brendabree
New member
Although to some Murphy is just a dog, but to us, he is our protector, best friend, son, brother, family member. This is his story.
Murphy started limping on a 12/10/2022 a beautiful Saturday morning. After searching through security camera footage I couldn’t find an event that caused a leg/ knee injury. Either way, I could tell he had some pain coming from his right rear knee.
I took him to his vet in Laguna Niguel with suspicion he had a partially torn CCL (ACL equivalent in humans) due his intermittent weight bearing on that leg.
The vet did some manual manipulations to determine the knees stability and after a few moments he confirmed Murphy’s rear right CCL was partially torn.
We put him on pain meds and low activity and we schedule a follow up appointment in two weeks to reevaluate. According to the vetC 50% of dogs with a partially torn CCL recover on their own. I was hopeful.
The first week Murphy was doing dramatically better; he would trot into the backyard and bring me his ball to throw. Although I had to be disciplined and not throw the ball; it was all a great sign.
After a few days and taking him to his favorite place in the world, our ranch for Christmas, I noticed his behavior changed. He stopped going to his food in the morning an eventually had to have it delivered. He would hide under the couch for hours with no potty breaks (those began being forced.) I knew something had changed….
After the 2 weeks had passed, we went to the vet for his follow up appointment. He got significantly better during week one, and significantly worse during week two. The vet performed the same knee stability and mobility test and confirmed his CCL was now completely torn.
Although bummed, this injury is incredibly common and not even remotely the end of the world. One looming problem was the cost to restabalize the knee via one of two procedures TPLO (Tibial-plateau-leveling osteotomy) or TTA (Tibial Tuberosity Advancement) is $5,800 in the US. On average both procedures produce fantastic results and it’s really up to the dog owner and veterinarian specialty to decide which one. Both are equal in cost.
When you accept a dog into your life and become their master/ companion, you vow to do whatever you need to do to keep them healthy and do what needs to be done to provide the best life possible. In other words, my decision to get Murphy this surgery was already made prior to the 2nd vet visit.
Because we frequent Mexico and have multiple family members across the border, I always have a low cost plan B for medical services. The cost of veterinarian medical procedures is usually ~80-90% less in Mexico. So a $5800 quickly became $16,000 Pesos or around $800. Additionally one of our family members is a Veterinarian. She doesn’t specialize in TTA so she referred me to a highly respected colleague in Ensenada.
After getting some more pain meds from the US vet (Wednesday 12/28/2022,) Grecia immediately scheduled an appt in Ensenada and I made a game time immediate decision to load the car and drive solo before they closed.
The urgency was due to needing X-rays of Murphy’s knee so they could measure the bone and purchase the necessary hardware/ instrumentation for the CCL repair procedure (receiving the hardware could take over a day depending on the size and location and I wanted to get him back home to recover with the family as soon as possible.)
Upon introduction I was blown away by Dr. Rico. Maybe it was due to the family connection; maybe not, but I could instantly tell he was a master of his profession, highly passionate, and simply loved animals. They greeted us with open arms and immediately took him back for X-ray. The doctor returned with Murphy and asked me to come back to view the images. He also confirmed that while Murphy was getting imaged, he performed the manual knee stability test and didn’t find anything abnormal, contrary to our primary vet. Dr. Rico even went out of his way to compare the mobility of the bad leg compared to the right and showed me the movement was equal. Looking back I should have asked for a bilateral examination to compare his healthy baseline.
Upon viewing the X-rays he pointed out two dark areas at his distal femur and then gave me news that made tears immediately run down my face.
Murphy’s knee pain was not caused by a CCL tear and in-fact probably wasn’t torn at all. Murphy has an aggressive form of osteosarcoma that’s causing his bone to degrade and is slowly becoming brittle. This degrading will eventually cause fragility and if he takes a hard fall or jump, will fracture causing worse pain that’s he’s already in.
While the tears began to increase in frequency and volume I asked Dr Rico about all the possible options, treatment plans, next steps, but most importantly, what he would do if it was his dog/family member.
