of all time.
(*Fun Merk Fact - When I was having trouble learning to tie a surgical knot in vet school, Dr. Merkley told me it was easy. I said, “You try it left handed!” He did and said, “Wow! This IS hard!” His one and only moment of humility I suspect! Dr. Merkley is the reason I love surgery.)
Joy excited to be spending time with her BFF Frank Parker when they used to volunteer at Camp Kindness at Nebraska Humane Society. Frank’s Mom Allison, also a dear friend and awesome veterinary technician, and I assisted Dr. Merkley with Joy’s first TPLO.
Joy is now thirteen years old. She has significant arthritis which was becoming life-limiting despite her very impressive list of medications, supplements and mobility aids. For the record, Joy is ok with meds in treats, but thinks stairs, ramps and wagons are all terrible.
Joy trying to steal my beer at our brother-in-law Shane’s concert.
Last month, Joy limped for a day. I mean beyond her usual stiff hobble. They she seemed to rally, and I thought the scare of a second cruciate tear was over, but we kept our appointment with Dr. Tan (whose name does NOT rhyme with Dr. Zann, so do not try to remember how to pronounce either of them correctly that way) because I wanted his take on how to better treat Joy’s arthritis.
Turns out, Joy’s right cruciate ligament was long gone, and when it actually happened, I missed it. I felt like a terrible vet and pet parent for missing in my own dog what I routinely diagnose in other dogs.
The story gets so much better from here.
Dr. Tan and the Sirius Orthopedic Veterinary Center team stabilized Joy’s knee with arthroscopic surgery and even did some work on her other knee.
Spotify play list created by one of Nebraska Humane Society’s awesome social media people on Joy’s first day of recovery. I love it so much.
Joy is doing AMAZING you guys. Her mobility and comfort are better than I can ever remember.
Another sweet thirteen year old patient is one week behind Joy in her post-op recovery, also after TPLO surgery with Dr. Tan, and it is so great to be able to say to her family that our old dogs are going to feel so much better so soon.
Whenever I write to or call the Sirius team, I try to remember to add “and hi to Emily.” Well, the awesomeness of their team has once again increased, if you can even believe that is possible. During Joy’s care at Sirius, I learned that another one of my favorite people, Nellie, has joined their team. As ecstatic as I am that Joy is thriving, this…this matches it. Love you Nellie and Emily. Thank you for being there for Joy.
Please note the beautiful straight margins of Joy’s surgical sites. This is thanks to the amazing talents of Nellie who must have remembered the time we took a benign mass off Joy and her coat took a YEAR to regrow! Thanks Friend. She will look beautiful as always for this next year of healing and hair regrowth!
We are so grateful to the entire Sirius team for Joy’s loving care. You all are the best of the best. You have brought Joy - and so our entire family - so much comfort.
And Dr. Tan, thank you for seeing our puppy in your exam room where our old dog was sleeping - for being willing to invest so much in such an old dog who is nowhere near done having adventures.
Joy the Puppy now.
Joy the Puppy then.
As soon as Russ and I decided YES this was the best next step, no matter the outcome, I knew I would not look back and wish she had not had surgery. But this, seeing Joy be such a terrible sport about strict rest when she wants to run and play, and seeing her so happy again, has been the absolute best post-op scenario I could have hoped for.
Joy thinks post-op strict rest is BULL-ony. If I would just move my leg, she could tear down the deck stairs and play with Doug Dog in the yard.
Soon Sweet Girl. You got this. This will be your best summer yet.
Today and yesterday have been cool and rainy.
Amanda made amazing spice cupcakes.
School is starting (I have mixed feelings on this!)
It feels like fall is coming.
Even without the big garden (next year!) I am starting to buzz with happy thoughts of fall. It is good to feel happy.
We did plant morning glories and cherry tomatoes, and those plants are going crazy!
I got to see Stephanie - and a super cute Husky puppy - this morning.
I made pumpkin coffee with caramel creamer.
I am settling in for the morning to write articles for Dr. McGill for Advances in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery.
I hope you are having a good week.
