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Sirius of the Week for December 30, 2001 - January 5, 2002
Ray is a mixed breed German Shepherd/Akita/Chow who was adopted
from an animal shelter and is about 9 years old.
Ray has had a bit of an unusual medical history as he has
hurt both is hind knees at two different times -- and both times he
suffered a total cruciate ligament tear which required surgery.
Ray's person-dad has created a
web page
documenting Ray's recovery
from his second surgery. This page is extremely informative! Two of
the important points is the need for appropriate physical therapy
as directed by the veterinarian and also the need to follow the
necessary restrictions -- such as no stairs -- during the recovery
process. Ray's dad helped him out by building a ramp so he could
go in and out of the house without having to climb any steps.
Ray's person gives him vitamins every day. He gets a doggie
multivitamen with antioxidants, and he gets an adult dose of
glucoseamine chondroitin. The human glucoseamine chondroitin
is the same stuff as the canine version but only less expensive.
Ray also gets a mixture of dry food for his dinner which contains
glucoseamine also. Glucoseamine chondroitin is a product used to
revitalize cartilidge and promote good joint health.
It has been seven months now since Ray's last surgery. He can run,
jump, and play ball again. He is much slower than he once was before
both knee surgeries, but enjoys all the normal dog activites such as
chasing the neighbor's cats and the squirrels and deer that live
in the yard. He does suffer from some stiffness and has a little
bit of pain related to his knee surgery, which is not abnormal.
In November, 2003, Ray's dad sent this update:
"Ray passed away on October 24, 2003 at the age of 10.5. He fought a
hard one week battle against the deadly disease Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia. I
have detailed some of his last days on his web site, for which there is a
link here."
[Eds: We know Ray will be sorely missed. He was a brave and amazing dog.]
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