Trooper, the adorable Lab/Hound mix who arrived from Louisiana back in December, is finally ready for surgery. Judging from the number of emails I've received from people asking how he's doing, I realize I have been remiss in not posting any updates on him since he came. But he is doing just great, and that emaciated dog in December is now completely filled out. We had to hold off on surgery until we could bring him up to normal weight.
I drove Trooper over to our vet clinic in Helena this afternoon, and took the photo of him in the back seat of the truck when I got there. (Actually, we removed most of the back seat to make room for dogs!) This photo makes him look both more serious and more sad than he really is. Trooper is a complete goofball, in fact. He's a happy, bouncy, funny guy who loves nothing more than to wrestle with Travis, he of fused-jaw fame.
Despite his twisted front leg and his obliterated hip joint, Trooper is one of the fastest dogs we have. We were completely amazed at watching him race across the yard at Widget's House. His front leg doesn't seem to bother him at all. When he runs, he simply pulls up the back leg to get it out of the way, and then he just holds it there as he zooms along.
This surgery will be on that hip joint, which you can see in the left of this X-ray (it's his right side, where the 'R' is on the image):
Just compare that hip joint to the other, normal side, and you can see the difference.
The procedure is called a femoral head ostectomy, an operation we have had done on two other dogs at the ranch, Pappy and Chelsea. Our internal medicine specialist in Helena, Dr. Britt Culver, does this surgery.
It will take months for Trooper to fully recuperate from the hip operation, and then we will make a decision about the surgery on his front leg. To be honest, we are not sure about proceeding with that operation after watching how well he gets around. The surgery is very complex, involves lots of rods and pins, and makes the FHO procedure look simple by comparison. Our veterinary surgeon in Spokane who would do the operation on Trooper's front leg considers the outcome to have only a "fair prognosis." So now that we see the front leg doesn't seem to bother Trooper, and doesn't seem to cause him any pain, we are beginning to wonder if we really need to -- and should -- put him through that. So I've asked Britt and our primary care vet, Dr. Brenda Culver, to also evaluate Trooper's front leg while he's at the clinic and to let us know what they think.
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In the crate behind Trooper is blind Popeye the cat, who's had another setback with the operation to remove a painful eye. Over the weekend the eye socket started opening up again, so back to Brenda he went!
what a beautiful boy!
Posted by: Kate and Luke! | February 19, 2008 at 11:57 PM
Trooper has turned into one beautiful and handsome guy. We can't wait to meet him this summer. We look forward to all the Trooper updates.
Posted by: Shirley & James, Portland, OR | February 19, 2008 at 10:24 PM
Trooper, you have turned into a very handsome guy. What a difference since your first picture. Hope your surgery goes well and you'll be romping around when all the snow melts. Maybe little Popeye is in love with his vet. Cats have such fragile skin around their eyes it seems. Will pray for Trooper and Popeye both.
Loved the travel-log. Gosh, the snow, wow. I'm ready for spring along with everybody else. Will take a while for you all at RDR to thaw out. Keep up the good work. Bless you.
Posted by: Sonya Brooks | February 19, 2008 at 08:20 PM
I wish Trooper a quicker than expected recovery from this surgery & hope it goes great. He's so handsome! I'm glad to hear that he's a goofball. Sounds like he's loving life at the RDR! I'm sorry to read that Popeye is having problems with that eye again! Maybe it's time for a name change!
Big hugs to all,
ginger, Tobias & Tlingit
Posted by: ginger & Tobias (the greythound) | February 19, 2008 at 01:29 PM
Thanks for this update, Steve! I was one of the many Trooper fans hoping for an update. Best of luck, Trooper, on your surgery. I hope your crate rest passes quickly so you can be out and running around again soon. I know how hard it is to keep a happy, goofy dog quiet and calm!!
Posted by: Linda | February 19, 2008 at 11:22 AM
It's great to see how beautifully filled out Trooper is from your loving care. We have high hopes for his successful surgery and wish Popeye the best, too.
Thanks for the bonus travelogue! Truly is "God's Country". We'd love to visit someday.
Posted by: Margaret | February 19, 2008 at 11:10 AM
We hope Trooper's complex surgery goes smoothly and he can enjoy some great, new found, romping sessions with Travis!
Kisses to Popeye; he sure has had a time of it with his eyes. We hope he's comfortable.
Posted by: Boundforglory | February 19, 2008 at 10:04 AM
Thank you so much for the update on Trooper! I have been waiting patiently to see how he would do...but was afraid to ask.
Posted by: Debbie | February 19, 2008 at 10:02 AM
Wow, what an extraordinary makeover! I guess it's just another "TLC miracle" of yours, isn't it?:-)
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Trooper's surgery to be a complete success and I wish him a speedy recovery (I wish the same to Popeye, of course).
A huge hug to you all from Italy.
Posted by: Carla Polastro-Nigro | February 19, 2008 at 04:19 AM
good luck trooper!
popeye must really like those long car rides to the vet - i hope his eye issues get resolved soon!
and thanks for the travelogue pics. it is fun to get a better idea of the surroundings in your area.
Posted by: maggie | February 19, 2008 at 12:05 AM
Even with the serious look on his face - he's one good looking dog. Thanks for the update. Glad to hear Trooper's true inner-dog is finally coming out. :- ) Will keep fingers (and paws) crossed that all goes well for the boy.
Posted by: Karen | February 18, 2008 at 11:01 PM