Thank you so very much for your kind words and encouragement! Bud's check-up went fantastic today. His lungs are clear. His incision is healing and the staples were removed. We have antibiotics and continue treatment for the MRSA. We are finished with the other meds. Bud was given permission to go out and be a DOG!

I would be happy to share more about our journey with you in hopes of being a resource for someone else in this predicament!

I should start by saying 98% of total hip replacements are successful. However, we didnt think that we would be 2 percenters in a not so great way

The last week of October was when we saw the Xrays and the hip dysplasia. We live in a rural state so out local vet referred us to an orthopedic surgeon and specialist in another state and larger city. Xrays and information were exchanged. The Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Bud travelled 5 hours for his surgery. The surgery went wonderfully and a full recovery was expected. However two days later when Bud was to be released from ICU,his femur shattered!He was rushed into emergency surgery where the new hip was removed and the femur wired back together.He spent four more days in ICU and they we were given pain  meds, antibiotics and anti inflammatory meds.We came home.

Two weeks later, Bud was to have his staples removed and a quick orthopedic exam here at home. That week, he stopped using the hind leg. Xrays were taken and it showed that the femur had not shifted and everything was intact. We were given more pain meds and asked to encourage Bud to use the leg more.

The fifth week, Bud travelled to the specialist again. He examined Bud and was happy with his progress and recovery. We were told to continue on the same path. Pain meds and short leash walks.

Our vet sold her practice and we were referred to another local vet. This new vet had an orthopedic background and had worked with 4 other dogs in this condition so we were encouraged!

The 11th week, Bud travelled again. The specialist this time was concerned that he was not further along in his recovery and mobility. Xrays were taken and it was determined that Bud had another femur fracture further in the bone. It was decided that the bone could not be repaired and the hind left limb should be amputated. Bud became a tripawd the next day on Feb 12th. The amputation took hours longer than expected. We were informed that the leg was full of scar tissue and it appeared that the bone was infected and this had caused the second fracture. The surgeon took a culture sample of the infection from the bone. Two days later we came home with pain meds, antibiotics and anti inflammatory meds.

The culture was grown for 5 days. We were notified by the orthopedic specialist that it had tested positive for drug resilient MRSA The antibiotic most effective for treatment Baytril 136 was prescribed. I knew that MRSA can be fatal so I started looking for resources to refer too. I ended up contacting the Bella Moss foundation at http://www.bell…..dation.comThe site has a Q&A page with many topics including what MRSA is, how it is transmitted, how it is treated and etc. Bella was a beautiful white samoyathat died a very tragic death due to MRSA and the lack of information regarding the infection.The foundation does all kinds of wonderful work such as financing research and educating pawrents and medical professionals. I went to the support center and filled out a questionnaire. Jill Moss the founder contacted me right away. She sent articles she thought would be helpful, contact info for other pawrents with MRSA dogs and forwarded my questions to a vet friend who specializes in MRSA. However I did find out that there is very little literature about MRSA bone infection.

This past Sunday,Bud was shaky, lethargic and had a cough. It was a holiday weekend and we went to the on call emergency vet. Bud had bronchitis…..more antibiotics.

Today's vet visit was a blessing We will continue treatment for the MRSA. Both our new vet and the Orthopedic surgeon specialist have been wonderful to us and available to us! They have consulted with each other and with us. They both follow up with us, make recommendations and answer questions.  We will continue this journey together!

Poor Bud! Sending pawsitive thoughts your way.

Samson and tripawd Daisy