November MN Trip – Good Vet News!

Tonks. Adorable. Photo by Megan.

Viktor is now 24 months old.  We have been addressing his ‘valgus deviation of both front limbs’ since he was a young puppy.  Our rehab vet in Minnesota wanted to see him to evaluate his elbows and make a plan for  moving forward.

On Monday we went to an eye specialist to get a re-check for Griffin.  Pigmentary Uveitis an eye disease in golden retrievers that has the best outcome with early intervention,but eventually can end up painful and hard to manage.  He’s at risk – but the exam was all clear! The vet clinic was  interesting – they only do eye health things and had eye art all over as well as eye decorations of various types!

Megan N photo.

A few hours later, we went to our rehab vet.  Griffin got a great recheck – he’s  gained several pounds – likely in a good way. His back leg circumferences have increased which is fascinating to me, if anything he’s doing less running and swimming since our last recheck!

Photo by Megan. See the deviation!

Viktor is a wiggly young dog. While he is 2 years old, he acts like a  9 month old puppy.  We knew we would need some sort of chemical help to get the proper xrays.  Prior to our trip, we tested a few options and then used our best one while up there.  He needed a little additional medication but it ended up being a perfect combination. He was much  more cooperative and the event was much less stressful for him (the angles needed aren’t always comfortable for dogs).

Good news!  Nothing concerning with his elbows, wrists, or hips. I’m so, so happy and can’t believe it!  This means even fewer restrictions and longer between our re-checks.

We were so lucky to avoid most bad weather despite our trip north in late November.  We saw some hail and rain – but the rain meant no deer in the many hours of driving through the dark.  The dogs travel so well and we enjoy our adventures together. We’re so happy to have all this great vet news in one day!