Hi All

I have been using the same Vet for my dogs for 20 years.  He is a great guy, and has been spot on with his past diagnosis and treatments.  However, there have been numerous changes at the hospital since Covid hit, and there is a marked decrease in the quality of service.

Anyway, my 13 year old Malinois has suddenly come up severely lame in the right front leg.  My Vet says it’s arthritis, and has prescribed pain meds and anti-Inflammatories.  Trouble is, it has no effect on her lameness, and my Vet seems too busy to bother trying anything else.

Does anyone know of any other good Orthopedic Vet?   Preferably in the greater Shelton/Monroe/Southwestern CT.

Thanks

Nothing more upsetting than seeing your beloved dog have issues.

Our last dog only had 3 legs. He was missing a rear one when we rescued him. When he wasn't able to climb the few steps into the house we took him to two local Vets. They both said he tore his ACL. Since we did not believe them based on how it seemed to be degenerative, not sudden like a tear, we took him to Bolton Veterinary Hospital. The have an Orthopedic specialist. She spotted a tumor on his sine near his hip. We took him to Tuft's University in Grafton , MA. He had cancer and unfortunately he got into such pain we had to put him down. The tumor was wrapped around his spinal cord and they didn't feel an operation would eliminate his pain. Chemo might prolong his life but he would not be able to walk on that leg. I made a wheelchair for him but the cries of pain were too much for us and him. Even with pain meds the poor guy was in serious pain.

We like Bolton's Orthopedic Dr. Also I recommend Tuft's but you need a referral to them from a Vet. Bolton did that for us.

I know it is far but I am sure you are willing to drive for the right care for your dog. Good luck!!!

Good luck with finding a "good" vet these days.  I feel your pain.  I rescued a Beagle many years ago from a shelter.  He came up from Tennessee.  He didn't like loud noises like gun shots so he wouldn't hunt.  He was the nicest dog I've ever seen in my life and I took him everywhere.  He had a cough that would come and go and no vet could ever figure out what it was and they never seemed to care either.  I went from one vet to the next when he would get sick and everybody was always over booked.  I made sure he always got all his shots and checkups and was well taken care of.  At 8 years old I got a text that it was time for his checkup so I took him in.  They found a fatty tumor, (harmless) on the back of his leg that they said would only grow so they took it out.  They completely missed the fact that he had swollen lymph nodes and had Lymphoma.  He wasn't showing any signs yet.  After that surgery for the harmless tumor he went straight down hill.  I spent 6 months in another vet spending thousands on chemo that only bought him 3 months of remission and then he got sick again and there was nothing more I can do for him.  Worst day of my life was having a vet come to the house to put him down and 2 years later I still miss him every day.  I feel for anyone needing a vet these days.  It seems the care just isn't there.  They are all out to make money.  Good luck to you though.  I really know how hard it is when your pal is sick and hurting.

This place has an excellent reputation and is know far and wide due to Dr. Marty Goldstein. SMITH RIDGE VETERINARY CENTER

There is a very good Pet Food/Supply store in Cheshire. The staff there is like no other especially the owner Nicki who consults for Police & Military K-9s. Check their website for provider recommendations. North Point Pets

My family used to breed golden's, all of the dogs went there, bolton is top notch.

Have her checked for Lyme Disease  /  Dr Thomas K Ckin  Sandbank Veterinary Hospital Cheshire, CT

Thanks for all the replies.  Hard to get in to see a Vet on short notice when you are a new customer.

She has tested positive for Lyme, and has been on antibiotics for a month.  All the pain meds do is take a tiny bit of pain away.  She hops around like there is a red hot spike in her front paw.  My Vet was convinced it is arthritis, but back-peddled when she came up positive for Lyme.

I finally got an appointment with my Vet to do some X-rays on Friday.  That should show any arthritic joints, or bone injuries.  I will have a new Lyme test done to see her levels.  We are also going to change up her meds, guided by the test results.  But right now, all I know is she is dead lame, and the pain meds aren't improving her quality of life.

She is a big dog, and has always been kind of a bull.  I realize at 13, she is a very senior citizen.  But she was fine until last month, then it was like someone threw a switch.  She is my best buddy, and loves to hike the trails with me.  It is very sad to think she may be limited to hobbling around the yard

Could also be a foreign object or abscess somewhere in the foot. Xray should be able to see it if that is the case. Keep us posted.

