*** EMILY HAS BEEN ADOPTED!!! ***

🎉🎉🎉

WELCOME TO AMERICA & CAMP COCKER RESCUE EMILY!

Emily is a Freedom Flyer from South Korea. She came to us with bilateral luxating patellas and we made arrangements with a surgical specialist to have them repaired. We’ve dealt with luxating patellas before and didn’t anticipate any problems with Emily’s surgery. But things didn’t go quite as smoothly as we’d hoped. Please read on!

EMILY’S PHYSICAL/MEDICAL STORY:

Emily's current age estimate is 3-5 years old, and she weighs 17.5 pounds. Her weight is very carefully monitored because it is extremely important that she, in terms of her surgical interventions, not have to carry any excess weight. She has a specific diet designed to include nutrients that will provide support for her musculoskeletal system.

Emily has received surgical repair for severe bilateral luxating patellas. The first repair on her left knee didn’t hold, and that surgery had to be repeated - with a much more conservative post-op healing approach than is typical. Her luxating patellas are believed to be congenital. She also has what is called mild shoulder laxity, meaning the tendons that hold her shoulder joints in place are looser than normal, which is also believed to be congenital. This is, of course, another reason that her weight needs to be carefully maintained.

Emily’s prolonged post-op recovery is progressing nicely, but there are still a couple of months of recovery ahead. She’s been receiving massage, acupuncture, laser therapy, ROM (range of motion) exercises, and controlled walks on a regular basis. She's scheduled for the final xrays of her knee on Saturday, 5/20/23. Until then, there’s no running, playing fetch, etc. Also scheduled is a consult with a rehab veterinarian on Monday 5/22/23 for guidance on slowly lifting her PT restrictions - to approve hydro-therapy for Emily on an underwater treadmill, as well as more active PT.  

If everything goes as planned, we anticipate that Emily will need to continue to be on her prescribed routine of physical therapy for approximately 2 more months. This is only an estimate, dependent on how Emily responds to each step. If things go as expected, she could be ready for adoption by the end of July. She may require some level of continued PT support post-adoption, but we won’t know that until we’re closer to that time. 

We typically make a post-op dog available for adoption if the adopter is willing & able to take him/her to certified PT treatments 1-2 times a week for a few weeks (our initial plan for Emily). But once we became aware of the complexity of her medical condition and recovery care, we knew it would be in Emily’s best interest to stay with us until we could be more confident that she was actually ready to be adopted.

When she is ready for adoption, we’ll likely have specific qualifications for potential adopters, based on Emily’s needs going forward.

>> GOOD NEWS UPDATE #1 - Emily had her final x-rays on Saturday, 5/20/23. The surgeon is very happy with how her bone is healing and that her patella is still in place. She can have more free access inside the house, but no off-leash outdoors for another 4 weeks. She can go for 20-30 minute controlled walks three times daily and can gradually increase that time each week.

>> GOOD NEWS UPDATE #2 - Emily saw her rehab vet (Monday, 5/22/23) who was very impressed with her range of motion measurements which are quite good despite 10 weeks of splinting and restricted activities!

- Emily has mild muscle atrophy on her left leg, but it’s only 1 centimeter smaller than her right leg - which is also very impressive! Her physical therapist will be targeting specific muscles group (quads, hamstrings & adductors) by adding active muscle strengthening exercises which will include daily physical therapy at home, and once weekly water therapy, for 6-8 weeks.

- Emily will be rechecked by the rehab doctor in 7-8 weeks, and hopefully, at that point, she will no longer require PT and can be ready for adoption!

- Meanwhile, Emily's physical therapist will be teaching her how to use a ramp so that she doesn’t jump up and down from the couches - which is something that the doctor definitely does not want her to do, even after 8 weeks of PT. 

- She may need PT in the future if she starts showing symptoms of arthritis. She may ultimately develop arthritis in her affected joints, but for now, she should be good after 8 more weeks of PT.

EMILY’S PERSONALITY & EVERYDAY NEEDS:

Emily is a happy dog that never complains - as long as she gets plenty of attention and cuddling. She’s been a trooper and a very brave girl through all of her medical interventions! She loves toys, loves to chew, and will destroy most soft toys in about 5 minutes.

She's ok being alone for short periods of time and hasn't shown any evidence of separation anxiety.

She’s potty trained but sometimes wants to potty between her regular outings - because she needs to urinate a little, and is not particularly good at holding her urine. She’ll always look for wee-wee pads first, but if they’re not available, she may use a rug. So it’s best to have wee-wee pads available for a backup plan for Emily.

She's good with dogs & cats as long as they basically mind their own business! She will get irritated at other dogs if they bark at her or misbehave. She's very smart, and essentially thinks she is the behavior police of dogs! But she doesn’t hold a grudge, and is ready to move on after her correction of that "bad" behavior! She probably won't do well with another "bossy" female dog in her household, since she believes that she's the one who’s in charge.

Emily is not only smart, but she's curious too - and an escape artist! As much as she loves her people, when she sees an opening to make a run for it, she will! She can very quickly slip through doors & gates, so even a gated environment can be risky!

For her safety, she should be in a home without children. Not only is she mouthy in her play style, but her ability to make quick escapes means it will be very risky for her to be in an environment where a door or gate is opened, even for a moment! For that reason, even visitors should be advised, and child visitors closely watched!

A secure, fenced backyard will provide a safe place for Emily to run and play off-leash, without risk of escape.

Emily is currently fed Just Food For Dogs (Fish) which provides great nutrient support and is also great for weight management. Again, Emily’s weight management by her new adopters will be a critical part of her care. She receives supplements that support her musculoskeletal system as well as fish oil and a multivitamin. Because her skin can get itchy, she should not be fed chicken.

Stay tuned for further updates on #CampCockerEmily - here on her webpage and on our social media:

5/22/2023 - Surgical repair of Emily’s luxating patella of her left knee on 2/14/23 needed to be repeated on 2/28/23, and has been followed by an extended period of post-op physical therapy. Her PT is progressing nicely, but is still in progress and has taken longer than originally anticipated before the need for a second surgery occurred. In the meantime, we’ve updated her webpage with her story & current status, and hope that you’ll consider donating toward her medical expenses. Thank you for your support!