I have been trying to savor these moments before the inevitable... Allowing Rogue to enjoy being a puppy before his puppy-hood ends prematurely, ends due to the cruelty of his breeding. However, the truth is time moves forward no matter how much we want to slow it down and savor the moment. Now we have reached the phase in this process where the time to enjoy running and leaping and wrestling with his brothers has grown too short for comfort. Soon, too soon, we will be facing times slow crawl of solitude, being confined to small areas and the torture of not being able to run or jump and wrestle with his best friends... God help us all...
On Tuesday 5/31/16 Rogue had his one month follow up hip re-evaluation with Dr.
Shelley. We were relieved to find that his hips are not in need of
surgery, however, his knees continue to become looser with growth and
time. The doctor believes that Rogue should be very close to his full
size as he will be 10 months old on the 10th of June, for these reasons
we have moved forward with scheduling his first surgery.
On 6/13/16
Rogue will have his right (and worst) knee corrected, he should come
home the same day. The news that he will come home the same day is a relief, and at the same time horrifying... When my boys have surgery I am usually terrified of the actual procedure and counting the hours until I have them safely back in my arms... but I know how very different this procedure is from the simple neuters and dentals we have gone through in the past, and I feel so overwhelmed by the magnitude of the road to recovery we are about to embark on... I also have complete and total confidence in Dr. Shelley and his ability to preform this surgery and care for Rogue, that is an amazing peaceful feeling...
Two months after his first surgery, Rogue will have his left knee
corrected. This second surgery will take place sometime just after his first birthday on August 10th. When we reach this point, Rogue will have had surgery every 2 months for half of his first year of
life... The tragedy of that weighs heavy on my soul, it breaks my heart for him, and the thousands upon thousands of puppy mill pups that have come before him, and will come after him... But, even these poor pups are the lucky ones... They made it out alive and just in the knick of time... How many more die of the very treatable parasite infestations that Rogue brought home? How many tiny runts die of failure to thrive because no one took the time to hand feed them like my mother and I did with Rogue? How many pups are murdered in puppy mills because of their imperfections, that's one statistic Rogue narrowly dodged... How many pups are abandoned to shelters or put down because the family who purchases them wasn't educated and can't or won't pay for their extensive medical bills, betrayed by the only hands that ever touched them kindly...-
We are more than ready to put Rogue's many medical needs in our past, ready for him to be as whole and complete as he can be... while sadly knowing that he will still develop arthritis, and will never be 100%, but he will have the best life I can give him... While his medical issues will be corrected, they will never be forgotten. There are no words for the journey that the first year of his life has been, but words aren't what is needed... its action, and I will do all that I can to fight back against the horrible disgusting puppy mill industry in honor of all three of my boys.
Though Rogue's surgery will be emotionally draining, we know that it will be the easy
part, the hard part will be the months of recovery and rehabilitation
that are to follow. For two months after each surgery Rogue can not run
or jump, that's a total of four consecutive months, while that is a long
time for humans, it equates to years for Rogue. We thank all of your for your prayers and support, we need them now more than ever, please circle June 13th on your calendar and say a prayer for my little fighter... We will meet with the doctor at 9am, and surgery will happen later that day.
If you feel so led, please consider making a donation to his GoFundMe account here:
https://www.gofundme.com/rogues_new_knees
If you'd like to send Rogue a get well present items he could use are things to keep hims occupied while he is confined for the majority of 4 months, chew toys, bully sticks, etc., nothing too high in calories because while he is on the skinny side, he wont be getting much exercise for awhile. Please message me for my address.
By day two post op Rogue was walking on a leash very briefly outside and bending his knee quiet 
On Wednesday 6/22 I returned to work which has been very difficult for Rogue. My fiercely independent youngest child has become very attached and dependent upon me through this recovery period... Though he has a sitter he is inconsolable at times and acting out during others. Unfortunately I do not have paid leave and am going to be working a
significant amount of overtime to make up for the week of work I missed,
and in order to finance his next operation and all of the expenses that
come with it... After Rogue's surgery I purchased a very nice stroller which has been a saving grace through all of this, allowing me and his sitter to wheel him from room to room and still contain him when I need to do things besides hold him... When he is content no where else, he is content in the stroller...
