Diva & her Doc: Update on my favorite Duck Toller.

I wanted to share a picture (below) of Diva and her Doctor from the University of Wisconsin Madison Veterinary Teaching College.

She had a re-check this week so we made the trip to Madison. For those who haven’t been following some of our updates on Facebook, Diva ruptured her left Achilles tendon a few weeks ago and underwent surgery to repair it. A rather complicated injury for a dog since it is challenging to train them to use crutches and stay off of it!

She has been custom fit with an orthodic to keep the tendon extended and protected during her recovery period. The tendon is healing well thus far but the challenge now is to manage the rub sores that are a complication of a dog wearing a device like this. Unfortunately she needs to wear this orthodic for a 12 week period (if possible) to help insure maximum healing time. After that we should be ready to begin some physical therapy.

We’re doing what we can to keep her quiet and still. Entertainment comes in the form of lots of belly rubs or earning her dinner through working simple stationary tricks like, “speak” or “fix your hair” And she has truly mastered “injured” where she flops flat on her side. 🙂 She also gets lots of chew toys and a couple raw bones each week. Never the less, it is long days in the crate for now.

The good news is if things continue to progress she will be able to walk more and enjoy some of the summer. For that I am very grateful to Dr. Muir and his team. They have been utterly fantastic in their care for her and thorough explanations to help me understand the process and what to expect. With the big smile on her face, you can tell from the pic, Ms. D knows she is in good hands. 🙂

Professor Peter Muir BVSc, PhD, Diplomate ACVS & Diva