Osteosarcoma is incredibly painful, and all treatments only prolong life by an average of 9 months to two years. Additionally those treatments are incredibly expensive in the US. Dr. Rico began to console me stating, “I love my dogs more than anything, they are my family, I would never want to see them suffer, I’ve seen this cancer 1000s of times and can tell you your not going to win this fight, if it was my dog, I’d keep him happy and pain free until he begins to have bad days; and then I would put him down”
On top of that, there’s little to no treatment that wouldn’t already be devastating to his physical and mental health. Amputation is step one but osteosarcoma is a metastatic cancer so it’s probably elsewhere with suspicion items already showing up on the X-rays around his pelvis and thoracic area. After bloodwork (all negative,) and a biopsy to confirm it’s cancer; I loaded Murphy into the car and charged back to the border.
The Devlin house is destroyed with tears which flow all day since the news. If you know Murphy you know he’s a life impacting dog. He’s my adventure partner, my best friend. He’s one of the boys and brings a smile to everyone’s face. He never gave anything but 110% into all his relationships. Although he was my shadow, and my best friend, he was a dog of the people, and had multiple family’s while commonly being asked to be borrowed while family members were out of town or isolating during covid, both for protection and always for companionship.
Although I taught Murphy how to be the best dog he could be; he also taught me many life lessons. I won’t get into the small cliché benefits of having a dog in your life but the one that had a profound life long impact on the man I am today.
Murphy taught me how to take care and protect those who cannot fend for themselves. Most importantly, Murphy taught me and gave me the confidence to become a father. I knew the love I have for Murphy would translate to an even greater love for my child, and as my love blossomed and grew for Murphy, I knew I was ready to bring a baby human into our lives. He told me I was ready and not long after that we were blessed with the birth of Lali.
I was told that my love for Murphy would dull after my daughter was born but that was never the case. It’s a different kind of love and watching Murphy fall in love with Lali only made my love for him grows.
People always say you’ll never be ready, or there’s never a right time to have a child but I disagree because Murphy told me we were ready.
He also taught me how to be a great father. He taught me the importance of putting those below you first. The importance of mentorship, guidance, and doing things you don’t want to do, like taking the long dog walks after a long day of workS This lesson I will cherish and always remember who gave me such wisdom.
I’ve worked from home for almost a decade and feel blessed for that. I’ve spent all day everyday with my dog and that time equates to more quality time than someone working a 9-5 and their dog living to 15+ years.
Our approach was pain management until we have to make the ultimate decision; the hardest decision, but the one that’s right to eliminate his pain.
We did it our the ranch (his favorite place,) buried him with his favorite ball, without a casket, and plant eda California oak on top of him, so the ranch gets passed down from generation to generation his life can contribute to be celebrated with the people that love him most.
RIP to Murphy, my best fiend, the regal Australian Cattle Dog, and the one who lived life full of love and adventure; a life fulfilled. 3/1/2015 - 1/21/2023
https://preview.redd.it/p0stf5lpj9e...bp&s=a04fd6ebed1d7c38bb79fda2827d86fb04bcbfe3
https://preview.redd.it/xu6py3lpj9e...bp&s=013b3f1a611dfc27ae0bfe6a42c3f596825cd034
https://preview.redd.it/3feow4lpj9e...bp&s=399dc36dd76c414c0a92b58644bf9be696b9ae0c
https://preview.redd.it/6fu6i4lpj9e...bp&s=215b3d7e841849f81731c6e5035c003b32fe0a08
https://preview.redd.it/6zx0z3lpj9e...bp&s=38d57b26fad92ec8a8016a23b8b2af79b07f6670
https://preview.redd.it/sgz4zalpj9e...bp&s=50d6aafc944c07cb38cf4b342c8f7da36018771c
https://preview.redd.it/0jkp8elpj9e...bp&s=9047721ae6fb15ecfc0992349f5269ff80b630fa
https://preview.redd.it/e6lhp4lpj9e...bp&s=92df50b7b30f95deeb32bb84e61f147b1a4bbd56
Murphy started limping on a 12/10/2022 a beautiful Saturday morning. After searching through security camera footage I couldn’t find an event that caused a leg/ knee injury. Either way, I could tell he had some pain coming from his right rear knee.