FWIW, here's something you can try on your own.  When my almost-14 Britt started limping on his front leg, I tried CBD dog cookies and they worked.  No more limping since he started them.  The ones I use are from Hemp My Pet with 5 mg of CBD oil for larger dogs.  One bag is 15 cookies and I use one a day for my 50 lb. dog.  One bag should tell you if they work or not.  I asked my vet about them and he said they either work very well or they don't do anything.

https://www.hempmypet.com/product/organic-dog-biscuits-infused-with-organically-grown-colorado-cbd-hemp-extract-handmade-large-dog-formula-5-mg-pumpkin/

i agree on the cbd as well. worth a shot.

read up on it, im not 100% sure on the dosages but i know you can give them what "humans" take, tincture wise. whether its isolate, full spectrum or broad spectrum, i forget.  buying "pet" cbd is marked up big time.
example
30mg per 1ml dropper, 1/4 ml=7.5mg

Took my girl in to have X-Rays this AM, the news is not good.  The Vet called, and told me she has bone cancer.  My choices are, amputation, Chemo, and pain killers, which may give me 4 months to a year.  Or, just try to keep her comfortable as possible, and she has about two months before I have to put her down.  There is no way I am going to start cutting her up.

I could not be any more crushed if she had been my own flesh and blood daughter.  I just had to put my 16 year old Elkhound down, and now I am about to lose my best friend.

That is fucking awful. I am so sorry.

Dude, I am so sorry. I had to put my buddy down 2 years ago. I still tear up thinking about him. He had cancer too.

We rescued another dog after a couple weeks. My wife was crying non-stop for those two weeks. We love our newest dog but she did not replace and can never replace the one we lost. She just helps us focus our love and she makes us happy.

If you were her what would you want?

Countryside Veterinary in Shelton. I have been using Dr. Jeffrey only and he has been great. There are other Vets at this location as well, but I can't really vouch for them.

https://www.countrysidevethospital.com/

Edit: just saw your update. I'm really sorry.

If it ever comes down to it, there is a service where they come to your house and put dog down in the comfort of their home.

Decided to add an update.

In the end, I just couldn’t sit by, and watch her die.  I went with the surgery and chemo.  We are talking the price of an MG for all this, but paid it without hesitation for my little girl.

The first week was awful, and I really was questioning my decision.  She improved little by little, and is pretty much back to her old lovable self (but crippled).  

She gets around pretty good for short distances.  But unless I invest in a $700 front end wheelchair, her hiking the trails days are over.  We will see how she holds up.

I don’t know how much time I have left with her, but I will try to make it quality time for her.

Tough decision either way, glad she is doing better! Waiting to see if one of my cats has lymphoma, should have the results next week.

Thanks for the kind words.  Sorry to hear your cat is ill, hope things turn out OK.

It is amazing how close we humans get to our furry friends.  We had a family friend who spent several thousand dollars to try to save her very senior pet rat.  Although it didn’t make it, she had no regrets investing the money to try and save it.

Small cell lymphoma confirmed this morning.

So sorry to hear that

A final update to Echo’s story.

We had hoped we would have Echo with us into next year, but is was not to be.

I had started taking Echo on a couple of short walks, and lots of rides in the car (her favorite).  Last night, my wife and I decided to have a non-drive thru/pickup meal.  So went out for a sit down pizza, and we left Echo home.

When we returned, Echo was paralyzed in her rear legs.  We took her to Shoreline Emergency.  Turns out she had spinal cord damage.  It was caused by the spreading cancer, or maybe her hopping gate she needed to use with only 3 legs.

Anyway, she was not a candidate for any more surgery, and wasn’t going to recover, so we did what had to be done.

It has been an emotional rollercoaster since June.  The fight to prelong her time with us, had brought us even closer then we were before, if that was even possible.

To have something totally unexpected, swoop in and end it all, seems even more tragic then the original cancer.

My wife and are devastated beyond words. Echo was a kind, gentle sole who always gave far more then she ever took.  I will miss my beautiful friend and daughter until my last breath.

always sad to hear
I hope you can find some consolation in the memories you have of her.

sorry to hear. really tough losing a pup.

So sorry

I'm really sorry.

I am so sorry to hear. It is not easy to lose a family member. We had to put our dog down for the same reason 2 years ago. I still get teary eyed thinking of him. We adopted another dog and I love her to death but I still miss Blueboy.

If you are thinking of another pup my brother asked me today if I wanted another pitbull. I know it is too soon probably but if anyone here needs a new dog hit me up

Guys

Thanks for all the kind words.  We have lost a number of dogs before (we just put our 16 year old Elkhound down before Echos issues started), but Echo and I where extremely close.  This one has really hurt me.

Right now, I honestly don’t want any more dogs.  We never had kids, so we tend to project parental affection onto our dogs.  Of the 6 dogs we have lost,  3 have been due to some horrible cancer, and my heart is tired of watching them struggle and rot, before we have to put them down.

We have one dog left.  She is also a 13 year old Malinois.  She is as close to my wife, as Echo was to me.  Although she acts 6, who knows how long she has.

Very sorry to hear msg.

Thank you for giving them good and fulfilling lives. Im sorry we are wired to feel the way you do right now, but Im glad you got to share in life with them all the experiences that have left you to feel this way.