Today’s episode is different than the others, we’re going to talking about a story that is very near and dear to my heart. The clinic, where I work part-time, holds an annual open house each December. In 2011, I was manning my “Holistic Veterinary Care” station, chatting with clients and sipping hot cocoa, when the trajectory of my life was forever changed. Naturally, at a veterinary hospital open house, pets are welcome.
I had treated Morgan, one of our technician’s dogs, a few times and was happy to see her headed my way across the parking lot sporting a festive bandana. Accompanying her was the technician’s husband, Todd, who is the closest thing I’ll ever meet to Leonardo DaVinci. He has been a forest ranger, horse farrier, and currently, makes his living as a chainsaw artist. “Look what I did for Morgan,” was the way he started the conversation. He pointed at her furry Australian shepherd paws and smiled. I explain this moment by saying, “He had me at ‘hello’.” I took one look at her toenails, and goosebumps covered my arms. Todd had concocted rubber rings for Morgan’s nails which I inherently understood would give her traction. I was awestruck because a dog’s natural mechanism for traction is to flex the paws and engage the nails. Yet never before had a practical, tangible solution capitalized on traction from the standpoint of the dog’s toenails. While my mind flooded with patients who could benefit from this invention, I stammered about my amazement. I told Todd that I had patients that desperately needed these devices and asked if he would be willing to meet me at my house to help me apply them to a few patients. He graciously agreed to meet me the following Saturday. I called one client immediately and arranged for Hope, her 15-year old Shepherd mix, to come to my home that Saturday. In my abundant excitement apparently, I forgot to tell Kim, her owner, what she was coming for, just that I needed Hope to be there and it was exciting. I also arranged for Chan, a 16-year old Shepherd to be fitted with the devices. He was already scheduled for an acupuncture appointment in my basement that weekend. In my enthusiasm, I began texting Todd multiple times a day with ideas for names for the product. I was in my glory. More than once I had to jump out of the shower and jot down a few ideas on a soggy scrap of paper. But Hope is really the reason we exist today. I knew we had to make ToeGrips available for other dogs. I wasn’t thinking globally at that time. I was simply thinking that there were going to be a LOT of happy dogs and happy people in the United States, if we could pull this off. As the weeks went on, I became more and more passionate about the HOPE this idea provided for senior dogs. Shortly after that, Todd said to me, “Julie, if you think you can help dogs with this. Go for it.” Essentially, he had other projects he was working on and passed the torch to me. I remain unspeakably grateful for this gift, which has dramatically changed the course of countless dogs’ lives, not to mention my own. And that is the story of ToeGrips, which have sold in almost 60 countries, are now carried by thousands of veterinarians worldwide, and have helped 100,000’s of slipping paws turn back the clock and rediscover confident mobility.
What about TTA v TPLO. It seems less likely to result in severe comp!ovations and loss of limb if something goes wrong. Is a stifle brace reasonable pre/post op to limit movement?
Hi Tami,
Thanks for the good questions about ACL tears. If you haven’t already, please check out my blogs The Dog ACL Brace: 5 Surprising Answers to the Question “To Brace or Not to Brace” and Torn ACL in Dogs: From Diagnosis to Recovery as they may answer some of your questions as well.
Orthopedic surgeons often have a procedure they prefer, but there isn’t one clear cut answer as to if a TTA or a TPLO is the better procedure. Since dogs with ACL tears come in all sizes with all sorts of leg conformations, the procedure that is best for one may not be best for another, so the decision of which to do is ultimately up to the surgeon’s professional judgement and comfort with each procedure. Both TTA and TPLO involve making cuts in the bone and implanting metal hardware, and any surgical procedure has a theoretical infection risk, so I can’t really say that one would definitely have less severe complications than the other.
As far as your questions about using stifle braces goes, the short answer is that we don’t typically use stifle braces post-op as the surgical procedure help restore stifle stability and stifle braces are not used in the majority of patients pre-op, but there could be situations where it would be helpful. If you are trying to decide about braces and surgical options, I also highly recommend talking to your veterinarian to get his/her advice too because they know your dog and the severity of the injury.
Hello Dr. Buzby,
From everything I have read and in my conversations with veterinarians whom have treated my dog, I’m concerned that the first diagnosis is a CCL rupture in my dog, My first conversation with a veterinarian, sight unseen was that my lab/great Dane mix had a CCL rupture. After an initial exam and anesthesia assisted 2nd exam, the vet determined my dog was not a surgical candidate. Following 4 weeks on Rimadyl my dog Penny began limping again. At this point I was referred to a prominent surgical center that had been mentioned in my first conversation with the referring veterinarian. . The surgeon assessed my dog in less than 5 minutes and recommended TPLO. Are referring veterinarians paid for referrals to surgical centers? Is your website supported by the manufacturers of TPLO hardware for the surgeries? Is TPLO done arthroscopically anywhere in the country to your knowledge?
Hi Clifton,
I’m sorry to hear that your dog has experienced this injury. I know how upsetting it is to watch our loved ones suffer. I also know how expensive the TPLO is.
But here’s what I can assure you of:
1. No kickbacks to vets from referral centers. We are just trying to work together to provide the best care for our patients.
2. No financial relationships between myself and really anybody (besides my ToeGrips company). I get no financial compensation from TPLO-hardware manufacturers, nor anyone else. It’s just very obvious that for big dogs it’s the best choice of ACL repair surgery, so I highly recommend it, as do most of my colleagues.
3. No, it’s not an arthroscopic procedure.
I’m sure you are in good hands and I would stick with the recommendations of the referral center.