Talk About Tripp
We want to talk about Tripp!
His rescue story is a long one, but a good one, with a lot of twists and turns. Tripp originally came to Wisconsin from Tennessee in November of 2021 and was adopted out shortly after. Unfortunately, Tripp started exhibiting some less than ideal behaviors in his new home and did end up being returned to the rescue in September of 2022. As a rescue, we try to be there for our adopters and our dogs through all of life's ups and downs and we were luckily able to place Tripp with his current foster family. It quickly became clear that Tripp was a resource guarder and had pretty severe stranger danger. We knew he would need help and reached out to our friends at Practical Obedience. Tripp got started right away on muzzle training, a plan to work with him on his resource guarding behaviors and a solid guide to being introduced to strangers and feeling comfortable in necessary public spaces (like the vets office). Tripp is a smart guy and he took to his training right away. This is where things start to get extra topsy turvey. Over the months, as Tripp settled into his foster home and worked through his training plan, it became clear there was something else going on. He would seemingly randomly have very bad pain days. Days where he didn’t want to walk, eat or do anything he normally loved to do. He would try to move and cry out in pain. It was heartbreaking, he was a young dog and it was unclear where the pain was coming from. That’s where our friends at Parkside come in. They have been with Tripp every step of the way and got him in to do radiographs. The diagnosis was a bit inconclusive as the images did not clearly show what was going on. It was suspected that he had hip dysplasia and a pain management program was started for him. The pain management helped Tripp a lot, but he was still having flare ups. In spite of that, he had become a very loved member of his foster family. He was a mentor to other foster dogs that came in and were adopted and his loving and spicy attitude had become a staple in the household. After two years in foster care, his family decided that he had been home all along. We still, however, wanted to get to the bottom of what was going on with Tripp’s pain issues and so it was decided we would pursue an orthopedic consultation to hopefully more effectively address them. That’s where we were surprised again. The specialist looked at his hips and joints and determined that Tripp had bilateral luxating patellas and that was likely the cause of his discomfort. With this answer in hand, we made a plan to get him in for surgery. We had so much support from you, our community, in fundraising for Tripp’s surgery.
So where are we now?
Due to it being the end of year and quickly turning to the busy holiday season, his surgery was scheduled for the end of January. While Tripp and his family prepared for his upcoming surgery, Tripp had another flare up. Concerned that something else had happened with his knees, we had him in for another exam at Parkside. They did a physical exam and more radiographs. The radiographs surprisingly did not confirm that his patellas were out of alignment. Rather, there seemed to be something else going on and it was decided that his radiographs should be looked at by a radiologist. Following that and some more diagnostics, we had yet another diagnosis for Tripp, spondylosis. Next steps were unclear. We were all confused on Tripp’s future. After some time to process, it was decided that Tripp could see a neurology specialist. The end result was that we were finally able to put all of the pieces of the Trippy puzzle together. The neurology specialist along with their orthopedic specialist did an exam and confirmed that not only does Tripp have spondylosis, he also has those orthopedic issues. In short, he’s a hot mess.
And what’s next?
We love Tripp though and we are glad we have some answers. For now, Tripp will stay on a pain management program which includes some new medication. While he does have orthopedic issues, they are not enough to warrant surgery at this time. For Tripp’s neurology issues, his family has decided to take those as they come, as there is no easy fix. In the future, it is possible that his pain could warrant surgery and so we are taking it day by day. Tripp would love to thank you for your loving thoughts and monetary donations. He currently has a Tripp's Heath Fund and will be dipping into that account as his health needs arise.
