# 7 week puppy xray - please help



## paradigmflux (Jun 14, 2009)

I need help asap please - my girlfriend and I rescued a 7 week pomerian/dachhound mix about two weeks ago after his mom had been hit by a car and the dad had attacked and killed the rest of the litter. He was happy when we got him, with only a slight limp occasionally but all puppy's that young have some trouble getting around too straight.









We knew that Bear had been attacked by his dad, so we took him straight to the vetrinarian and the vet took xrays and said that he suspected all it was was that there was a sprained or torn ligament. We started taking super good care of him, (formula, puppy food, etc) and everything was great - the other day when we were at work we left him alone in my room for the very first time (opposed to being in the kennel) and he somehow must have gotten on my bed and jumped off - the bed is just a boxspring & mattress, so no more than 9 inches) ... that night he was yelping a lot, and whining, but that has stopped and now he is limping with his bad leg, but he still wants to play and seems generally happy. The night it happened we raced him to a overnight vet hospital where they did more xrays and gave him some toradol. This vet referred us to a vetrinarian surgeon, who told us the next day that the puppy's hip was fractured and that it would need $3000 surgery and that the surgery would only have a 50/50 change of succeeding because of the fact that the puppy's leg is so small. If the surgery doesn't work, then they'd want another $2200 to do an amputation.

Now we rescued this little guy from an acerage where the dad had killed the rest of the litter, the owners were substance abusers who really didn't care for their pets. Since we got him I've already spent nearly a thousand dollars on him (the first vet visit, then we took him for deworming and paid for a shot package, and since then another $350 at the overnight hospital and another $100 the next day for a "surgery consult")

I need a vet to please look at my puppy's xrays and tell me if what the surgeon is telling me is true. How can the puppy seem to not be in any pain if his leg is so fractured that it needs possible amputation and $6000 in surgery?

We really cannot afford to pay $6000 for a puppy that we just got, but my girlfriend has fallen in love with the little guy so much that it's breaking her heart. if he needs the surgery then I guess there isnt much else i can do except figure out some way to pay for it, i just wanted to get some kind of confirmation from somebody else that the surgeon isn't just trying to rip us off. (it's all so shady, how the overnight place refers us to a surgeon that owns the overnight place as well, etc) I just want to know how the original vetrinarian (who was highly recommended) told us that it definitely wasn't broken and we had nothing to worry about because puppy's bones are soft and have yet to have the growth plates fuse, to another vet telling us that the leg needs $6000 surgery and a 50% chance of amputation when the puppy was doing nothing except playing on a bed that's 9 inches up from a soft carpet.

The picture at the top is of Bear the day after we got him, and the three below this paragraph are all the xrays that the "surgeon" took (although they never even showed me two of these xrays, they only showed me one). 




























We have our appt with the surgeon tomorrow at 2:40, they'd do the surgery tuesday if we agree to it. He's been on oral toradol since we took him to the overnight place to try and keep him from moving around too much. i really can't let my girlfriends heart get broken by letting this little puppy hurt, but i really can't afford to spend possible $6000. (i'm only 25, she's 21.. she's a temp worker for an agency, and had taken some time off work to take care of the puppy when we first got him). I really cannot afford another consultation fee with another vetrinary clinic (they're all upwards of a hundred more dollarS) to be told just the same thing again. 

I can be reached on my email by sending me a private message on here, and if there are any vets or knowledable people who would prefer to talk to my on the phone - if they msg me their phone number i will call them immediately upon receipt.

Thanks, this is really my last resort for trying to find help with this. :<


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

If you can't afford the sugery and the pup is suffering, it's probably better to put the pup to sleep. I'm sorry to have to say this, but sometimes the best thing we can do for the dog is to put them out of their pain.


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## paradigmflux (Jun 14, 2009)

The puppy doesn't seem to be suffering - like only if he tries to put all of his weight on the bad leg does it hurt him. Why would you put a 7 week puppy to sleep that is loved if he's not in pain? He whines a bit if he's left alone but he's always done that - the painful yelps stopped after the first night.


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## HORSEandHOUND (May 28, 2009)

$6000 to treat, yet the likelihood of him recovering 100% is slim. He's 7 weeks old and he's in pain now, and will be for months to come. i vote for euthanasia as well. I think it is very noble of you to be giving this puppy the absolute best shot at a happy life, and i think you have done that. I personally think putting a puppy thru the surgery would be cruel.


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

Then opt out of the this surgery and have the amputation done, the pup will do fine on three legs. Honestly, if you doubt the surgeons diagnosis, get a second opinion. The majority of the people here aren't qualified to tell you if the diagnosis is correct.


