Unfortunately, 2016 has not been a great year for Billy, particularly because he has sustained a knee injury. This is the story of the discovery and fortunately, the recovery of Billy's knee injury.
One morning, I realized that Billy was lying down a lot and he did not seem to want to get up. He also seemed very uncomfortable as he was panting, whining and yawning which are typical signs of distress in a dog. When Billy finally stood up, I had realized that he was limping slightly, and on walks he was walking significantly slower than usual, we had decided to bring him to the vet and get him checked out.
The vet had told us that Billy had a knee displacement, meaning his knee cap had moved and was no longer in the right place on his leg. We could not figure out when this injury occurred, but luckily the vet had a treatment plan in mind to help Billy heal.
The treatment plan was three-fold. Firstly, Billy had to take muscle relaxers to lessen his pain; we had to give them to him in little blocks of cheese so I'm sure he really didn't mind this medicine. Second, I had to ice Billy's knee twice a day, which was difficult because he usually lied on his injured knee and finding him in the right position for this treatment was very rare. He also did not enjoy the cold on his leg and I would often have to follow him around the house with an ice-pack for a few minutes because he was so reluctant towards the cold. Thirdly, Billy had to undergo laser massage treatment. This was to massage his knee slowly into place with 8 laser therapy sessions. Billy really didn't mind the treatment, and rather enjoyed the laser massage. Near the end, he would happily present his knee to the vet, looking forward to his treatment. The photo below is of Billy waiting for his treatment, he had to wear goggles in order to protect his eyes from the lasers.
Fortunately, Billy is now recovered and is back to his normal, energetic and happy self. He still walks a little wobbly, because his knee will never truly be back to normal, but he is no longer in pain and can continue to enjoy every day to the fullest.
To find out more about kneecap dislocation in dogs, click
Rossi, Katelyn. Billy in Goggles. 2016. jpg.