Mostly it's great to be right; honestly, we want nothing more, but sometimes, just sometimes, it would be fantastic to be bloody wrong. Back in February 2025 I made some comments about Meerah's hindquarters, and that was followed with numerous posts in March 2025, culminating in this post
1. "I'm going to write about this just once more this side of the time when I will be considering health test, because I need to to clear my head. I'm still convinced that Meerah's left hip is poor, and I don't just mean maybe a score of 12 or so, I think there is an issue that is unfamiliar territory for me in this female line."
2. Meerah is not lame, Meerah is not crying out in pain, and Meerah is full of fun and happiness and is a pleasure to share a life with, but what I have noticed I can't unsee. Firstly there are the constant stops and starts in the field; this could be due to discomfort and instability in her hip joints. Dogs are good at finding their comfortable positions, though she doesn't bunny hop. Following resting after a walk, she has a stiffness when getting to her feet; her front takes most of the strain, and then she has stiffness for the first few paces, something I would only expect to see in an older dog. On noticing these issues, I have tried to flex the joints; when I have tried with the left hip, she is guarded and will yelp. As a reminder, Pano (growing pains) affects long bones, not joints.
Well, with my big girl pants on, I took Meerah in to the vets today. The plan was to x-ray her hips, and if they were poor, as I thought they would be, then she was going straight through to be spayed. If I was wrong and they were OK then we'd continue to x-ray her elbows and send them up to be scored. I had explained to Beth that even though Meerah appears sound, is lively and has no stiffness now, I couldn't unsee what I had seen when she was a youngster.
Rhys was there placing the dogs, as he always does, and Beth was in charge. I had been allowed to stay with Meerah until she was out for the count, and then I stood in the corridor. As soon as the x-ray was taken, I saw Beth's face. She said 'Sadly, you were right, these are not good.' I went into the room and saw for myself, bloody shocking, no wonder she'd had issues as a youngster. As Katrina was waiting to check them out, Beth suggested I still send them for her expert opinion; she replied, "Oh goodness, I'm sorry!"
I left Meerah in their capable hands; I cried most of the way home as I relived that day with Kaiah. I was home about an hour when Rhys sent me a photo of Meerah sat up in her pen - it was such a huge relief and I cried again.
Meerah is now home, safe and sound. She won't be rehomed; she will live her life here with us, she'll walk the mountains and the woodlands, and she'll go to shows ... Of course I'm disappointed, but I can't say that I didn't see it coming!