More soon on starting part time...Fetch 360 (used to be CVC) and the start of the school year. Hopefully Abby will do a fall time photo shoot of Joy and Luna as she has the past two years that I can share with you soon too!
Joy says she is always buzzing with happy thoughts. And also, she loves you.
Baby Snookie Jones!
Erika's baby piggy <3
Joy the Puppy as a puppy!
Happy birthday to my best friend, my partner, my husband and my co-parent.
You are the best, and I love you!
Also, you look super cute holding baby animals.
The bread basket from Black Tie and Tails was wrapped with a beautiful sparkly PURPLE bow. So of course I put it on Joy the Puppy. She was a good sport, and left it on for a couple pictures.
I took Joy and Luna to Beals Elementary to play. Only Joy was being photogenic!
I received MORE treats to review from Chewy.com! The dogs are loving this!
These treats are Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Treats, Sweet Potato and Venison Formula. Because Joy is allergic to chicken, we need to be careful with ingredients, and these treats were perfect!
At midnight, I woke the dogs and asked, "Are you guys up for a treat review?"
They both said that they were.
Luna loves it...
Joy loves it...
I love this picture of Joy! She is never half committed to anything!
Success! 10 out of 10 - would order again!
Thank you Chewy.com! And thank you Natural Balance for creating treats both our mutts can enjoy.
Abby won Honorable Mention in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards for her artwork of Joy!
Her art as well as all of the artwork of the winners across Nebraska is hanging at the TAC building.
Congratulations Abby!
A young couple found a man dressed in several layers of badly worn clothing wandering around Petsmart with a tiny, emaciated black puppy in his arms. He was saying to himself that he could not afford dog food.
They asked the man about his puppy. He said he needed someone to take her because he did not have any money to care for her. They asked if he would take twenty dollars for her, and he did.
They brought her to me to be examined. Other than her very thin body condition, I found no other physical problems. They did not know if they were adopting or rescuing…they just saw a puppy in need and a man in distress and swooped.
Two days later, Layla came home to live with us, and we renamed her Joy Layla Finch.
The name Joy was suggested by the daughter of Joy King, who had been our very dear friend and had recently passed away. We also named her in honor of our other dear friends’ newborn daughter whose twin sister had just passed away. Joy…what an odd thing to name our new puppy during what was such a sad season for so many friends we loved. She has more than lived up to her name.
When I first met Joy, I was so angry at the man who had almost let her starve to death. My friend Janelle said, “He did take her to where he knew she would get help.” That statement stopped me in my tracks. I feel as though I owe him an apology and a thank you, though I have never met him.
So I will write one here, and though he will almost certainly never see it, I hope it serves as a reminder to let my first reaction be one of compassion not judgment.
To the original caretaker of Joy the Puppy,
Thank you for the gift of Joy. She is warm and fed. I pray that you are too. I will keep an eye out for you and try to make sure that you are.
If you had been in a different season of life, would you have kept her? If there is room in your life for a puppy again, I will do everything I can to help make that happen.
Forgive me for being so angry initially that she was such a skinny thing. I know that when you ran out of puppy food, you shared your own food with her. I would have held on to her until the last possible moment too. I will remember that before I judge someone who is probably doing the best they can.
Be proud of your dog. She turned out great. If you hadn’t protected her from the streets of Omaha in those first bitterly cold weeks, she would not have survived. If you had not taught her love from the start, it would have taken us years. If this does not reach you directly, I will try to thank you indirectly every way I can.
Luna Lovegood - Chapter 19 - Luna is doing well!
I dunno how many of these weekly no news updates you would enjoy. Personally I would be happy with about 500! Luna had another set of IV chemotherapy and is doing great! She jumped on Russ's head when she was discharged, entertaining the whole VCA MidWest Vet team. I'm glad they get to see her as her normal, dorky self!
On the subject of Luna's normal dorky self...Jen Rios gave Joy the Puppy a cardboard roll (Thank you Jen!!) Joy has been playing with it non-stop. Luna found a torn off bit of cardboard from Joy's roll and has been playing with IT non-stop.
