Hi and thank you for allowing me to join this site.

I have a sanctuary rescue home for geriatric, special needs and hospice pugs. Currently we are caring for 16 fur babies here.

Zoey is our most recent addition. She is an owner surrender, at 17.5 years old. She came with very longstanding left forelimb lameness and bearing no weight. previous owner had taken over her care as his mom was too ill to care for Zoey any longer, he referred to it as arthritic pain and his vet had recommended euthanasia.

The leg is very painful from halfway between the elbow and carpal joint on down the leg. Even lightly touching it evokes a pain response. Ambulating on hard floors causes her to frequently slip and fall onto the leg causing her to cry out in pain. Our home is equipped with runners and rugs throughout, but she does not always stay on them, so veering off the rugs is disastrous for Zoey. We set her up in a large acrylic pen thickly bedded with blankets so she has footing and if she does fall, the padding breaks her fall and keeps her comfortable. Aside from the issues with her leg, she is in remarkably good condition for a pug of her age. She sees and hears well, is alert and responsive, friendly and sweet and enjoys attention. Eats and drinks well, eliminates fine and has no breathing issues whatsoever. She does have arthritis in the other front leg - and generally, as would be expected in a very old dog.

She saw the orthopedic specialist today and they did an exam and xrays and concluded the elbow joint is frozen and fixed due to arthritic process and the tendons of the carpal joint are contracted due to the posture and long disuse. There is no salvaging the functionality of the leg. He recommends amputation to relieve her of pain. The opposite limb has arthritis, but not severe. He feels she will have some pain, but be comfortable and mobile enough to get around and not fear the severe pain of a fall or bump. Her bloodwork is good, she is in good, lean condition with a thick, luxurious coat that is soft as rabbit fur. Chest xrays were clear and there is no sign of tumors or cancer in her bones or elsewhere. Lungs and heart appear normal size and free of disease.

I had hoped to be able to avoid the major surgical process by a procedure like a rhizotomy; where the nerves supplying the bad leg are severed, permanently disrupting the pain signal, or possibly some other sort of permanent nerve/brachial plexus block procedure which could be performed under light anesthesia and would be much less invasive. The ortho said there were no such procedures available. I did schedule an appointment with a neurosurgeon just to get their input and see if they had any alternative solutions that might work for this baby, however the soonest i could get an appointment was 1/7/21.

Currently she is receiving cannabis oil to control her pain and inflammation and it seems to help nicely as long as she remains in her padded, plexiglass palace. She is also getting Adequan injections, fish oil, DHA, denamarin and Kidney Support Gold.

She has been on three legs for years, and is adapted to a tripod gait, it is more the major surgery and recovery in a super geriatric dog I am concerned with....but I also do not want to leave her in this kind of pain. Is anyone aware of any alternative procedures to eliminate the pain and avoid amputation? Has anyone had experience with amputation at such an advanced age?

I do have a short video showing her walking, but this is my first post and I am not sure how to go about attaching photos or videos.

Thanks in advance to all and have a wonderful Holiday!

Lisa & the Rusty Pugs