A Heartwarming Story

This is a heartwarming story from Tom Brouns and his family. I want to share this with you since dealing with many sad animal cases, it sometimes make us forget about those dogs that has a great family. And, families that has a great dog!
Tom Writes:
"This is our dog, Keiler. He looks like a golden retriever,but he's a (German) Hovawart - bred to guard. However, we're fairly certain he'd greet any would-be burglar with a wagging tail and a slobbery tongue. Because the kids were young, and we'd rather lose a stereo than have a child bitten, we've tried to teach him that people are universally good (if only that were true.) Hopefully his bark, which can be quite fierce, would be enough to keep any troublemakers away.

Besides being our guard dog, he's a member of the family. He's 7 years old, but we think he believes he's one of the kids. He's a former Therapy Dog, having worked at Womack Army Hospital, Fort Bragg, NC. He's a foot-warmer on cold nights. He's a great swimmer and loves the water. And for years, he's been my running partner. But we've known since he was about a year old that his running career would end at some point, because he's got hip dysplasia.

About six months ago, he started having trouble keeping up. But he would never tolerate being left behind on a run. From the moment I picked up a pair of running shoes, he'd never leave my side. We took him to the vet and they said it was his heart- it simply couldn't keep up with his exercise regimen. He was put on blood thinners, and his endurance improved, but he'd still start dropping back after a mile or so - when he usually leads for five. So we took him for a second opinion.

We were told that he was in extreme pain, his left hip was nearly gone, and his right leg muscles were about twice as big as his left muscles, from compensating. But the good news was that there is such a thing as a doggie hip replacement. Though the procedure would be quite expensive, they could give him a hip that would last him well past his life expectancy of 10 or 11 years. We didn't balk at the offer, and are fortunate to be able to afford it - because putting him down would have been heartbreaking.

They kept Keiler for 3 or 4 days, because apparently "the part" was late coming in. We were a bit shocked to see that he'd been "pantsed" - they shaved his lower extremities, leaving the fur on his tail and little "booties" - which made him look ridiculous. After a regimen of antibiotics and pain pills, he's going to have to be kept down for the next 2 months - no running, jumping, stairs, etc. Apparently this is necessary for his hip to "set" properly. But we're told if everything goes right, he should be able to live out his normal life, with his artificial hip pretty much as good as the real thing. So far he's doing well - the most difficult part is keeping him sedentary. And I have to put on my running shoes in secret - he wouldn't understand."

Thank you Tom and family for sharing this Amore story.