Spike: born to be a Champion

I get a boot, Spike gets just a sticky plaster....

A couple of weeks ago I set a challenge for Spike and I.  The challenge sounds like a simple one, with the winner being the first one to run without limping for a distance of one mile.  The hard part is that we both need to recover from having a few nuts and bolts and metal bits fitted to our bones first.

Last week Spike had the operation to repair his ruptured cruciate ligament.  Spike had an operation called Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO), which basically means that they broke his leg, changed the angle of his tibial plateau and secured with a metal plate.  It sounds harsh but due to Spike’s chronic problems with hip and elbow dysplaysia it was the only viable option.  He needs all four legs to work and distribute the strain applied to his weakened joints, extra force on a weakened joint could ultimately spell disaster for Spike.  TPLO surgery would hopefully allow Spike to weight bear on his damaged leg within hours of surgery, or so we hoped.

Thanks to the wonderful support of the North Pole Marathon, Spike was able to have this very expensive surgery, which took place on 22^nd September.

Resting, and relaxing

When we picked Spike up from Anderson Moores after his operation we were prepared to see a very subdued and unhappy Spike having had to undergo another medical procedure and spend more time away from his family.  But we were not prepared for what we were told.

Spike had been more than just “unhappy” during the 24 hours he had been away from us and had reacted very badly to strange people handling him.  They had been very fearful of his aggression and had resorted to heavily sedating him.  This is the same Spike that we have come to love for his strength of character and determination, the dog that is bottom of our pack and allows us to do anything to him because he trusts us and respects us.  But he is a survivor and a fighter and he now has major issues with most veterinary people as he thinks they mean him harm.  While we are with him he accepts what must be done, when we are absent he trusts no one.  This breaks my heart as we cannot be with him every time he needs treatment. 

There is one exception to this, this only vet I have ever met that has my full and utmost trust and respect.  She knows Spike and sees the amazing little dude that we have all come to know and love.  Spike trusts her, probably only one of three people in this world that he now completely trusts.  She has diagnosed Spike’s condition right from the start.  I describe the symptoms and she knows what is happening inside his body.  Without her in his life Spike may well have had to experience far more exploratory procedures that would have caused him more emotional harm.  She is good, very good and we are so very grateful for that.

Huge progress - a post operative scratch with his bad leg

It is not yet two weeks since Spike’s operation, but already our worst fears have been dispelled.  He walked on his leg within 24 hours of the operation and today he tried to “do a zoomie” around the garden.  Thankfully I stopped him in time!  He is on very restricted exercise for the next 12 weeks, but he is refusing to accept that….

He requires lots of physiotherapy treatment and lots of tender loving care.  He has the determination and the attitude to recover from this minor setback and one day he will return to running one day, of that I am sure. 

The beer that was created with Spike in mind

Behind all the smiles and happy Facebook uploads lay countless hours of trying really hard to teach Spike to walk again.  Spike will only regain his proper conformation by learning to walk properly. This means that every time we work with him we have to go VERY slowly while desperately trying to curb his enthusiasm to leap around on three legs.  It tests our patience and we mutter bad words under our breath, but it is what he needs and we want the best for him.  We can manage our frustration by having a few beers while he sleeps.

The past two weeks have been very stressful as we worry about every move that Spike makes.  He did not eat for a couple of days which worried us lots.  But we tempted him with special treats and lovingly prepared dinners and it worked, eventually he started eating and has not looked back.  He hates his medicine, much like me!  I force it down his throat while refusing to take mine, which I agree is a little bit hypocritical.

Our combined drugs basket

I have not yet had my operation and continue to limp around under a dark cloud, feeling sorry for myself, meanwhile Spike sleeps a lot but when he is awake he acts just like a normal Husky.  He wants to run and wants to live life to the full.  At the moment he is definitely leading the way in our one mile running challenge.  I firmly believe he will run that mile before I do and he will so love his special prize.  He is the most worthy winner and deserves recognition for the fact that he has the right attitude and the right determination to succeed.  This boy deserves to be a Champion and one day he will be just that.