I took him to his vet in Laguna Niguel with suspicion he had a partially torn CCL (ACL equivalent in humans) due his intermittent weight bearing on that leg.
The vet did some manual manipulations to determine the knees stability and after a few moments he confirmed Murphy’s rear right CCL was partially torn.
We put him on pain meds and low activity and we schedule a follow up appointment in two weeks to reevaluate. According to the vetC 50% of dogs with a partially torn CCL recover on their own. I was hopeful.
The first week Murphy was doing dramatically better; he would trot into the backyard and bring me his ball to throw. Although I had to be disciplined and not throw the ball; it was all a great sign.
After a few days and taking him to his favorite place in the world, our ranch for Christmas, I noticed his behavior changed. He stopped going to his food in the morning an eventually had to have it delivered. He would hide under the couch for hours with no potty breaks (those began being forced.) I knew something had changed….
After the 2 weeks had passed, we went to the vet for his follow up appointment. He got significantly better during week one, and significantly worse during week two. The vet performed the same knee stability and mobility test and confirmed his CCL was now completely torn.
Although bummed, this injury is incredibly common and not even remotely the end of the world. One looming problem was the cost to restabalize the knee via one of two procedures TPLO (Tibial-plateau-leveling osteotomy) or TTA (Tibial Tuberosity Advancement) is $5,800 in the US. On average both procedures produce fantastic results and it’s really up to the dog owner and veterinarian specialty to decide which one. Both are equal in cost.
When you accept a dog into your life and become their master/ companion, you vow to do whatever you need to do to keep them healthy and do what needs to be done to provide the best life possible. In other words, my decision to get Murphy this surgery was already made prior to the 2nd vet visit.
Because we frequent Mexico and have multiple family members across the border, I always have a low cost plan B for medical services. The cost of veterinarian medical procedures is usually ~80-90% less in Mexico. So a $5800 quickly became $16,000 Pesos or around $800. Additionally one of our family members is a Veterinarian. She doesn’t specialize in TTA so she referred me to a highly respected colleague in Ensenada.
After getting some more pain meds from the US vet (Wednesday 12/28/2022,) Grecia immediately scheduled an appt in Ensenada and I made a game time immediate decision to load the car and drive solo before they closed.
The urgency was due to needing X-rays of Murphy’s knee so they could measure the bone and purchase the necessary hardware/ instrumentation for the CCL repair procedure (receiving the hardware could take over a day depending on the size and location and I wanted to get him back home to recover with the family as soon as possible.)
Upon introduction I was blown away by Dr. Rico. Maybe it was due to the family connection; maybe not, but I could instantly tell he was a master of his profession, highly passionate, and simply loved animals. They greeted us with open arms and immediately took him back for X-ray. The doctor returned with Murphy and asked me to come back to view the images. He also confirmed that while Murphy was getting imaged, he performed the manual knee stability test and didn’t find anything abnormal, contrary to our primary vet. Dr. Rico even went out of his way to compare the mobility of the bad leg compared to the right and showed me the movement was equal. Looking back I should have asked for a bilateral examination to compare his healthy baseline.
Upon viewing the X-rays he pointed out two dark areas at his distal femur and then gave me news that made tears immediately run down my face.
Murphy’s knee pain was not caused by a CCL tear and in-fact probably wasn’t torn at all. Murphy has an aggressive form of osteosarcoma that’s causing his bone to degrade and is slowly becoming brittle. This degrading will eventually cause fragility and if he takes a hard fall or jump, will fracture causing worse pain that’s he’s already in.
While the tears began to increase in frequency and volume I asked Dr Rico about all the possible options, treatment plans, next steps, but most importantly, what he would do if it was his dog/family member.
