poor Zizou!

Zizou started having problems with his hind legs when he was only a couple of months old. Dr. Steve in Madras said he probably has Luxating Patellas (a common problem in small dogs). That means that the ligament holding the upper and lower leg bones together is not in the proper channel. The ligament goes off to either side (see diagram - the left drawing is normal). He said Zizou would need surgery to correct the problem - but all this happened right before we were leaving for Germany.

I asked the vet here in Germany about the problem and he said as long as Zizou is not in pain, we should just leave it be (which I was quite happy to hear since the surgery is $1200 per knee). Well, after we returned from our summer in the U.S. we noticed the problem worsening. Poor Zizou began holding his right hind leg up more often or the leg would just collapse beneath him. I took him back to our vet the other day and, after a physical exam, he decided to take an x-ray to see what is going on.

My crude drawing here shows what is going on - the problem is NOT luxating patellas! His knees and hips are perfectly connected. The problem begins below where the ligament (red) connects to

the lower bone. Both the right and left lower leg bones are deformed - this drawing would be looking directly at the leg from the front. The bones "bulge" or curve out so Zizou sometimes looks like he is walking bowlegged. Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done. The doctor advised that I start giving him glucosamine tablets everyday to keep arthritis at bay. The deformed legs (as well as luxating patellas) will weaken the joints allowing arthritis to form and cause even more problems.

Poor little deformed baby :( I must admit, I felt exonerated! The woman who sold us Zizou told me the problems were from allowing him to jump on and off the furniture. But, the vet here said that could not be. Whew!! The good news in all of this is that Zizou doesn't seem to be in any pain and walking is good for him as it strengthens the legs, joints, and ligaments.

And yes, I've become one of those pet owners who grind up a little tablet and mix it in their dog's food everyday. And, I would fork over $2500 if it would fix Zizou's little legs :( - the x-ray was very disturbing!!