So things are pretty normal around here! Everyone is happy and well :)
ONE YEAR AGO
TWO YEARS AGO
The little boy was going into the mall with his Mom and stopped to pet Joy.
I have started a fun project with Chewy.com. They send me a list of fun pet-related things. I choose two to review and they send me those two products at no cost.
The first product I reviewed was a Chicken Soup for the Soul book (10/10, would read again).
The second product I am reviewing is Honest Kitchen's Bone Broth - 10/10, would order again.
Joy has chicken allergies. Luna is super picky. This broth is beef based with no chicken and, according to Joy and Luna, very tasty. So it works well for both of them, which is rare in both treats and dog food.
Joy says this is unlike anything she's ever smelled...
Luna is so picky that she often skips meals, which, like it does for every Chihuahua client I have ever had, causes endless amounts of worry to our family. Luna has had some pretty serious liver and gastrointestinal issues, so when she does not eat, we are extra concerned. This bone broth may put an end to that, the worry I mean.
Luna does not just want to smell the powder. She wants a taste!
Both dogs like the warm broth as a soup and as a gravy to their plain old boring food.
It is super easy to reconstitute (like regular chicken and beef broth) and easy to serve. We avoid canned food because, although it can be nutritious, and as a vet I am very grateful it exists, it is gross. This broth is not gross.
For natural diets of whole food and high quality ingredients, Honest Kitchen is among the best. This is the first product of theirs that I have tried, and I am very impressed.
BUNNY TRAIL!
Remember on the Riley and James website when I would get off on a tangent or two and label it a bunny trail? This is similar. Is it better because I planned it? I don't know, but it is still fun!
The broth is said to be best for Pitta dosha types. "What in the world?" I thought. On the label of the Honest Kitchen Bone Broth is this statement, "To learn more about Ayurvedic and take a fun quiz to learn which dosha your pet belongs to, visit honestkitchen.com/ayurveda."
So I did.
Ayurveda is an ancient system of medicine originating in India. Anything I can learn about that can help my patients I am open to. The information on the page is fascinating.
AND Joy is a rare mixture of all three types of dosha, and Luna is a very strong (and strong willed) Pitta. Fun! If you take the quiz and find out what type your dog is or dogs are, let me know!
So this broth is supposed to be good for Joy and Luna, in Ayurveda thinking AND western medicine thinking. It has become a staple in our nutritious treats and supplements collection.
ONE YEAR AGO
MY PIT BULL - SHARPEI PATIENT, WELL, EVERY PATIENT REALLY
TWO YEARS AGO
Happy 9th Birthday and a day Joy! We love you so much!
I am thankful for Joy's medical issues.
Joy has chicken and seasonal allergies.
I am not afraid to dive into an eight week food trial with a client, or to use weeks after to pinpoint an allergen. Because of Joy, I have successfully brought several patients through the process and to comfort by avoiding the food or foods to which they are allergic.
I don't think an entire year of pattern watching is too long to figure out seasonal allergies.
I too hate seeing my dog miserable. Itchiness truly can be worse than pain. When I tell you that, know that I understand.
Joy has hypothyroidism.
She was overweight. Her coat was a mess. I understand how easy it is to miss gradual changes when you see your pet every day.
Joy injured her cruciate ligament and needed surgery.
I understand the financial stress. Dr. Merkley showed no financial mercy, but he took amazing care of our dog, so I'm good.
I understand how major this is.
I understand how difficult resting your dog for 6-8 weeks is. Many times, Joy would run past us with her leash we were supposed to be holding flying behind her.
When you say you cannot watch your pet receive an injection, I remember being in the middle of Joy's surgery with Dr. Merkley and needing to stare at the clock across two rooms so I did not black out.
We expected our mutt-mix-Heinz 57 dog to be the healthiest thing ever. However, because of her medical issues, I have grown as a veterinarian and pet parent. My empathy has been stretched to encompass a little bit more than it had, and that is always a good thing.
I asked Joy the Puppy if she wanted to explain all of the Barbie doll hands I found behind the couch.
Happy birthday Joy!
Sounds like someone has a case of the Mondays!
Fall time pictures from Abby
Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.