Zoee's leg update #15

[Taz_Zoee]

We believe Zoee tore her ACL (or damaged it at least). She has been at my moms since Christmas (I miss her soo much!). For several weeks she was on very limited activity. NO running, jumping or stairs. Each time I talked to my mom and asked if she was improving the response was "she has her good days and her bad days". Bruce kept saying she's not improving........bring her home.
Last weekend my mom got the idea to start a walking program. We would do water therapy but it is way too cold for that right now. So she started walking her for 15 - 20 minutes twice a day. Very slow walks. Just in a few days my mom said she can see an improvement.
I was confused as to why she thought walking would be better. But she explained that the leg probably already healed up during the two months of practically no activity. And now she just needs to strengthen the muscle back up. She said when she stands her entire leg shakes. That's probably because her muscle is weak. She is already seeing an improvement in that area and she is limping much less too.
I am so lucky to have my mom to do this for me. Her main focus is getting Zoee better so she can come home where she belongs.

[kaycountrygal]

That's good news, right? Hmmm, will your mom give Zoee back to you? just saying.... I bet she's grown very fond of her.

[Taz_Zoee]

That's good news, right? Hmmm, will your mom give Zoee back to you? just saying.... I bet she's grown very fond of her.

It is good news. Tonight she told me while she was walking she asked my dad if he thought she was walking better and he said yes. So it's not only my mom seeing it. I will see her in a couple weeks so I can see for myself how she is doing.
Funny you should mention about her giving her back. She joked with me and said if she stays much longer she's not coming home. That was when we were looking at the possibility of her staying there for a year if needed. But if things progress as they are, she should be home in a few months. Of course my mom loves her, but she knows her home is here with us. She is dealing with four dogs right now. Her own two, mine and their pool guy has his mastiff out there. She can't ignore a dog, so she takes care of him too.

[Alysser]

Poor Zoee!! I really hope this helps her. For some reason I always thought that if dogs tore their ACL they needed surgery? I guess it depends on a number of factors.

I really hope she improves. There's nothing worse than seeing your baby suffer. Please keep us updated!

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks for keeping us updated. I'm glad to hear that she's improving. Hopefully she'll be able to come home soon.

[Bonny]

Your mom sounds great & am glad to hear Zoe is improving.

[Taz_Zoee]

Poor Zoee!! I really hope this helps her. For some reason I always thought that if dogs tore their ACL they needed surgery? I guess it depends on a number of factors.

I really hope she improves. There's nothing worse than seeing your baby suffer. Please keep us updated!

I guess it depends on how bad the tear is. And I think hers wasn't too bad since she never cried and she put weight on it at times. But I'm not a vet, so I don't know. My vet didn't really tell me how bad it was. I just heard surgery and lost it a little. I don't want to put her through that if it can be avoided.

Thanks everyone! I'll try to remember to take some pictures when I see her. If she'll sit still long enough.

[Roxyluvsme13]

I'm glad to see a Zoee update, I bet you're missing her like crazy. Hopefully this will continue to improve her condition and you two will be reunited soon

[Taz_Zoee]

I got to spend some time with Zoee on Sunday (nice bday gift for me). She really is doing so good. Her leg was shaking, we assumed that was partly excitement too, but she wasn't limping. She hadn't seen Bruce since we left her there at Christmas (she has seen me a couple of times). We let her and Taggart see each other too. We took them out in the backyard and Bruce was playing with my moms dog (she is obessed with fetch). But then Zoee started chasing too. She ran a couple of times then I had to put her on a leash so she wouldn't run anymore. Even after that my mom said she wasn't limping, but she was exhausted. She didn't even want to go out to potty the next morning. LOL
We are thinking she might be back home with us by June. Bruce was shocked by that because that means she's been at my moms for 6 months! But I said....whatever it takes to avoid surgery. And it is working!! We are all so thrilled!
I'm looking forward to the weather warming up so she can swim and build up strength even more without stress on the knee.

[Karen]

Sounds like real progress is happening, good for Zoee. Of course she was excited to see you all! And yes, swimming will be a great way to exercise with mush less strain on the joints. I am sure you have her greeting from all of us, and told her we at Pet Talk miss her!

[Alysser]

I am so glad she's recovering so well at your moms place!! I really hope things continue to improve for Zoee.

[*LabLoverKEB*]

I'm so glad Zoee is making great improvements!! That's so wonderful of your mom to take care of her so she can get a full recovery, what a saint!

[Taz_Zoee]

Thank you!
My mom said the other day if she continues like she is she might come home even earlier. So my thought was this......She is due for a vet visit in May. I will bring her home for the vet visit and see how she does. If it appears that it is too soon for her to be so active (and we'll do our best to control her activity, but with Taggart around that will be near impossible) she will go back to moms. So a little trial run in May.

Please think good thoughts that she will be fine in May and get to stay here where she belongs.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks for keeping us updated. I hope that she'll continue to improve, her vet visit will go well, and that she'll be able to stay home with you in May. Lots of prayers and positive thoughts are being sent her way.

[Taz_Zoee]

I keep forgetting to come update this thread. I did post about this in Taggarts bday thread, but wanted to come make the official announcement here.
We think (pretty much 99% sure) that Zoee will come home on May 20th. We go to Tahoe that weekend and figured we'd just bring her home with us when we pick up Taggart. She will still be slightly restricted, which should be a task for Bruce working from home. But then I'm off work the week of Memorial Day so that will be nice.
I am so excited to get her home. I'm a little worried about how she will do though. She is so comfortable at my moms house now and I'm going to turn her world upside-down again. I just hope she remembers home and feels comfortable back here.
I want to get video of her when she first comes back into the house. But that will depend on Bruce and how things go that day. I will definitely get pictures of her though. She is at the groomers as I type this. So she will be all pretty for her homecoming.