Koda's Knee Surgery - The Day After

Koda had his Luxating Patella surgery on March 31st at Blue Pearl Veterinary Partners.

Blue Pearl Vet is a great animal hospital. Dr. Todd Murphy was great and very informative during our initial meeting. While Blue Pearl is not the cheapest option, I would rather pay a little more for better quality service. So far, Koda is doing great and we are starting our recovery process. Over the next 6 weeks, Koda will be taking progressively long (slow) walks and a range of motion exercise to help the joint not become stiff.

I struggled with having this surgery because Koda didn’t always limp on his leg, we could even go play fetch and he not limp on it. Then we would get home and he might step on it wrong and the knee cap would move out of place. The doctor said that every time the knee cap moved out of socket it would tear away cartilage and if not corrected, within a few years, Koda would have serious pain and loose range of motion. So far, I’m glad we made the decision to have the surgery, I don’t think I could live with myself if I chose not to have the surgery and in 3 to 5 years, he couldn’t run at full speed or play without having pain.

Here is Koda the day after surgery, It looks bad, but the redness is bruising and the stitches will come out in 2 weeks.

Koda is trying to not put weight on it and I’m sure it is still tender. Koda should have a full recovery in about 8 to 10 weeks.
He is so strong willed, this is going to be a long 6 weeks.

Koda's Luxating Patella

About a month ago, Koda started limping and according to the doctor, Koda has a luxating patella. Basically this means that his kneecap moves in and out of place causing him to limp. From what I’ve read, this seems to be a genetic and is nothing that I caused.

This is something that happens occasionally and only when he is really active. Koda even wanted to play so bad that he 3 legged it back to me while playing fetch, I felt so bad for him, I just couldn’t keep playing.

The doctor says that we must have surgery as soon as possible because if we don’t, Koda could potentially develop arthritis or stiffness in his knee. Each time his kneecap comes out of its place, it wears away and causes the problem to get worse. According to the doctor, the without surgery, within 3 to 5 years, Koda might not be able to be active due to the stiffness. So to me, this is something that can’t wait and we need to address. I feel bad for Koda because I can’t tell him what is coming or why we are giving him surgery. But it is all for the better, even if it costs me an arm and a leg :-(

Koda will probably have surgery within the month, I’ll post photos of the surgery and update on the post op. Keep your fingers crossed that it goes ok and fixes the problem!!!!!

Koda on my Back Trick

Koda learned this trick after trying to learn how to jump off my back and catch the ball.

It only took about 5 or 6 times for him to learn this. He is such a good boy.

A Day of Adventure for Koda

Today, Koda and I went for a little adventure. I took Koda on a hike at Percy Warner Park in Nashville. It was a bit of an adventure, we started off in a nice field and ended up on the other side of the park. I wasn't really meaning to go so far, but Koda seemed to enjoy the hike. If it wasn't for my iPhone, I probably would have been lost, the GPS came in handy and I was able to find another trail that took us back to the car.




Koda also was able to sport his new backpack from Ruff wear. Mini Aussies are suppose to like wearing packs because it makes them feel like they are doing a job, which Koda is very good at. Koda carried a fetch toy, some snacks and a small water bowl, I carried the water. It was a pretty hot day, but it felt nice in the shade on the trails. Koda did very well on our hike, he walked beside me when he could and I let him lead a little bit, I guess he thought he was pulling his old man along.



After our hike, I was going to take Koda to the dog park in Bellvue right down the road. We did a drive by first and there wasn't really anyone there, so I went to turn around and saw a sign for Edwin Warner Park and the Harpeth River. I thought it would be fun if I could find a place for us to play in the river. Turns out, there is a great place and it's not a secret. There were about 4 or 5 dogs (mostly labs and one golden) playing in the river, fetching float toys, and running around. This really was the perfect spot, part of it was about knee deep, and then another part that was chest deep.

Koda isn't the biggest swimmer, so I was hoping that if he saw other dogs swim, he would want to jump in and play. Koda didn't even go in until I took my shoes off and walked in. Once I was in, he had no choice. I guess because he was hot, or just wanted to be wet, but he started rubbing his face in the water and rolling around. Then he was the best I've ever seen him, he would play around with the other dogs, and then when I called him, he would run back to me and stand next to me like a little boy. While he normally comes back when called, it is a bit harder to get his attention when he is "in the moment" playing with other dogs. I think he was just happy to be off leash and running free!!


Koda never got into the deep part, but we are making progress on him swimming. I think I'm going to get a fetch float toy and if I through it in the deep end, we'll get luck and see a swim. The water felt great, it was nice since it was such a hot day.

After we finished playing in the river, we got into the car and he pretty much passed out. Koda sat down in the front seat and put his head on my arm and closed his eyes before we even left Edwin Warner Park. We had a great day and I'm really glad we found the Edwin Warner Park, I'm sure we'll be seeing much more of the Harpeth River very soon!

CMA Music Fest

At CMA Music Fest at LP field. Pretty fun!! Thanks to Lindsey's work, we were able to come for free!

Tonight the performers are groups like Lady Antebellum, Zak Brown Band, and Jason Aldean and even Kid Rock. Zak Brown Band was defiantly the best performer.

I wish we could go on Sunday night, Taylor Swift is performing and there is a special guest that is rumored to be Keith Urban. I would love to see that.

On the road again

Koda has had a pretty exciting weekend so far and it's still not over.

First, the wife and I drove to Huntsville on Thursday night. I dropped
her off and continued to Opelika on Friday morning for my brothers
graduation while Lindsey stayed to see Kala graduate in Huntsville.

Then on Saturday morning, Koda and I left Opelika and made our way to
the In Laws river house on the Elk River in North Alabama. This is
Koda's first visit to the river, so it should be pretty eventful. All
of Lindsey's family will get to meet Koda on Memorial Day. We hope to
get Koda swimming in the river, but the weather is not cooperating.
It has rained for the past few days, which is messing up my
wakeboarding.

Well, all in all, Koda has handled the traveling 4 hours from
Huntsville to Opelika well and we are excited about having fun with
Koda at the river this summer.

Wedding

This is a stop motion slideshow of photos taken at our wedding which was in Huntsville, AL

The music is HelloGoodBye and the photos were taken by Josh Reeder (reederweddings.com).

This was pretty simple to make, expect for the fact that I had to sort through 2,000 photos to create this. I got this idea from a friend who was looking at my wedding photos and was scrolling through them so fast that it looked like a movie.

Enjoy!