Post op ...

Hi Everyone

I just wanted to let you know that I had my knee operation on Wednesday morning & so far it looks like a great success. I'm sorry I haven't let you know sooner but I was quite sleepy for a while & the nurses & staff were pampering me so much I didn't get a chance to get to a computer.

My operation took about 2 hours but I was sound asleep dreaming of big meaty bones, chew toys and other doggy dreams so time just flew. I would like to thank Ruth Youmans my very special surgeon from the Small Animal Surgeon practice plus Sara Mae & the other fantastic (& very pretty) nurses who looked after me & held my paw the whole way through.

I am staying at the vet clinic until Tuesday just to make sure everything is ok & I have a huge, very impressive bandage on my leg which Bert would be so jealous of because it makes me look special.

I hope to be back at the SPCA on Tuesday morning because I do miss all my friends there & of course I really miss Bert because he's my best mate. I hope he's not missing me too much but I guess if he misses me the stress might help him lose those last couple of kilo's & then he can get his Pet Slimmer certificate & hang it next to mine.

I just can't believe my good luck because all of you have supported Bert & I through our incredible weight loss journey & now the SPCA are having my legs fixed so I'll be more comfortable so life is looking pretty good from where I sit.

I asked the chicks here at the clinic to take some pics so you could see my big bandage. I'll be in touch when I get back to the SPCA, talk soon...

Love

Ernie

Hello again ...

Hello all of the Ernie & Bert fans out there

We have not updated the blog for these two for a while so we thought it was time to let you know how the boys are doing. As you probably know from the "Close Up" article that aired a while ago Ernie achieved his goal weight and received his pet Slimmer certificate from Hill's Pet Nutrition and Bert is almost there at current weight of 16kgs, aiming for 15kgs.

Bert and Ernie came back to the the SPCA from their long term foster home a couple of weeks before Christmas and have been living here since then. They did take a little while adjusting from a normal home life to being back in a shelter environment but they are both coping fairly well.

Unfortunately Ernie has had some problems with his skin but that is now under control and it may have been related to a little bit of stress due to the change in environment. It is likely that Ernie will suffer periodic skin problems for the remainder of his life but it is manageable on medication. The other news is that Ernie suffers from a condition known as luxating patella's (human's know these as knees) in both hind legs. His right leg is much worse than his left and in fairness to this little dog who has beaten the odds and come so far the SPCA will be having surgery done on Ernie next week to try and correct this condition as much as possible, improve his mobility and his long term prognosis. After the right knee is operated on Ernie will need 4 - 5 weeks controlled recuperation to strengthen the leg and then will have surgery on the left knee and another recuperation period. We estimate the cost will be in the vicinity of $5,000 - $6,000.00 and we are currently exploring funding options for this.

Ernie has probably had this condition for a long time but it has been aggravated by the immense extra weight that he had to carry around on those little legs and although he now looking trim and terrific the damage has already been done. Ernie is quite comfortable and copes extremely well but both his back legs are weaker because of the condition so surgery is the best option for him.

We will keep you all posted on how the surgery goes and we will be looking for an appropriate foster home for the two dogs to go to after surgery so if any of you think you might be interested in offering a foster home or would be interested in possibly adopting these two characters please contact Operations Manager Tracy Dunn on 092567318 or e-mail tracy.dunn@spca.org.nz

Thank you all for your support and ongoing interest in following the journey of these great little dogs...