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## paradigmflux (Jun 14, 2009)

I was hoping that there might be an actual vet who might be able to look at the xrays, or somebody might be married to one or know one who could look quickly. A "second opinion" costs another $150, which really adds up when you're both young and only one works and were not planning on spending thousands of dollars on this puppy.
My girlfriend doesn't want to have to amputate him unless there's no alternative - her sister recently committed suicide and I got her the puppy to try and cheer her up and she has bonded with him more than anyone ever expected - it would break my heart to have her see him in more pain than necessary or even unhappy.

thanks to the forum poster who already referred me to justanswer.com - i put up a question and am waiting for the vet response. Any idea how long it usually takes them to answer questions if you agreed to pay the more expensive option?


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## FourIsCompany (Apr 18, 2009)

Would it be an option to wait and see how he does, then amputate later if he doesn't recover? I know NOTHING about broken dog bones, but a puppy up walking around and playing doesn't sound like he has a broken hip to me. But I'm ignorant to how it all works.

If you do decide to let it go, and it IS broken, you may have some serious problems later in his life with arthritis, dysplasia, etc. But I wouldn't trust a vet that I didn't feel comfortable with. Did he show you the break? Compare it to the other side? That's the least he should do. I would take him to another vet. Having a vet you can trust is going to be vital regardless what you do. So, you need to find another one, anyway.

I sympathize with you and can't imagine making the decision you have to make. But I think it's important to think of the pup's quality of life right now and not so much your girlfriend's broken heart. She needs to think about the puppy, too. An untreated break can cause problems down the line. But unneeded surgery on a 7-week-old puppy can cause problems, too. 

Dogs can be expensive. If you absolutely cannot afford a second opinion (which I think you need), then you certainly can't afford the surgery. 

Good luck in your decision.


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## paradigmflux (Jun 14, 2009)

Thanks FourIsCompany. As soon as she wakes up, we are going to take the dvd with the copy of the xrays down to the local rescue society and see if they know anyone who could give us a second opinion. Her parents kept the pup last night so that she could get some sleep, so I'm not going to wake her up when it's the first decent sleep she's had in about five days. 
and again, putting the puppy to sleep is really not an option. i got her this puppy because she was still heartbroken and recovering from her sister's suicide, i am never going to even suggest putting the little guy down (nor has anyone who has seen him)

thanks again.


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

Actually, looking at the pictures, you can see the break in the last one, at the ball joint you can just see the malformation in the left joint compared to the right joint. It would be a shoulder break at the head of the Humorous. If I remember my A&p correctly, this is a HORRIBLE place to get a break for humans, I can only imagine how difficult it will be to repair in in an 8 week old pup.


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## paradigmflux (Jun 14, 2009)

so what, just kill the dog? You sickos think of yourselves as dog lovers? I wasn't asking if I should put the puppy down, I was asking if surgery would be the best course of action right now. $6000 is a lot, but I -will- pay for it all if the puppy requires it and has the best chance through it.

I have just read a lot of conflicting advice in regards to waiting to see if it heals properly, or waiting for the growth plates to fuse and then doing the surgery. I am not putting this puppy down, and I think that if any of you continue to tell me that you think you know better about this then you are twisted individuals.


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## FourIsCompany (Apr 18, 2009)

If you didn't want people's opinions, you shouldn't have posted on a public dog board. If you want only a vet's opinion, take him to the vet. If you want free vet advice, you're in the wrong place. 

People are giving their opinions based on their *love *for dogs and calling people sick and twisted is only a slap in the face to people who actually care.


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

paradigmflux said:


> so what, just kill the dog? You sickos think of yourselves as dog lovers? I wasn't asking if I should put the puppy down, I was asking if surgery would be the best course of action right now. $6000 is a lot, but I -will- pay for it all if the puppy requires it and has the best chance through it.
> 
> I have just read a lot of conflicting advice in regards to waiting to see if it heals properly, or waiting for the growth plates to fuse and then doing the surgery. I am not putting this puppy down, and I think that if any of you continue to tell me that you think you know better about this then you are twisted individuals.



I just made a comment on the break. We have people come on here all the time complaining about high vet bills and that aren't willing to pay them OR are seeking 'donations' to help, so yes, we're a little 'jaded' at times when we see these posts. 

I will tell you however that it's most likely that an amputation will be necessary, I know it's a scary prospect, but it may well the better answer and be less costly in the long run. Waiting may not be an option because of the death of the head of the humorous if blood flow is compromised. I may not be a vet, but I've seen this break before in older dogs. 

Remember this, with a pup this young, ANY surgery is dangerous, so you want to minimize the amount of surgeries as well as the time under. 

