Brandy had her front left leg amputated on May 18th 2010.  Unfortunately, she has had a rough few months.

About 3 months ago, we noticed Brandy favoring her left rear leg so we took her to the vet.  The vet looked her over and decided to put her on pain meds and see if she improves with rest.  A few weeks later she was still limping pretty bad so we returned to the vet and X-rays were done thatshowed a small chip fracture in that leg. They did not cast the leg since the chip was so small. We kept her rested and allowed only bathroom trips to give her leg time to heal.  Another month passed and there was really no improvement, so back to vet.  Another round of X-rays were done and showed the bone looked good so the vet was not sure why she was still lame.  She was given more pain meds and sent home.  Three weeks ago we had to once again bring her to the vet because there is still no change.  The vet did X-rays of her entire hip this time.  All of the bones looked fine so the vet thinks it is her Hip Dysplasia acting up.  I did research on a drug called Adequan which is used to help with Hip Dysplasia.  We are willing to try anything to get our girl moving again with no pain. Currently, Brandy has a tough time standing, the injured leg trembles and she is only using that leg to hold her up, kind of like a bike kick-stand.  We are fed up with having to put her thru all of these X-rays.  They have to knock her out and she has to be at the vet all day long.  I called the vet 2 times yesterday and left messages for Brandy's doctor however no one called me back.  I finally got a hold of
her doctor today to discuss the Adequan and now our vet wants us to drop Brandy off tomorrow for more X-rays.  We don't know what to do and my father does not want to put her thru another round of
X-rays.  Shouldn’t the vet be able to figure things out with the X-rays they have?  Unfortunately, Brandy is so tough that she does not flinch when you manipulate her leg or hip.  Her toughness has made diagnosing this issue difficult.

She has had Hip Dysplasia since she was a puppy so this diagnosis was no surprise especially since she lost one of her legs.  It was only a slight hip dysplasia, not too severe.  You can imagine the pressure on the hips and remaining legs and her chip fracture just put more pressure on that bad hip.  She is at a good weight so that is not the issue.  Can anyone tell me if they have used Adequan and if it worked for their dog?  Please let me know what you think about our situation?  We love our vet, but we have noticed that it has been difficult getting help from them lately.  As with everyone who has dealt with cancer, our dogs are now living on borrowed time so we want them to be as healthy and pain free as possible.  You never know when it will be their time.  I am sorry for the long post, I am just so sad seeing Brandy in pain.

Don't you wish they could talk, I'm just going to throw something out. I've never had to deal with hip dysplasia, but I know its common. Any chance at all there could be spine issues, also, maybe a second opinion might help. I will be the first to say if you are comfortable with a vet then stay with them, but noone should have to fight for answers. Some here have found acupuncture to help with some leg issues, might be worth looking into. ope you can find something that helps, paws up, Spirit Gus and Dan 

Thank you all so much for your replies.  It has been very frustrating that our vet has not been very helpful.  Originally, they were so on it.  My father is going to speak with Brandy's doctor this afternoon to find out if the X-rays are really necessary, if they are, we will ask him about taking a look at her spine along with some chest X-rays.  Might as well get it all done one time!  The doctor seemed pretty sure it was her hip and I really hope it has nothing to do with her back.

I appreciate your input on Adequan.  That is what we would like to try if hip dysplasia is confirmed as the problem.  Luckily, she handles pain meds well but we do not want her on those long term.  She has been pain-free only 2 months since the amputation.  Brandy had infection after infection due to the amputation and really was not completely healed until September…Now she is hit with this.  I will let you all know what happens.

Teresa – Brandy's Mommy