Osteosarcoma is incredibly painful, and all treatments only prolong life by an average of 9 months to two years. Additionally those treatments are incredibly expensive in the US. Dr. Rico began to console me stating, “I love my dogs more than anything, they are my family, I would never want to see them suffer, I’ve seen this cancer 1000s of times and can tell you your not going to win this fight, if it was my dog, I’d keep him happy and pain free until he begins to have bad days; and then I would put him down”
On top of that, there’s little to no treatment that wouldn’t already be devastating to his physical and mental health. Amputation is step one but osteosarcoma is a metastatic cancer so it’s probably elsewhere with suspicion items already showing up on the X-rays around his pelvis and thoracic area. After bloodwork (all negative,) and a biopsy to confirm it’s cancer; I loaded Murphy into the car and charged back to the border.
The Devlin house is destroyed with tears which flow all day since the news. If you know Murphy you know he’s a life impacting dog. He’s my adventure partner, my best friend. He’s one of the boys and brings a smile to everyone’s face. He never gave anything but 110% into all his relationships. Although he was my shadow, and my best friend, he was a dog of the people, and had multiple family’s while commonly being asked to be borrowed while family members were out of town or isolating during covid, both for protection and always for companionship.
Although I taught Murphy how to be the best dog he could be; he also taught me many life lessons. I won’t get into the small cliché benefits of having a dog in your life but the one that had a profound life long impact on the man I am today.
Murphy taught me how to take care and protect those who cannot fend for themselves. Most importantly, Murphy taught me and gave me the confidence to become a father. I knew the love I have for Murphy would translate to an even greater love for my child, and as my love blossomed and grew for Murphy, I knew I was ready to bring a baby human into our lives. He told me I was ready and not long after that we were blessed with the birth of Lali.
I was told that my love for Murphy would dull after my daughter was born but that was never the case. It’s a different kind of love and watching Murphy fall in love with Lali only made my love for him grows.
People always say you’ll never be ready, or there’s never a right time to have a child but I disagree because Murphy told me we were ready.
He also taught me how to be a great father. He taught me the importance of putting those below you first. The importance of mentorship, guidance, and doing things you don’t want to do, like taking the long dog walks after a long day of workS This lesson I will cherish and always remember who gave me such wisdom.
I’ve worked from home for almost a decade and feel blessed for that. I’ve spent all day everyday with my dog and that time equates to more quality time than someone working a 9-5 and their dog living to 15+ years.
Our approach was pain management until we have to make the ultimate decision; the hardest decision, but the one that’s right to eliminate his pain.
We did it our the ranch (his favorite place,) buried him with his favorite ball, without a casket, and plant eda California oak on top of him, so the ranch gets passed down from generation to generation his life can contribute to be celebrated with the people that love him most.
RIP to Murphy, my best fiend, the regal Australian Cattle Dog, and the one who lived life full of love and adventure; a life fulfilled. 3/1/2015 - 1/21/2023
https://preview.redd.it/p0stf5lpj9e...bp&s=a04fd6ebed1d7c38bb79fda2827d86fb04bcbfe3
https://preview.redd.it/xu6py3lpj9e...bp&s=013b3f1a611dfc27ae0bfe6a42c3f596825cd034
https://preview.redd.it/3feow4lpj9e...bp&s=399dc36dd76c414c0a92b58644bf9be696b9ae0c
https://preview.redd.it/6fu6i4lpj9e...bp&s=215b3d7e841849f81731c6e5035c003b32fe0a08
https://preview.redd.it/6zx0z3lpj9e...bp&s=38d57b26fad92ec8a8016a23b8b2af79b07f6670
https://preview.redd.it/sgz4zalpj9e...bp&s=50d6aafc944c07cb38cf4b342c8f7da36018771c
https://preview.redd.it/0jkp8elpj9e...bp&s=9047721ae6fb15ecfc0992349f5269ff80b630fa
https://preview.redd.it/e6lhp4lpj9e...bp&s=92df50b7b30f95deeb32bb84e61f147b1a4bbd56
)*
Hopefully somewhat far from the equator? I was a lifeguard for one summer, and despite wearing and reapplying 100 spf, the uniform shirt over my swimsuit, and sitting under an umbrella, I got noticeably tan. That was the summer I finally appreciated that sunscreen doesn’t make me invincible (I was also 19, so maybe I was just un-stupifying from the invincibility delusions of youth).