Hello Bobo's friends! Here's the update of our Hungary trip to the vet clinic.

Just as the Romanian orthopedist told us, the dysplasia is most likely a congenital malformation. What we've found in addition to that is that the front legs issue is called short ulna syndrome - meaning the ulna bone is shorter than the radius.

"If diagnosed in a young puppy, where there is still substantial growth potential, cutting the ulna bone relieves the constraining effect on the radius allowing continued limb growth and releasing pressure upon the joint surfaces.

In more mature dogs, a corrective osteotomy and stabilisation (bone cut and fixation with plates and screws or an external frame) can be used to realign and stabilise the joint and limb for more normal configuration. If the condition is diagnosed later, joint instability and degenerative joint changes may be too far progressed and reconstructive surgery can be less effective.

The post-operative care for these procedures can be difficult and lengthy for both owner and puppy, so prompt recognition and management of these cases is vital".

(https://www.mvsvets.co.uk/pet-owners/short-ulna-syndrome/)

Unfortunately for Bobo is too late! The very nice Hungarian vet told us that there is no use in doing the surgery now, exactly for the reasons mentioned above! The post-op care would be extremely difficult and no one can assure us that his life's quality would indeed improve. It might be on the contrary! He explained that Bobo's body adjusted to the "defects" so it can go on like this.

My concern was the pains, but he explained that it can appear in 5 years or even only in his older age. Meantime he definitely needs an ongoing support treatment consisting of bones supplements. He gave us NeoK9 Clinical formula, currently recommended as being the best on the market (but also quite expansive)!

Bobo's biggest issue at this point seems to be his vision. He has been diagnosed with: cataract, glaucoma, retinal detachment and degeneration. Being congenital malformations that destroyed the eyes even before being borne (most likely due to the fact that his mother suffered from Toxoplasmosis, as the previous oculist has said), none of these can be fixed through surgery!

As I have also observed (sensed), Bobo only sees some shadows with one eye, “the sensitive one”. Being still sensitive, it is also painful. Therefore eye-drops treatment for the time being is a must, and later on eye removal surgery! Unfortunately we haven't found here Pilocarpin - one of the two eye drops medicine prescribed, and we are hoping someone can help us get it to Romania! The other one is Xalatan - we found it here! Both eye drops are for human usage!

What's next? Well, we'll take one step of the time, assuring Bobo the best life conditions in the given circumstances. But we'll definitely have to look for a better place! An adoptive family that can provide him a better environment to develop. A quiet place with regularly walk and no other dogs around, as he gets very scared and attacks. And no, that is not only because he isn't socialized, it's something common to blind dogs! (Especially that he experienced the attacks of his sister while being just a pup). A home with no stairs, as he cannot use it and keeps him “captive” inside the house. He is 20 kg now, he could even weigh more in time, which makes it very difficult to handle on the stairs.

Here, with us, he has already learned everything I could teach him. He is a very smart dog that needs further training to develop his abilities. He required lots of attention, which he gets from me, but at the expense of my other 4 dogs and my other family duties. Which also stops me from taking in new foster dogs.

This is why for his own best, but also for the others, he needs another home! And here we cannot find it!