[aprillovesherdogs]

Wow. I am in shock after taking Ansel to the ortho specialist. He carefully examined all the xrays and 1. said the masses that were originally thought to be close to his heart are not internal at all. He has 3 lumps under his skin and they were showing up on the xrays 2. by some miracle he knew the ortho surgeon that did both Ansel's ACL repairs in 2001 and explained the mystery metal that showed up on the xrays 3. He said Ansel is neurologically sound (saving us a very long trip and lots of money) 4. No sign of OS!!!!!

I broke down in tears and just thanked God for answered prayers. Bad news is that he has very degenerated hips and knees. He is not a good candidate for surgery because of his age. He did suggest a procedure called regenerative cell therapy. He said I could probably get 3 more years out of Ansel if I have it done. My head is spinning. Has anyone heard of this? I am most certainly going to investigate it more. It is pricey and new but what have I got to lose? He will not get better on his own.

Please answer me this....do heart murmurs just suddenly appear? His regular vet examined him 2 weeks ago and said nothing about it. This vet asked what meds he was on for his heart murmur. My jaw hit the ground because I knew nothing about it. Wouldn't that be something that she would have heard right away? I am so happy that I went to this vet. He is a Rottie daddy and just made a huge fuss over Ansel.

Laurie, PLEASE give us an update on Lucas as soon as possible. If I can get this good news for Ansel, I am praying hard for your boy.