As far as 'knowing better', yes, I've been around dogs twice as long as you've been alive, I think I do. I've paid my share of outrageous vet bills and done without to see both my dog and my human kids get medical treatment. I know what it is to make ends meet and I've had to put fur kids down because I couldn't afford the treatments they needed or it was more humane to do so than to allow the dog to suffer any further.


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## MyCharlie (Nov 4, 2007)

I'm not a vet but I'm an x-ray tech and have worked in the medical field for 18 years. From what I see, it looks like the right hip that's broken, not the left humeral head. It also looks like one of the bones in the right foot has a healing fracture as well. 

Like I said, I'm no vet so definitely do NOT have an expert opinion, but being fractured in that area (and it appears displaced as well) the chances of him fully recovering on his own or even WITH surgery would be very slim. Hip fractures are not a good place and it's not like letting a leg fracture or arm fracture heal on its own because there is so much more movement in the joint itself, not just a weight bearing issue.

But I would imagine that with bed rest for a few months it may heal on its own, but he would never be "normal" with his activities. As long as you guys are okay with that, I wouldn't see the harm in waiting as long as he isn't suffering in the meantime. The downside is, if you wait it out and THEN decide to try surgery, there will be a lot of callous formation (new bone growth around the fractured area) and it would definitely complicate the surgery and be more likely that Bear would need an amputation. In all honesty, there are quite a few three legged dogs out there who do just fine, and get around just as well as four legged dogs. I really don't think growth plates would play a role in his course of treatment because of the location of the break. 

Unfortunately, it's a personal choice that you and your girlfriend have to make together as to where to go from here. There is no right or wrong answer. It's awesome that you guys rescued this little guy and I hope it all works out for you and for him!

Edit to add:
I went back up and was reading some of your original questions on how the original vet told you it was fine. Did the first vet take any x-rays? 

Also, the first two pictures are of the front legs, not the back legs. So it wouldn't surprise me if the surgeon didn't show you those. Only the third picture shows the break.


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

OK, well then it's the femoral head that's broken, still a hard on to repair successfully in this young of a pup. In an older dog an FHO surgery may help or a hip replacement.


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## spotted nikes (Feb 7, 2008)

www.carecredit.com will help you finance vet bills.


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## Junior (Jun 8, 2009)

Can you talk to your vet about your financial concerns, maybe he/she can come up with a solution (either medically or payment wise)

Poor pup he's just 7 weeks old... he should at least have a shot at a future, I mean even if he doesn't end up perfect I'm sure _he'll_ never know.

Keep us posted and good luck today (((hugs)))


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## ambercober (Jan 1, 2009)

paradigmflux said:


> so what, just kill the dog? You sickos think of yourselves as dog lovers? I wasn't asking if I should put the puppy down, I was asking if surgery would be the best course of action right now. $6000 is a lot, but I -will- pay for it all if the puppy requires it and has the best chance through it.
> 
> I have just read a lot of conflicting advice in regards to waiting to see if it heals properly, or waiting for the growth plates to fuse and then doing the surgery. I am not putting this puppy down, and I think that if any of you continue to tell me that you think you know better about this then you are twisted individuals.


Now that was just rude.

No one here suggest putting a dog down lightly and most here would suggest seeking out professional advice rather then asking strangers on the internet when it comes to the health of an injured little puppy. Now that being said I think people would also suggest it so the animal wouldn't suffer, it is a fully justified and humane option when it comes to quality of life and lack there of. It's a hard decision to make for a mature individual and no one here is morbid enough to take any pleasure in seeing this happen to any animal. 
You said in your initial post that you couldn't afford six thousand dollars for surgery...... I'm not sure how your financial situation changed so quickly but that's your business. If you can now afford to do the surgery then you easily afford to pay the $150.00 you had mentioned earlier for a second opinion, I highly suggest logging off the internet and making that appointment.


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## RRM_Mom08 (May 5, 2008)

I do not think I could justify with myself putting a pup that young through any kind of major surgery,especially when the out coming is not promising (fact that any anesthesia can kill and in a pup that small ?) or the point of having to go back and take off the leg ?...

Honestly I would say either take the leg off now,or euthanasia ....

I have had to make some tough choices with pups younger in age and worse off then this and while it is always hard sometimes you have to make the tough calls.

And BTW that puppy should have never been left alone in your room on the bed.Just a fall from 9 inches can break a puppies leg,I know this because a puppy I had kept back from one of our litters was 8weeks old and he just slipped from our very low sofa and broke his leak and had to be casted.

In a small breed or tiny puppy any kind of fall can break a bone easily.


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## txcollies (Oct 23, 2007)

spotted nikes said:


> www.carecredit.com will help you finance vet bills.


I wouldn't put that kind of money on care credit. Not at 22% interest.


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