021 394 017This is the month for young Choco to lend a helping hand! Everything has been going very well for him – we are on top of his weight, he is getting plenty of exercise and his Heyrex charts are looking beautiful as a result. Furthermore, he hasn’t had any of the skin or anal gland issues he had during the hot Auckland summer of 2014.
Choco’s long lost cousin ‘Tui’ on the other hand, isn’t doing so well. Tui is a very happy and hyperactive 8 year old Dalmatian who is cared for by my brother Ben down in Lyttleton near the city of Christchurch in New Zealand. Over the years Tui has had a number of problems, including a broken elbow (that was very nicely fixed), some skin issues, and a couple of behaviour problems including separation anxiety. Now, it seems the poor young chap has hurt his knee! Tui has been diagnosed with a cranial cruciate ligament rupture (CCL rupture) in his left knee. This is known as an ACL rupture in humans, and it is actually pretty common in dogs, both large and small. The cruciate ligament is very important for the full function of the knee, so having a ruptured ligament means that poor Tui is currently limping around very badly.
Tui is booked in to have a special surgery where his vet will recreate this ligament out of nylon suture material. This prosthetic ligament will take the place of Tui’s ruptured one and hopefully allow him full function of his leg again in the coming months as he recovers. Because Tui needs this surgery, and to follow up on his progress, Choco has very kindly donated his Heyrex monitor to him. This will allow us to closely track how Tui’s recovery is going after his cruciate operation. In the future, we will also use the Heyrex monitor to track and assess Tui’s behavioural problems as he goes through training for his separation anxiety.
So for now, it’s good bye from the lovely Choco, and hello to Tui the sore Dalmatian!
There will be an update on Tui and his surgery next month
Until next time,
Mark & Tui!
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