Next Up: Ultra Sound Therapy!

Basco continues to do very well - thanks to her incredibly dedicated foster family! But, to help him recover the last 30% in his range of motion -- and give him the potential for a normal walking gate, he needs more extensive ultra sound physical therapy. This means, we really need help raising funds for Basco!!!

Let's give Basco something to be thankful for!

4 week post surgery check up

Basco has improved incredibly!!!!!  Functioning left hind leg at 75% is an improvement from not functioning prior to surgery  THANK YOU LUCKY DOG ANIMAL RESCUE!!!!  Basco continues to do his physical therapy with his foster three times a day and Dr. Snakard has added a new exercise - "dancing" on Basco's two hind legs.  "I'm looking forward to dancing with Basco," says his foster Mom.  Basco is also enjoying the Fall weather with his curious nose in the leaves and watching the squirrels. For Halloween he is the screaming three legged pet it is from help the pets from star wars battles "star wars" says his human foster brother, AJ.

Basco's Physical Therapy

Well, Basco sent me off on a trip to the emergency vet at Dogs and Cats Vet Referral late last night.  Basco is so smart that he figured out how to bend his body and get the edge of his cone to scratch is stitches, popping 2 of his stitches out.  Tricky little guy!  So now I have him wrapped so he can't pop any more stitches.  They come out next Friday.  We've been working hard on his physical therapy and I learned I need to push a little harder on the extending of his leg during physical therapy.

Basco Recovering

Basco came home to his foster family late Saturday afternoon.....all full of wiggles!!!  Basco is on pain medication some antibiotics and anti inflammatorys.  ach day he is feeling better.  Foster Mom iced his knee for 10 minutes every 2 hours for the first 2 days and ocassionally as needed to keep the swelling down.  basco is eat and drinking just fine.  Foster Mom has started working on the physical therapy slowly due to the current pain Basco is feeling but as the days progress, the physical therapy range of motion exercises will be more frequent and a little longer.  Here to you Basco for your wonderful survivor spirit and always happy wiggle - even when in pain!!!!

Basco's surgery was a success!!

Dr. Snakard just called to report Basco's surgery went very well. They were able to get his patella back into the right place and break down the scar tissue that was pulling it out of place and to the right. The poor guy has worn away the cartiledge and part of his knee cap, but the prognosis is still very good.

Next up.... PHYSICAL THERPAY!!!

Basco's knee surgery is schedule for Friday

The medication for Basco's right leg seems to have helped a lot by numbing the painful nerve damage and thus allowing his right hind leg to become stronger.  Now that his right leg is stronger we can go forward with his knee surgery for his left hind leg.  Thank you to all of his supporters - we still are in need of donations.

Basco will go into the vet hospital tomorrow late in the day and his surgery will be Friday with his foster family picking him up on Saturday with love and TLC to help him recover.  let's hope this surgery is successful and helps our Basco to walk properly again without so much pain!

Basco, The Happy Pup!

Basco is one happy little guy!  He is 18 lbs of tail wiggling and trying to bound around with his foster canine brother Chewbacca (a Lucky Dog rescue I adopted!) and his human brother.  He is a strong minded, determined little fellow - a strong survivor of all he has been through up to now.  I know he will pull through his upcoming left hind leg surgery with great success.  Basco also is a love bug - he snuggles, kisses and hobbles around the house following me from room to room, resting at my feet or insisting on curling up on my lap.

Update from the Neurologist

We have good news! The MRI revealed that Basco does NOT have any spinal problems! YAY -- that means Basco will not need painful spinal surgery. We believe his painful right leg is the result of deep trauma to the soft tissues and muscles, and are starting him on new pain meds and anti-inflammatory meds. Keep your fingers crossed that it works. Once we resolve some of his pain on the right side, we can proceed with surgery for the left . . . Poor Basco!

Basco's Story

BASCO NEEDS YOUR HELP! After suffering a horrible accident in South Carolina, Basco has not one, but possibly, two upcoming surgeries on his left hind leg and his spine. We need help raising funds to cover his extraordinary medical costs! Read his story....

Basco came to us from rural South Carolina. Unlike many of our Lucky Dogs, Basco was not found in the shelter. Instead, he had been found by a good samaritan after a horrific accident. Basco had been hit by a car and had lost all the skin and muscle on the outside of his left hind leg. Miraculously, no bones were broken.

The good samaritan tried his best to heal Basco's leg. For one month, he cleaned the wound and took care of Basco -- until he realized that he was in over his head. So, he took Basco to the local spay and neuter clinic, Animal Allies. Dr. Redfern, one of the vets at the clinic, realized Basco needed immediate help and rushed him into surgery. She flushed out his signficigant wounds. But, the clinic could not keep him.

Lucky Dog to the Rescue! Lucky Dog agreed to take Basco and help him recover. With lots of tender TLC, Pam Nalley and Tiffany Moore followed Dr. Redfern's instructions regarding how to get Basco's wounds to close. With all their attention, the wounds healed nicely. But, it was clear something else was wrong.

Lucky Dog brought Basco up to the DC area about 3 weeks ago so he could get some more specialized treatment. First, Basco saw Dr. Smith at Hayfield Animal Hospital. After taking x-rays, Dr. Smith realized that Basco had a luxating patella. (For those of you who know Lucky Dog, Kazoo, had a similar injury). Dr. Smith recommended seeing a orthopedic surgeon.

We then took Basco to Dogs and Cats Veterinary Referral Center, where Dr. Snakard did a surgical consult. She agreed that poor Basco needed surgery to repair his luxating patella. But, that was not all. With further x-rays, Dr. Snakard noticed somethig funny about his lumbar spine -- which could account for Basco's reluctance to walk on his right hind leg -- when it is his left hind leg that sustained the injury.

Dr. Snakard recommended seeing Dr. Knoeckle at Southpaws. Dr Knoeckle agreed with Dr. Snakard that poor Basco also had some neurological issues going on -- l ikely a result from the impact of his accident. As I write this, Basco is having an MRI so we hope to have more more information soon about his condition.

Little Basco has had a hard go of it so far, but he is very resiliant. He is doing very well in his foster home. Please consider donating to help us cover his incredible medical expenses!