Hi there, it’s Becky one of your favorite technicians over at the Burlington Veterinary Center. Some of you may know about the love of my life, also known as the cutest dog in the entire world, also known as Blaze. He’s a Golden Retriever/German shepherd mix. He’s been coming in for annual check up’s here for a while now and he check’s out as one happy healthy pup from blood work and physical exams by both Dr. Esherick and Dr. Trevino. He loves to run around like crazy and I can never keep him out of the water. Everyone knows because my whole social media is FULL of Blaze pictures (sorry, not sorry). Well, just the other day he had me really worried. He ran to jump on my bed and he let out the loudest yelp. Everyone knows I baby him like no other so you could guess my dog mom instinct had me freaking out. So, he came to work with me the next day, of course he was so excited. He is in love with Dr. Trevino so when she went to do his exam he just thought she was trying to rub his behind. But when she went to palpate his hips he was like “no way doctor”. My poor baby boy was for sure in discomfort. I knew right there he was going to need sedation and have some x-rays. Being a technician, we give sedation to dogs all the time, it’s safe, they do very well, but being my OWN dog this was different. I was a nervous wreck! Luckily I got to be with him watching over and monitoring him and also got to take the x-rays myself… but the anticipation waiting for the pictures to come up and for Dr. Trevino to tell me what could be wrong with him, had me shedding some tears.

Okay, so now for the results….. Blaze has hip dysplasia. UGHHH my poor baby… This pretty much means his femoral head does not fit smoothly into the socket of his pelvis, so it is not held in tightly which causes it to slip. His joint is not stable and his body will try to stabilize it which will result in arthritis at the site over time. BUT this means that Blaze gets some yummy treats every morning now (on top of all the other treats he gets). He will be taking Dasuquin and Catalysts daily for the rest of his life and he really enjoys both of these supplements. After we did cold laser therapy on both of his hips, he was already feeling a lot better.

Thankfully going home that afternoon I felt relieved, he jumped into the backseat of my car and stuck his head out the window the whole way home and we cuddled up together that night. Being a technician I am in these sorts of situations all the time with clients and their pets. Sometimes I forget that my pet is not perfect and he will have problems over the course of his lifetime, and it’s a lot for me to handle. My crazy dog mom self comes out. But I am thankful that I have such a great team at BVC and such great doctors. It’s a huge relief to know there are many treatment options that I will be able to use too help him with his hip dysplasia and to help him live a long, comfortable life.