Griffie our oldest

"Griffie" (Registered name: Hercule Poirot)

Breed: Rough-coat Brussels Griffon (most are tan)

Born: December 31st, 2001

Griffie has had a life of medical problems. Some we've been able to have corrected and some not! See the story below! The poor little guy just can't seem to get a break in life.

When he came home end of February 2002

About 3 months old, Indian Harbour Beach Condo (Note the big feet)

About 3 to 4 months old, Indialantic town home

Summer of 2002 Indialantic town home

Sandy's mom with Griffie in TN, summer of 2002

Late summer of 2002 Indialantic town home

At about 1 year old: We moved to a condo on the beach and that's where Griffie first showed he had rear leg problems. He was running chasing a ball and hurt his rear leg when he spun around on the carpeting. He limped for a few minutes, but then seemed o.k.

At about 1 1/2 years old at our current home, he was playing and spun around on his hind legs and popped a hip out of joint. The local vet was able to put him under and pop it back in place.

Around the same time he developed a skin condition that no vet here or specialist in Orlando could resolve. We spend a lot of time and money trying to give him relief without success. He itched constantly!

The same summer he ran into a window blind and put a dent in one of his eyes. We rushed him to a specialist in Orlando who prescribed some eye medication that eventually corrected the damage.

During the follow up on the earlier hip dislocation, the x-ray showed he had Arthritis in both hip joints and would probably need hip replacements at some point.

(Click photo to enlarge)
At about 3 years old, Indian Harbour Beach

At about 4 years of age his x-ray showed that his hips were deteriorating rapidly and he needed the right hip replaced right away. Sandy finally found the most qualified surgeon to perform the operation. He was located in Houston, so after making an appointment Sandy drove from Jackson TN to Houston, only to find that they wouldn't do the surgery with the skin blisters for fear of infection. Fortunately, the clinic there is the best and they have a dermatologist vet there. She looked at Griffie and prescribed some anti-biotic that cleared his skin in about two weeks. (Mind you that all the other vets did the same only they never kept him on it long enough each time.) After a couple of months in August 2006 we took Griffie back to Houston for the right hip replacement. Two months later he as a completely new dog running around the yard like a puppy - no pain and no itchy rash!

However, follow up x-rays showed that his left hip was rapidly deteriorating and needed replacement. We were planning to do that in September - in Houston. but with the knee injury it will have to wait.

November 2006 taken in TN at 43 Abbey Place.

August 2007, Griffie was on the patio jumping up and down on his hind legs trying to get a squirrel that was on the roof of the screened patio. He fell and tore his right rear knee cap - the leg with the artificial hip. Bad advice from the local vet this time caused him to do further damage when he slipped and fell in the house while running. Back to Houston to have knee surgery, but the left hip would have to wait.

Now Griffie has a weak knee on the leg with the good hip and a bad hip on the other leg, and because he had to get off his antibiotic for about a month he now has a rash again, which we hope will go away soon.

While in Houston for the knee surgery they found that his Lipids are way too high. Sandy stayed in Houston with Griffie for over three weeks while they tried to figure out what was causing his blood fat (cholesterol) to be so high. After three weeks they sent him home without an answer. He has to go back in November for further checks. Gulf Coast Vet Clinic is just about the finest in the country with some of the best specialists in the field. They are baffled and hope that having him home for a while might change what's causing the problem. At this time he's somewhat docile as he hurts his knee easily, is itchy all the time, and doesn't seem to feel well.

October 8th, 2007: Griffie had his cholesterol tested today and it's down 140 points (over a three week period). That's good news as we can expect that it will drop further in the next three weeks, and hopefully back to normal. He has new medication for his rash and something to keep it from itching. He is playful and doing some running in the house. It looks like he'll return to normal soon.

Here's a photo of Griffie taken on October 8th, 2007 after having a bath and his head shaved. Note the rash and hair missing on his left hip where he pulled it out.

October 13th, 2007: The itching seems to be subsiding and the rash is going away. His leg seems to be fine although somewhat sensitive at time as he limps a little occasionally, but that could be his left hip that has Arthritis pretty bad at the joint. He's now running and playing normally.

February 29, 2008: Griffie had the stem-cell procedure on his left hip this week. Monday they removed some fat from his groin area and Thursday they injected the processed cells into his hip. He's limping since the injections, but gradually getting over the soreness. He and the process will be evaluated at the 30, 60, and 90 day points to see if it's working to correct his arthritis. He's doing fine, but the challenge is to keep him from licking the incision area and chewing out the stitches.

March 27th, 2008: Griffie had to have surgery again. There was a bump growing on the side of his nose we had removed and sent for a biopsy. The vet who did the stem-cell procedure took a scraping and was supposed to send it for a biopsy a month ago didn't send it out and the bump was getting larger since.